KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Torpedo and Lokomotiv face off again!
Tonight’s clash between Torpedo and Lokomotiv is set to be a thrilling showdown, with both teams enjoying an excellent season, currently tied for first place in the West. The first game of the season saw Torpedo deliver a resounding 5-2 victory over Lokomotiv, setting the stage for a compelling revenge match in Nizhny Novgorod.
In their most recent outings, Torpedo showcased their prowess with an incredible 7:1 win over Dynamo in Moscow, while Lokomotiv suffered a 3:2 shootout loss in Minsk. Both teams have standout performers; Lokomotiv’s Yury Lykhachyov is on a scoring streak, while Torpedo’s Sergei Goncharuk, recently returning from the injury list, is poised to make an impact. With the top spot in the West at stake, this matchup promises high-intensity action and a chance for redemption for the Railwaymen.
In the first game of the day, Barys will host Traktor as both teams have recently fired their head coach. On Friday, Andrei Skabelka was fired from his position as the Kazakhs are on a five-game losing streak and will try to rebound back as they start a new home series. Well-known to the local crowd is their acting coach for the upcoming games, Galym Mambetaliyev, working for several years in the franchise’s system as junior and farm teams’ bench boss.
Severstal and Dynamo enters tonight’s game on a completely different mood. The Steelers have just achieved a record-breaking, 10:1 win over HC Sochi on Saturday, with Nikita Korostelyov netting his first hat-trick with the Severstal jersey, while Dynamo suffered from a brutal 1:7 home loss by the hand of Torpedo. Nikita Gusev is more known for his playmaking ability, but tonight he may reach 200 KHL goals – he’s currently eleventh in the all-time goal scoring list and the productive forward is likely to break into top ten as the season goes by.
Severstal’s opponent in their record-breaking victory, Sochi, will face tonight CSKA. The Black Sea franchise has never achieved a home win against the Muscovites at the KHL level. Maybe tonight the Sochi side will revert the trend, but this season, CSKA has already defeated them with a resounding 7:1 score. However, both sides have their leaders in good shape, thus the game can really go either way, at least on paper.
Another unpredictable game will be the showdown between Spartak and Vityaz. The Moscow Region team has recently fired Alexander Zavyalov, winning their next two games as they will enter tonight’s clash on a two-match winning streak – just like Spartak. However, Vityaz has only recorded four Ws so far, and reaching the playoffs looks like a very hard task for now.
In this Monday’s last game, SKA faces Kunlun Red Star. The Dragons have lost their sixth straight game on Saturday, to Spartak, as the squad desperately needs to return to victory to avoid stretching its gap too much on its playoffs push.
16:30: Barys (3-7-5, 11th E) vs Traktor (8-6-2, 5th E)
About the game
Barys starts a four-game home series on a five-match losing streak.
Traktor enters the second game of a four-match road trip and defeated Avangard on Saturday (1:4).
Injury list
Barys: Alex Grant, Dmitry Gurkov.
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Vitaly Kravtsov, Vladimir Zharkov.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Roman Starchenko may reach 400 league points (currently at 398).
19:00: Lokomotiv (11-3-1, 1st E) vs Torpedo (11-3-1, 2nd E)
About the game
Lokomotiv plays the lone home game of the series following a 3:2, SO loss to Dinamo Minsk on Friday.
Torpedo, who has already defeated the Railwaymen this season (5:2), enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a two-game winning streak.
Lokomotiv’s forward Yaroslav Likhachyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Torpedo’s forward Sergei Goncharuk is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin.
Torpedo: Nikolai Kovalenko.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Sergei Andronov may reach 100 KHL goals (currently at 99).
19:00: Severstal (7-6-1, 8th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (10-5-0, 4th W)
About the game
Severstal starts a two-game home series following a win over HC Sochi on Saturday (10:1).
Dynamo Moscow starts a three-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Severstal’s forward Mikhail Ilyin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Severstal’s forward Nikita Korestelyov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (5+1) points.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Nikita Gusev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
Severstal: Nikita Rozhkov, Yegor Stepanov, Daniil Vovchenko.
Dynamo Moscow: Kirill Gotovets.
Disqualifications
Eric O’Dell serves the second match of a two-game ban.
Milestone alert
Dynamo’s forward Nikita Gusev may reach 200 KHL goals (currently at 198).
19:30: HC Sochi (10-5-0, 3rd W) vs CSKA (7-7-1, 7th W)
About the game
HC Sochi ends a four-game home series and lost to Severstal on Saturday (1:10).
CSKA, who has already defeated HC Sochi this season (7:1), starts a two-game road trip following a loss to SKA on Friday (2:3).
HC Sochi’s forward Artur Tyanulin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that span.
HC Sochi’s forward Matvei Michkov is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points.
CSKA’s forward Konstantin Okulov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points.
CSKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
CSKA: Vsevolod Skotnikov.
19:30: Spartak (9-5-2, 5th W) vs Vityaz (4-10-1, 11th W)
About the game
Spartak, who has already defeated Vityaz this season (4:1), starts a two-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Vityaz starts a four-game road trip also on a two-match winning streak.
Spartak’s forwards Pavel Poryadin and Ivan Morozov, and defenseman Ivan Vishnevsky are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Spartak: Daniel Usmanov.
Vityaz: Vitaly Popov, Vladislav Tsitsyura, Scott Wilson.
Milestone alert
Spartak’s forward Andrei Loktionov lines up for his 500th league appearance.
19:30: SKA (7-7-0, 9th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (6-11-1, 10th W)
About the game
SKA starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over CSKA on Friday (3:2).
Kunlun Red Star plays the lone road game of the series on a six-match losing streak.
SKA’s forward Mikhail Vorobyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Stepan Falkovsky, Marat Khairullin, Brendan Leipsic, Johan Mattsson, Andrei Pedan.
Kunlun Red Star: Corey Kane, Alexander Lazushin, Austin Wong.
Milestone alert
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Teemu Pulkkinen may net his 100th KHL tally (currently at 99).
