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Avangard hosts SKA on eventful KHL matchday!
In Omsk, Avangard will play against SKA after facing CSKA in its most recent game. Has there ever been a season in which this confrontation has not been intriguing? Two powerful teams, united by high-level goals, met three times last year. Avangard won twice, and once victory was for SKA, but the thing is that Omsk won in the off-season, while SKA took its victory already within the regular championship, with a 4:1 score. With both teams’ leaders, Reid Boucher and Corban Knight for Avangard and Marat Khusnutdinov for SKA, in good shape and with a scoring streak alive, the game promises to be even more exciting. Will the Hawks take their revenge tonight?
But as the end of February approaches, the games aren’t only meant to simply have bragging rights at stake – playoff’s qualification is still up in the air for most of the teams in the East, including Avangard. Avtomobilist, however, can clinch a playoff spot tonight, but they have to face Dinamo Minsk, who is also fighting fiercely to get into the elimination stage in the West. Traktor and Admiral also are involved in playoff battles, and the game will be very important especially for the Chelyabinsk side.
In the West, Vityaz can book a ticket for the playoffs tonight as they travel to Ufa to face off with Salavat Yulaev. Then, other exciting battles with profound influence on the standings will be Severstal welcoming Amur, and Spartak traveling to Nizhny Novgorod.
A showdown between Kunlun Red Star and HC Sochi closes an eventful KHL Saturday.
14:00: Avangard (33-20-7, 5thE) vs SKA (45-12-5, 1stW)
About the game
Avangard enters the second game of an eight-match home series coming off a three-game losing streak.
SKA, who has already defeated Avangard this season (4:1), enters the third game of a four-match road trip and defeated Avtomobilist on Thursday (5:2).
Avangard’s forwards Reid Boucher and Corban Knight are on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Marat Khusnutdinov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (2+6) points.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (32-20-9, 6thE) vs Vityaz (32-21-8, 6thW)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev ends a three-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.
Vityaz, who has already defeated Salavat Yulaev this season (3:2), enters the third game of a four-match road trip and defeated Metallurg on Thursday (5:4 OT).
Vityaz can clinch a playoff spot if either:
- They defeat Salavat Yulaev and Spartak loses to Torpedo or Dinamo Minsk loses to Avtomobilist in regulation;
- They take one point from tonight’s game and Spartak loses to Torpedo in regulation.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Chmelevski is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Vityaz’s goalie Maxim Dorozhko is on a 104:20 shutout streak.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Ilya Ezhov may record his 30thKHL shutout.
14:30: Traktor (27-16-9, 10thE) vs Admiral (30-22-9, 7thE)
About the game
Traktor is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.
Admiral ends a four-game road trip and lost to Neftekhimik on Thursday (1:2).
Admiral has defeated Traktor twice (3:0, 1:0), and lost once (1:2 OT).
Traktor’s forward Pyotr Khokhryakov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Admiral’s defenseman Libor Sulak is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Admiral’s forward Nikita Chebykin is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Injury list
Traktor: Anton Burdasov.
Admiral: Michal Kristof, Evgeny Lisovets.
15:00: Avtomobilist (33-18-9, 4thE) vs Dinamo Minsk (25-24-13, 8thW)
About the game
Avtomobilist ends a four-game home series and lost to SKA on Thursday (2:5).
Dinamo Minsk, who has already defeated Avtomobilist this season (3:2 OT), enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a loss to Traktor also on Thursday (3:4).
Avtomobilist may clinch a playoff spot if they don’t lose to Dinamo Minsk in regulation.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Alexander Shchemerov.
17:00: Severstal (26-23-12, 7thW) vs Amur (28-25-8, 8thE)
About the game
Severstal enters the fifth game of a six-match home series following a win over Torpedo on Thursday (4:3 SO).
Amur, who has already defeated Severstal this season (5:2), ends a three-game road trip coming off a two-match losing streak.
Severstal’s forward Igor Geraskin had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Severstal: Alexander Petunin, Daniil Pylenkov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Igor Rudenkov may reach 300 KHL games.
17:00: Torpedo (39-17-5, 2ndW) vs Spartak (26-27-8, 9thW)
About the game
Torpedo starts a two-game home series coming off a two-match losing streak.
Spartak ends a three-game road trip and defeated HC Sochi on Thursday (2:3).
Torpedo has defeated Spartak four times this season (2:1ОТ, 3:1, 5:2, 4:0), and has lost once (3:4).
Spartak’s forward Maxim Tsyplakov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Torpedo: Kenny Agostino, Igor Larionov, Mikhail Orlov, Yu Sato, Dennis Yan.
Spartak: Danila Kvartalnov, German Rubtsov.
17:00: HC Sochi (7-44-9, 11thW) vs Kunlun Red Star (21-35-6, 10thW)
About the game
HC Sochi is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its previous four matches.
Kunlun Red Star enters the third game of a four-match road trip following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Thursday (2:3 OT).
Kunlun Red Star has defeated HC Sochi four times this season (3:1, 5:2, 3:0, 5:1), and the Dragons won their latest eight matches over Sochi.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien.
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s forward Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov may line up for his 100thKHL game, while Kunlun Red Star’s forward Tyler Wong will reach 200.
