Will Avangard move on tonight?

The Hawks have a good chance to become the first team to reach the next stage after defeating Sibir in game four. The other three series of the playoff matchday are still stuck on a 2-2 score and tonight’s game may be a decisive one for the final outcome.

16:30: Avangard vs Sibir

Series stand
Avangard is leading the series 3-1 (1:2 ОТ, 4:1, 4:3, 4:1).

About the game
Young gun Arseny Gritsyk returned on ice for the Hawks as he opened the score in the first frame following a mistake by Ilya Morozov, then Avangard left Sibir no chance, taking another game with its class and key players once again under the spotlight, with Reid Boucher, Sergei Tolchinsky, and Corban Knight also making it to the scoresheet. Vasily Demchenko had 43 saves for the Hawks, who once again were outshot by Sibir, with Anton Krasotkin stopping only 11 Avangard attempts.

Avangard’s forward Sergei Tolchinsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points over that span.

Sibir’s forward Vladimir Butuzov had an assist in each of his previous three games.

Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov.
Milestone alert

Sibir’s goalie Denis Kostin may reach 100 KHL games tonight.

Avangard’s defenseman Ziyat Paigin may score his 100^th point in the KHL (currently at 99).  

17:00 Avtomobilist vs Metallurg

Series stand
The series is tied 2-2 (4:2, 2:3 2ОТ, 1:2 2ОТ, 4:0).

About the game
Johan Mattsson led Avtomobilist to its first-ever shutout in an away game in the KHL playoffs with 35 saves, while Curtis Valk kept his scoring streak alive and netted the game-winner. The series returns to Magnitogorsk, but Avtomobilist may get advantage of the momentum swing.

Avtomobilist’s goalie Johan Mattsson is on a 60:00 shutout streak.

Avtomobilist’s forward Curtis Valk is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.

Injury list
Avtomobilist: Daniil Tarasov.

Milestone alert

Avtomobilist’s defenseman Yefim Gurkin may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99). 

19:30: CSKA vs Severstal

Series stand
The series is tied 2-2 (5:2, 2:3 2ОТ, 3:5, 9:3).

About the game
It wasn’t really a good night for Severstal, who allowed a whopping nine goals to CSKA in game four, failing to be a threat for the reigning champs, who had it even too easy and tied the series at two. Anton Slepyshev and Nikita Nesterov had three points for CSKA, while the Steelers swapped three goalies, without having much luck with neither of them.

Severstal’s defenseman Robin Press is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.

CSKA’s forward Mikhail Grigorenko is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points.

Injury list

Severstal: Andrei Churkin, Makar Khabarov, Maxim Kolmykov.
CSKA: Danil Yurtaikin.

Milestone alert

Severstal’s forward Daniil Vovchenko may net his 100^th KHL goal (currently at 99).

19:30: Torpedo vs Dynamo Moscow

Series stand
The series is tied 2-2 (1:3, 5:2, 0:3, 5:4 ОТ).

About the game
It was a wild night in Moscow, with the teams swapping nine goals, starting with Jordan Weal’s tally after a mere two minutes and ending with Daniil Bokun’s snipe in OT to give Torpedo its second win in the series. Dynamo’s top line with Weal, Eric O’Dell, and Alexander Skorenov was on fire, producing three goals, but it wasn’t enough as Torpedo replied with yet another exceptional performance by Sergei Goncharuk, who netted a double and gave an assist.

Dynamo Moscow’s forward Dmitry Rashevsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.

Injury list
Torpedo: Alexei Kruchinin.

Dynamo Moscow: Sergei Boikov.

Milestone alert

Torpedo’s defenseman Anton Sizov lines up for his 200^th KHL game.