KHL press office
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The KHL returns with 10 games tonight!
The regular season is entering its final part, and tonight, two Eastern teams can claim a playoffs spot – Ak Bars and Sibir. Kazan will need a win in their Tatarstan rivalry against Neftekhimik, while Sibir needs a good performance tonight against Traktor. But it won’t be easy – both their opponents are fighting hard to reach the playoffs themselves, and a victory isn’t guaranteed. Their playoffs struggle will also continue from distance against Amur – the Tigers travel to Yaroslavl tonight trying to defend their eighth spot in the East.
Another team who may claim a spot tonight is SKA – the St. Petersburg franchise may guarantee itself a spot in the Western top-four, but they will have to face Magnitka tonight first. Playoffs emotions are to be felt also in Minsk, with the local Dinamo hosting Spartak, and in Cherepovets. Severstal needs a win to stay on top of the qualification line, while Kunlun Red Star will lose any chance to get to the elimination stage in case of a loss. Moreover, Spartak has recently underwent a change on the bench, with Igor Grishin leaving the helm of the team and Alexei Zavarukhin having his debut as the team’s head coach today. Spartak is the second KHL team to change head coaches twice after HC Sochi.
In the other showdowns of the night, Avtomobilist welcomes Vityaz, Salavat Yulaev hosts CSKA, Torpedo faces Admiral, and Dynamo Moscow takes on HC Sochi.
15:30: Sibir (36-19-5, 2ndE) vs Traktor (25-26-9, 11thE)
About the game
Sibir is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Admiral on Sunday (2:1 OT).
Traktor ends a three-game road trip and lost to Metallurg also on Sunday (3:2 OT).
Traktor has defeated Sibir four times this season (3:2 SO, 3:2, 4:2, 3:2), and lost once (1:2 OT).
Sibir may clinch a playoffs spot if they get at least one point in tonight’s game or Neftekhimik fails to defeat Ak Bars.
Injury list
Sibir: Vyacheslav Litovchenko, Nikita Setdikov.
Traktor: Anton Burdasov.
17:00: Avtomobilist (32-17-9, 3rdE) vs Vityaz (31-20-8, 6thW)
About the game
Avtomobilist, who has already defeated Vityaz this season (4:1), enters the second game of a four-match home series coming off a two-game losing streak.
Vityaz starts a four-game road trip on a five-match winning streak.
Avtomobilist’s forward Sergei Shirokov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Vityaz’s forward Stepan Starkov had at least an assist in each of his previous five games, totaling six helpers.
Vityaz’s forward Vladislav Kara is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points.
Vityaz’s goalie Maxim Dorozhko is on a 104:20 shutout streak.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Arsen Khisamutdinov.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s defenseman Nick Ebert may line up for his 100thKHL game.
17:00: Metallurg (31-18-10, 4thE) vs SKA (44-11-5, 1stW)
About the game
Metallurg is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Traktor on Sunday (3:2 OT).
SKA, who has already defeated Metallurg this season (4:3), starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Ak Bars on Friday (7:4).
SKA may guarantee itself a spot in the Western top four in case of either:
- A win over Magnitka today;
- They take one point from today’s game, and either Dynamo Moscow loses to HC Sochi in regulation or Lokomotiv loses to Amur;
- They lose to Magnitka in regulation, and either Dynamo Moscow loses to HC Sochi in regulation or Lokomotiv loses to Amur in regulation.
Metallurg’s forward Brendan Leipsic had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Metallurg’s defenseman Grigory Dronov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Marat Khusnutdinov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Injury list
SKA: Nikita Komarov, Danila Moiseyev, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Artyom Svets-Rogovoi.
Milestone alert
SKA’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky may line up for his 250thKHL game.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (30-20-9, 6thE) vs CSKA (37-15-7, 3rdW)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev starts a three-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches.
CSKA, who has already defeated Salavat Yulaev this season (4:2), starts a three-game road trip after a loss to Barys on Sunday (5:6 OT).
CSKA’s forwards Sergei Plotnikov, Mikhail Grigorenko, Vladislav Kamenev, and Maxim Mamin are on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3), 6 (3+3), 4 (3+1) and 4 (2+2) points, respectively, over that span.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang.
CSKA: Danil Yurtaikin.
19:00: Lokomotiv (36-17-8, 4thW) vs Amur (28-24-7, 8thE)
About the game
Lokomotiv, who has already defeated Amur this season, is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated HC Sochi on Sunday (4:0).
Amur starts a three-game home series coming off a three-match winning streak.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Ivan Bocharov is on a 98:24 shutout streak.
Amur’s forward Sergei Dubakin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Yegor Korshkov, Mikhail Varnakov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Igor Rudenkov may line up for his 300thKHL game.
19:00: Severstal (25-22-12, 7thW) vs Kunlun Red Star (20-35-5, 10thW)
About the game
Severstal enters the third game of a six-match home series on a three-game winning streak.
Kunlun Red Star starts a four-game road trip following a three-game losing streak.
Severstal has already defeated Kunlun Red Star three times this season (3:2 SO, 5:3, 6:5), and its goalie Dmitry Shugayev is on a 69:28 shutout streak.
Kunlun Red Star may lose any hope for a postseason qualification should the team lose to Severstal or Dinamo Minsk will take at least one point in its game against Spartak.
Injury list
Severstal: Alexander Petunin, Daniil Pylenkov.
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien, Jack Rodewald.
19:30: Neftekhimik (28-27-5, 9thE) vs Ak Bars (34-17-9, 1stE)
About the game
Neftekhimik starts a three-game home series following a loss to Vityaz on Sunday (0:1).
Ak Bars ends a three-game road trip after a win over Kunlun Red Star also on Sunday (1:5).
Ak Bars has defeated Neftekhimik twice this season (5:2, 3:1), and lost once (3:4 OT).
Ak Bars’ forward Ilya Safonov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that span.
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitry Voronkov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov, Bulat Shafigullin.
Ak Bars: Nikita Yevseyev.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Stanislav Galiyev may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
19:30: Torpedo (39-16-4, 2ndW) vs Admiral (29-21-9, 7thE)
About the game
Torpedo, who has already defeated Admiral this season (2:1), ends a three-game home series coming off a three-match winning streak.
Admiral enters the second game of a four-match road trip on a two-game losing streak.
Torpedo’s forward Alexei Kruchinin is on a four-game scoring streak, with five assists over that span.
Torpedo’s forward Nikolai Kovalenko is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Admiral’s forward Alexander Gorshkov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Torpedo: Kenny Agostino, Vasily Atanasov, Igor Larionov, Mikhail Orlov, Dennis Yan.
Admiral: Michal Kristof, Evgeny Lisovets.
19:30: Dynamo Moscow (34-16-9, 5thW) vs HC Sochi (7-42-9, 11thW)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow ends a two-game home series and defeated Barys on Friday (3:2).
HC Sochi ends a four-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Dynamo Moscow has already defeated HC Sochi three times this season (4:2, 2:0, 5:3), and its forward Bogdan Trineyev had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Sergei Boikov, Jakub Lilja, Alexei Potapov.
19:30: Dinamo Minsk (24-23-13, 8thW) vs Spartak (25-26-8, 9thW)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk plays the lone home game of the series following a defeat to Torpedo on Saturday (2:3).
Spartak starts a three-game road trip and lost its previous four matches.
Spartak has defeated Dinamo Minsk four times this season (3:2ОТ, 2:1SO, 6:5SO, 4:3 OT), and lost once (2:3). Its forwards Shane Prince and Maxim Tsyplakov are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Spartak: Danila Kvartalnov, German Rubtsov.
