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Plenty of action today in both conferences!
The KHL matchday starts in the East with a big game between Traktor and Sibir – both teams will be determined to reach a victory and to build a new winning streak. In the meantime, Metallurg hosts Neftekhimik. Magnitka starts a home series on the top of the Eastern Conference standings, and they will also be determined to win – but Neftekhimik shouldn’t be underrated. The Wolves won their last encounter and have some leaders on an active scoring streak. An exciting showdown between Lada and Salavat Yulaev – their second clash of the season – closes the action in the East for today’s matchday.
In Belarus, Dinamo Minsk takes on Barys, while a hot HC Sochi hosts SKA seeking its first home win over the St. Petersburg side since 2017. In the Russian capital, Spartak and CSKA will both hit the ice against Lokomotiv and Vityaz, respectively. The latter has recently turned a long skid, but defeating CSKA away won’t be an easy task.
The KHL action will then end when Kunlun Red Star plays its second game in two days, following a narrow loss to Avangard yesterday, welcoming Dynamo Moscow – the Dragons have never defeated the Blue-and-Whites at the KHL level, even if they forced two OTs.
17:00: Traktor (6-5-2, 6th E) vs Sibir (7-4-1, 5th E)
About the game
Traktor is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Spartak on Friday (2:1 OT).
Sibir is in the middle of a three-game road trip and had a win over Barys also on Friday (2:1).
Injury list
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov, Vitaly Kravtsov.
Sibir: Trevor Murphy.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov may reach 300 league points (currently at 299).
17:00: Metallurg (8-2-3, 1st E) vs Neftekhimik (3-6-2, 12th E)
About the game
Metallurg starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Salavat Yulaev on Thursday (1:0).
Neftekhimik starts a two-win road trip following a win against Amur on Tuesday (3:2 SO).
Metallurg’s goalie Artyom Zagidullin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Neftekhimik’s forward Nail Yakupov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Neftekhimik’s forwards Andrei Belozyorov and Alexander Dergachyov had 4 (2+2) points in their latest games, with Belozyorov being on a four-game scoring streak, and Dergachyov on a three-game one.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Danila Popov.
18:00: Lada (7-3-3, 2nd E) vs Salavat Yulaev (6-5-0, 8th E)
About the game
Lada plays the lone home game of the series following a win over Dinamo Minsk on Friday (2:1 OT).
Salavat Yulaev, who has already defeated Lada this season (5:2), starts a four-game road trip after a loss to Metallurg on Thursday (0:1).
Injury list
Lada: Mikhail Fisenko, Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov, Nikita Popugayev, Sergei Shumakov, Nikolai Vladimirov.
Salavat Yulaev: Alexander Komarov, Mikhaik Naumenkov, Grigory Panin.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sergei Shmelyov may reach the 300-point mark in the KHL (currently at 299).
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (4-5-2, 10th W) vs Barys (3-5-4, 10th E)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk enters the seventh game of an eight-match road trip following a loss to Lada on Friday (1:2 OT).
Barys starts a three-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Barys’ defenseman David Sklenicka is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 13 (0+13) points over that span.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Ivan Sekerin, Alexander Suvorov.
Barys: Alex Grant, Dmitry Gurkov.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Roman Starchenko may reach 400 points in the KHL (currently at 398).
19:30: HC Sochi (8-4-0, 4th W) vs SKA (6-5-0, 7th W)
About the game
HC Sochi starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Torpedo on Friday (5:2).
SKA enters the fourth game of a six-match road trip on a four-game winning streak.
HC Sochi’s forward Dmitry Zavgorodny is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
SKA’s goalie Artemy Pleskhov is on a 118:15 shutout streak.
Injury list
SKA: Johan Mattsson, Andrei Pedan.
19:30: Kunlun Red Star (6-8-0, 6th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (9-3-0, 3rd W)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star ends a three-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Dynamo Moscow plays its lone road game of the series following a win over Avangard on Thursday (6:0).
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Konstantin Volkov is on a 60:19 shutout streak.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Jordan Weal is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points over that span.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Maxim Dzhioshvili is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Igor Ozhiganov had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling five points.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Corey Kane, Alexander Lazushin, Austin Wong.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Eric O’Dell may net his 100th goal in the KHL (currently at 99).
19:30: Spartak (7-4-2, 5th W) vs Lokomotiv (9-3-0, 2nd W)
About the game
Spartak starts a two-game home series following a loss to Traktor on Friday (1:2 OT).
Lokomotiv enters the second game of a four-match road trip on a three-game winning streak.
Lokomotiv’s defenseman Martin Gernat is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Ivan Bocharov is on a 66:41 shutout streak.
Injury list
Spartak: German Tochilkin, Daniel Usmanov.
Lokomotiv: Stepan Nikulin.
19:30: CSKA (5-6-1, 8th W) vs Vityaz (2-9-1, 11th W)
About the game
CSKA is in the middle of a five-game home series and defeated HC Sochi on Wednesday (7:1).
Vityaz plays the lone road game of the series following a win over Lada also on Wednesday (1:0 OT).
CSKA’s forward Maxim Sorkin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Vityaz’s goalie Dmitry Shikin is on an 80:29 shutout streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Vsevolod Skotkov.
Vityaz: Vitaly Popov, Vladislav Tsitsyura, Scott Wilson.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s defenseman Fredrik Claesson lines up for his 100th KHL game tonight.
