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CSKA and SKA faceoff tonight!
The KHL matchday starts early in the Far East with the second matchup between Admiral and Lada in two days. Yesterday, Admiral won the game 2:1 OT, but Lada had at least a point for the 12th straight game. Anton Berlyov, just returned from IL, netted the game-winner for the Sailors.
The action then moves to Novosibirsk, where Avtomobilist will try to get its second win over Sibir this season after dominating in the first clash (6:1). Alexei Makeyev scored a natural hat-trick that night, but the teams are now on a very different position, even if the Motormen have more than enough players sitting on the injury list.
In the last game in the East, Metallurg hosts Salavat Yulaev. The Steelers have already achieved two wins over Ufa, but Salavat Yulaev is finding some consistency, and thus unpredictability is once again key in such a game, which can easily go either way.
Plenty of exciting action is awaited in the West as well. Vityaz is on the bottom of the standings, but they have just fired their head coach and achieved a victory in the first game with acting coach Alexei Tertyshny. Their opponent, Barys, lost its four most recent games. Will this mean that a win is guaranteed for the Moscow Region team, or will the Kazakhs rebound back and claim a road victory?
In Belarus, Dinamo Minsk is hosting Lokomotiv as the franchise concludes a lengthy series of home games. Kvartalnov’s team has secured victories in their last two games, one of which was against SKA, and they might have gained some momentum. However, the Railwaymen have won their last five matches, and they are unlikely to back down easily.
But the highlight of the matchday will certainly be the first clash between CSKA and SKA. Both teams have started the season differently from what was expected. There are glimpses, of course – SKA’s four-game winning streak, CSKA’s crushing victory (7:1) over Sochi... But it’s difficult to deny that, at the moment, the army teams are far from their best form.
The reasons for this appear to be different for each of the two powerhouses. It seems from the outside that SKA needs time for their revamped lineup to get used to each other and find some chemistry, whereas the well-coordinated and experienced CSKA, after winning two consecutive Gagarin Cups, perhaps simply lacked motivation at the start of the championship. However, SKA should certainly become a worthy challenger for the Muscovites.
12:30: Admiral (4-6-2, 10th E) vs Lada (8-3-4, 2nd E)
About the game
Admiral enters the second game of a four-match home series following a win over Lada yesterday (2:1 OT).
Lada is at its second game of a four-match road trip after their loss to the Sailors.
Injury list
Lada: Mikhail Fisenko, Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov, Pavel Koltygin, Sergei Shumakov, Nikolai Vladimirov,
15:30: Sibir (7-5-2, 6th E) vs Avtomobilist (8-4-2, 3rd E)
About the game
Sibir starts a three-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Avtomobilist, who has already defeated Sibir this season (6:1), starts a three-game road trip following two straight losses.
Injury list
Sibir: Trevor Murphy.
Avtomobilist: Denis Barantsev, Jessie Blacker, Nick Ebert, Semyon Kizimov, Curtis Valk.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Alikin may reach 20 KHL shutouts.
17:00: Metallurg (10-2-3, 1st E) vs Salavat Yulaev (7-6-0, 8th E)
About the game
Metallurg enters the third game of a four-match home series on a three-game winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev enters the third game of a four-match road trip following a win over Traktor on Wednesday (4:0).
Metallurg has defeated Salavat Yulaev twice this season (2:1, 1:0).
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Ilya Ezhov is on a 61:57 shutout streak.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Alexander Komarov, Mikhail Naumenkov, Grigory Panin.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Denis Zernov may reach 100 KHL goals (currently at 99).
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Nikolai Zorkin lines up for his 100th league appearance.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sergei Shmelyov may reach 300 points in the KHL (currently at 299).
19:00: Vityaz (3-10-1, 11th W) vs Barys (3-7-4, 11th E)
About the game
Vityaz ends a two-game home series after a win over Kunlun Red Star on Wednesday (2:1).
Barys ends a three-game road trip and lost its previous four matches.
Injury list
Vityaz: Vitaly Popov, Vladislav Tsitsyura, Scott Wilson.
Barys: Alex Grant, Dmitry Gurkov.
Milestone alert
Vityaz’s goalie Dmitry Shikin may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
19:00: CSKA (7-6-1, 6th W) vs SKA (6-7-0, 10th W)
About the game
CSKA ends a four-game home series and won its previous three games.
SKA ends a six-game road trip and lost its last couple of matches.
CSKA’s goalie Ivan Fedotov is on a 90:39 shutout streak.
CSKA’s defenseman Nikita Nesterov had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling five points.
CSKA’s defenseman Darren Dietz is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
CSKA’s forward Mikhail Grigorenko is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
CSKA’s forward Konstantin Okulov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
CSKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov grabbed points in three straight games, totaling 3 (1+2) points.
SKA’s forward Alex Galchenyuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points.
Injury list
CSKA: Vsevolod Skotnikov.
SKA: Stepan Falkovsky, Marat Khairullin, Brendan Leipsic, Johan Mattsson, Andrei Pedan.
Milestone alert
SKA’s defenseman Alexander Nikishin lines up for his 200th league appearance.
19:30: Dinamo Minsk (6-5-2, 7th W) vs Lokomotiv (11-3-0, 1st W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk ends an eight-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.
Lokomotiv, who has already defeated Dinamo Minsk this season (5:1), ends a four-game road trip on a five-match winning streak.
Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Beryozkin had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling five points.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Ivan Sekerin, Alexander Suvorov.
Lokomotiv: Stepan Nikulin
