Green Derby part 3 tonight!
In Ufa, the Green Derby will see its third edition of the 2022-2023 season. On Sep 14, Salavat Yulaev secured a hard-fought victory on home ice with a 3:2 score, and ten days later, Ak Bars got their revenge in front of their fans (4:2).
These games saw the emergence of a new star in the rivalry – Vyacheslav Leshchenko. In the first game, the Ufa forward potted a double, and in the second, he added another goal. On the other Green side, Stanislav Galiyev scored twice in two matches. Will we expect more goals from them, or will someone else become the hero this time?
If the Green Derby isn’t exciting enough, another game will keep the fans on their feet – the Moscow derby between Spartak and CSKA. The Red-and-Whites will face CSKA as the highest-scoring team in the League and the leader of the Western Conference. However, CSKA’s disadvantage in the standings doesn’t seem like an insurmountable gap.
This will be the third match between the teams this season. In September, Spartak squandered a two-goal lead as CSKA got a 3:2 SO win. At the beginning of October, Alexey Zhamnov’s team learned from their mistakes and ultimately won 5:3 after starting 2:0 in the first period.
And finally, SKA hosts Avangard as several players crossed their paths this summer. SKA features three players that represented Omsk last year – Arseny Gritsyuk, Sergey Tolchinsky, and Pavel Dedunov. Each of them played a unique and important role for Avangard, and each has found their place in Roman Rotenberg’s system.
Tolchinsky is among the top four leading scorers of the team, Gritsyuk has been particularly good in recent matches, and Dedunov is one of the top forwards in SKA’s penalty killing units. The teams are yet to face off this year in official games. Last year, SKA celebrated in St. Petersburg (4:1), while Avangard emerged victorious in Omsk (5:4).
As the Green Derby unfolds in Ufa, Avtomobilist and Barys will go at it in Yekaterinburg as the sides face for the second time this year. Then, table-topping Lada will face Severstal. The Togliatti side will want to keep its leadership, while the Steelers are going to fight for points following Tuesday’s critical win over Dinamo Minsk – the qualification battle is already going on fiercely. In the meantime, the Belarusians travel to Yaroslavl. The Dmitry Kvartalnov’s squad will be disappointed after their loss to Severstal, but Lokomotiv will be a tough nut to crack for the Dinamo Minsk’s forwards. Another team who will fight for a postseason qualification is Neftekhimik – the Wolves will face Sibir on home ice tonight.
In the remaining two days of this intense KHL matchday, HC Sochi hosts Amur and Kunlun Red Star welcomes Torpedo. Igor Larionov’s young guns have already defeated the Dragons twice, and they will be on the lookout for their third win over Kunlun. In case, it will be Torpedo’s eleventh straight win against the Dragons.
17:00: Avtomobilist (14-10-2, 4th E) vs Barys (7-12-7, 11th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist, who has already defeated Barys this season (5:2), enters the second game of a four-match home series after a win over Kunlun Red Star on Tuesday (3:0).
Barys is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its previous four matches.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Vladimir Galkin is on a 103:39 shutout streak.
Avtomobilist’s forward Stepan Khripunov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Denis Barantsev, Maxim Denezhkin, Nick Ebert, Semyon Kizimov.
Barys: Samat Daniyar, Alex Grant, Roman Starchenko.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (14-9-1, 5th E) vs Ak Bars (16-6-2, 3rd E)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev enters the third game of a seven-match home series following a win over Amur on Tuesday (4:1).
Ak Bars ends a four-game road trip and defeated SKA also on Tuesday (3:2).
The teams have defeated each other once this season so far (3:2, 2:4).
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Danil Alalykin.
Ak Bars: Amir Miftakhov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 900 points in the KHL (currently at 896).
18:00: Lada (15-7-5, 1st E) vs Severstal (10-9-4, 9th W)
About the game
Lada, who has already defeated Severstal this season (4:3 SO), ends a four-game home series on a four-match winning streak.
