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Plenty of action in today’s matchday!
An intense KHL matchday starts in Vladivostok, with Admiral hosting SKA, which continues its Far East tour following a win over Amur on Saturday. Sweden’s Johan Mattsson is currently sitting in the injury list, and with Dmitry Nikolayev still recovering, Roman Rotenberg opted for Artemy Pleshkov. The 20-years-old netminder was acquired this summer following a strong campaign with Sochi last term, and in his first two games for SKA has only allowed one goal to Severstal’s Ilya Ivantsov – who is even younger than him, by the way – earning his first career shutout against the Tigers. Also, Alex Galchenyuk finally opened his goalscoring account in the KHL. The St. Petersburg franchise is slowly climbing up in the standings, while Admiral is sitting on a disappointing position close to the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
The action continues with the showdown between Sibir and Dynamo Moscow in Novosibirsk. Both teams are riding a nice winning streak, and one team will have to take a halt. Unpredictability will be key once again in this game, with both sides having a good chance to achieve victory. Maybe the crowd in Novosibirsk will feel the excitation of OT?
Three other games are scheduled to be played this Monday in the East – with Avtomobilist entertaining Avangard, Lada hosting Traktor, and Neftekhimik facing Barys. The Motormen can count on a hot Evgeny Alikin, while the Hawks will need to revert the trend following their recent two straight defeats.
Another team in excellent shape is Lada. The KHL newcomers recorded four straight wins – despite several players in the injury list – while Traktor will be trying to revert a three-game losing streak and tie things up in the series as Lada has already defeated them twice this season, with one win for Chelyabinsk. Troy Joseph may establish a KHL record for the Togliatti team tonight.
In the last game of the day in the East, Neftekhimik faces Barys. The Wolves have finally won on Saturday, with Andrei Belozyorov netting the game-winning tally with just one second to the final hooter in OT to send Avangard home with a 2:1 defeat. They will also want to revenge the 0:8 loss suffered by the hand of the Kazakhs earlier in the season. Barys, on its hand, has lost its previous couple of matches – the motivation will be high for both sides.
A showdown between Lokomotiv and Metallurg will close the KHL matchday. Magnitka has just traded Nikita Korostelyov to Severstal for Alexander Petunin, and despite its loss in Cherepovets the Magnitogorsk side is still leading the Eastern Conference table.
12:30: Admiral (2-4-2, 11th E) vs SKA (4-5-0, 9th W)
About the game
Admiral ends a three-game home series following a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Saturday (4:5).
SKA enters the second game of a six-match road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Admiral’s forward Daniil Gutik is on a six-game scoring streak, with 10 (4+6) points over that span.
SKA’s goalie Artemy Peshkov is on a 109:48 shutout streak.
Injury list
Admiral: Anton Berlyov, Evgeny Lisovets, Ivan Yemets.
SKA: Johann Mattsson, Andrei Pedan.
15:30: Sibir (5-3-1, 6th E) vs Dynamo Moscow (8-2-0, 1st W)
About the game
Sibir enters the third game of a four-match home series on a three-game winning streak.
Dynamo Moscow ends a three-game road trip and won its previous seven matches.
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (4+3) points over that span.
Sibir’s defenseman Yegor Alanov had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling four points.
Injury list
Sibir: Trevor Murphy.
Dynamo Moscow: Ilya Konovalov, Yegor Morozov.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Eric O’Dell may score his 100th KHL goal.
17:00: Avtomobilist (5-3-2, 4th E) vs Avangard (5-2-1, 5th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist plays the lone home game of the series following a win over Salavat Yulaev on Friday (1:0).
Avangard, who has already defeated Avtomobilist this season (3:2 OT), enters the third game of a seven-match road trip on a two-game losing streak.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Alikin is on a 69:06 shutout streak.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Jessie Blacker, Nick Ebert, Sergei Zborovsky.
Avangard: Ivan Telegin.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov may reach 200 assists and 300 points in the KHL (currently at 198 and 298, respectively).
18:00: Lada (6-3-1, 3rd E) vs Traktor (4-4-2, 8th E)
About the game
Lada ends a three-game home series on a four-match winning streak.
Traktor enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a three-game losing streak.
Lada has already achieved two victories over Traktor this season (3:1, 2:1), with one Chelyabinsk win this season (2:1).
Lada’s forward Troy Joseph is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 11 (6+5) points, and may break the franchise record held by Viktor Komarov.
Injury list
Lada: Mikhail Fisenko, Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov, Nikita Popugayev, Sergei Shumakov, Nikolai Vladimirov.
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov, Vitaly Kravtsov, Maxim Marushev, Yegor Popov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov may reach 300 KHL points (currently 299).
19:00: Neftekhimik (2-6-1, 12th E) vs Barys (2-4-3, 11th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Avangard on Saturday (2:1 OT).
Barys, who has already defeated Neftekhimik this season (8:0), ends a three-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Danila Popov.
Barys: Alex Grant, Dmitry Gurkov, Batyrlan Muratov.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Roman Starchenko may reach 400 points in the KHL (currently at 398).
19:30: Lokomotiv (6-3-0, 5th W) vs Metallurg (7-1-2, 1st E)
About the game
Lokomotiv is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to CSKA on Saturday (1:2).
Metallurg enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a loss to Severstal also on Saturday (4:5 SO).
Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Shalunov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Stepan Nikulin.
