KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Will Metallurg return to victory?
Tonight’s game features a clash of Eastern Conference contenders as Metallurg embarks on a challenging journey to Togliatti to face Lada. Magnitka, plagued by four consecutive losses, desperately seeks to regain their winning form. Meanwhile, Lada sits comfortably as the third seed in the East and aims to secure another crucial victory to advance further in the rankings. Lada has emerged as one of the season’s standout teams, boasting just one point less than the current Eastern Conference leaders, Magnitka and Ak Bars, who share the top spot. With both teams having split their encounters this season, this game promises an intense battle, with each side vying for the upper hand and a potential leap in the conference standings.
The matchday will however kickoff in Omsk and Astana, with Avangard and Barys hosting Dinamo Minsk and Torpedo, respectively. The pressure will be high on Barys, as the Kazakhs have lost their last couple of matches and are currently in second-to-low place in the East – much lower than where they expected to be before the start of the season. Moreover, they will face Torpedo – a difficult client to deal with as the Igor Larionov’s young guns are always on the lookout for a nice win.
The mentioned Ak Bars will face their local rivals Neftekhimik trying to get full advantage of an eventual Lada win over Magnitka perhaps to end the matchday on the top of the Eastern standings. Another Eastern matchup today will see Traktor hosting Kunlun Red Star as the Chelyabinsk side tries to build on its recent two-game winning streak.
In the Western Conference, Severstal hosts Avtomobilist. The Cherepovets side has lost its previous four games and will try to rebound back tonight. Maybe forward Nikita Korostelyov will find the back of the net again as he celebrates his 200th league appearance.
14:00: Avangard (12-7-4, 6th E) vs Dinamo Minsk (10-7-3, 8th W)
About the game
Avangard is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Salavat Yulaev on Thursday (1:0).
Dinamo Minsk ends a two-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Avangard’s goalie Ilya Proskuryakov is on a 116:46 shutout streak.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Alexander Volkov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Avangard: Sergei Boikov, Ivan Telegin.
Dinamo Minsk: Roman Borgunov, Oleg Pozhigan, Nikita Pyshkailo, Ivan Serekin, Alexander Suvorov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may reach 20 KHL shutouts.
14:00: Barys (7-10-7, 11th E) vs Torpedo (14-7-2, 4th W)
About the game
Barys ends a two-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Torpedo starts an eight-game road trip fresh off a victory over Avtomobilist on Friday (4:2).
Injury list
Barys: Samat Daniyar, Alex Grant, Roman Starchenko.
Torpedo: Sergei Goncharuk, Nikolai Kovalenko, Igor Larionov.
15:00: Traktor (12-10-2, 7th E) vs Kunlun Red Star (8-15-3, 10th W)
About the game
Traktor enters the second game of a four-match home series following two straight wins.
Kunlun Red Star is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Neftekhimik on Friday (4:3 SO).
Traktor’s forward Maxim Shabanov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Kunlun Red Star’s defenseman Ryan Merkley is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Injury list
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov, Sergei Mylnikov, Vladimir Zharkov.
Kunlun Red Star: Corey Kane, Alexander Lazushin, Austin Wong.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Nikita Soshnikov lines up for his 300th league appearance.
16:00: Lada (13-7-5, 3rd E) vs Metallurg (14-7-4, 1st E)
About the game
Lada enters the second game of a four-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Metallurg ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous four matches.
The teams have defeated each other once this season (3:1, 2:3 OT).
Lada’s forward Ostap Safin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Lada’s forward Andrei Altybarmakyan is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points.
Metallurg’s forward Maxim Karpov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Metallurg’s forward Pavel Akolzin is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Metallurg’s defenseman Yegor Yakovlev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Lada: Pavel Koltygin, Nikita Popugayev, Nikolai Vladimirov.
Metallurg: Jean-Sebastian Dea, Vladislav Yeryomenko.
17:00: Neftekhimik (9-8-5, 10th E) vs Ak Bars (15-5-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Neftekhimik ends a five-game home series and lost to Kunlun Red Star on Friday (3:4 SO).
Ak Bars enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a loss to Lada also on Friday (3:6).
Neftekhimik’s forward Bulat Shafigullin and Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov.
Ak Bars: Amir Miftakhov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 900 KHL points (currently at 896).
17:00: Severstal (8-9-4, 9th W) vs Avtomobilist (13-9-2, 4th E)
About the game
Severstal plays the lone home game of the series and lost its previous four matches.
Avtomobilist ends a two-game road trip following a loss to Torpedo on Friday (2:4).
Severstal’s forward Kirill Pilipenko is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Severstal’s forward Timur Mukhanov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Severstal: Nikita Guslistov, Yegor Stepanov, Daniil Vovchenko.
Avtomobilist: Denis Barantsev, Maxim Denezhkin, Nick Ebert, Semyon Kizimov.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s forward Nikita Korostelyov lines up for his 200th KHL game.
Avtomobilist’s forward Denis Romantsev may reach 100 KHL point (currently at 99).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Alikin may record his 20th league shutout.