Severstal enters the second game of a seven-match road trip following two straight wins.
Lada’s forward Scott Kosmachuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
Lada’s forward Donat Stalnov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Severstal’s forward Daniil Aimurzin is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Injury list
Lada: Pavel Koltygin, Nikita Popugayev, Nikolai Vladimirov.
Severstal: Nikita Guslistov.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s forward Adam Liska may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
19:00: Neftekhimik (10-9-5, 9th E) vs Sibir (12-9-3, 8th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik plays the lone home game of the series following a loss to Spartak on Tuesday (1:6).
Sibir starts a four-game road trip following a win over Vityaz on Monday (3:2 SO).
Neftekhimik’s defenseman Lukas Klok had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Neftekhimik’s forward Andrei Belozyorov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 12 (2+10) points over that span.
Sibir’s forward Vladimir Butuzov is also on a seven-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points.
Sibir’s defenseman Yegor Alanov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov.
Sibir: Trevor Murphy.
Disqualifications
Sibir’s forward Nikolai Prokhorkin serves the third match of a three-game ban.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s forward Vladimir Bryukvin lines up for his 500th league appearance.
19:30: Lokomotiv (15-7-1, 4th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (11-8-3, 7th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv enters the third game of a four-match home series following a win over Severstal on Friday (4:3).
Dinamo Minsk starts a two-game road trip after a loss to Severstal on Tuesday (1:2).
The teams have already defeated each other once during the season (4:1, 2:3 SO).
Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Shalunov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Rushan Rafikov.
Dinamo Minsk: Roman Gorbunov, Oleg Pozhigan, Nikita Pyshkailo, Ivan Sekerin, Alexander Suvorov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Sergei Andronov may net his 100th tally in the KHL.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30th KHL shutout.
19:30: HC Sochi (12-11-1, 6th W) vs Amur (9-6-6, 10th W)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the seventh game of an eight-match road trip on a two-game losing streak.
Amur ends a two-game road trip following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Tuesday (1:4).
Amur’s forward Jan Drozg had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Amur: Alex Broadhurst, Pyotr Khokhryakov.
19:30: Spartak (17-6-2, 1st W) vs CSKA (13-9-2, 5th W)
About the game
Spartak enters the second game of a four-match home series following a win over Neftekhimik on Tuesday (6:1).
CSKA ends a five-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
The teams have already defeated each other this season (5:3, 2:3 OT).
Spartak’s forward Andrei Loktionov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Spartak’s forward Maxim Tsyplakov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
CSKA’s forward Vitaly Abramov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Spartak: German Rubtsov, Ilya Talaluyev, Daniel Usmanov.
CSKA: Andrei Svetlakov.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s goalie Ivan Fedotov may record his 10th KHL shutout.
19:30: Kunlun Red Star (8-17-3, 10th W) vs Torpedo (15-8-2, 3rd W)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star starts a three-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Torpedo, who has defeated Kunlun Red Star twice this season (5:2, 4:2), enters the third game of an eight-match road trip following a loss to Avangard on Tuesday (2:3).
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Corey Kane, Alexander Lazushin, Austin Wong.
Torpedo: Sergei Goncharuk, Nikolai Kovalenko, Igor Larionov.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov lines up for his 100th KHL game.
19:30: SKA (12-11-0, 8th W) vs Avangard (13-8-3, 7th E)
About the game
SKA ends a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Avangard starts a four-game road trip fresh off a win over Torpedo on Tuesday (3:2).
Avangard’s last win in St. Petersburg is dated Sep 28, 2018 (3:2 SO).
SKA’s forward Arseny Gritsyuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Stepan Falkovsky, Brendan Leipsic, Andrei Pedan, Mikhail Vorobyov.
Avangard: Mikhail Belyayev, Sergei Boikov, Ilya Proskuryakov, Ivan Telegin.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 20th KHL shutout.
