KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Traktor travels to St. Petersburg in tonight’s top match!
Tonight’s game is set to be an intriguing one as Traktor, riding high on a six-game winning streak, heads to St. Petersburg to take on SKA, who currently find themselves only as the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Both teams will be hungry for victory, and the stakes are high.
Traktor’s impressive form has catapulted them into contention, and they’ll be aiming to continue their winning streak on a tight Eastern Conference table. SKA, on the other hand, is fighting to solidify their playoff position and will be looking to rise in the standings. Both teams feature leaders with active scoring streaks, adding even more excitement to the matchup.
The KHL matchday starts again in the Far East, with Amur hosting Avtomobilist as the teams face for the third time this season. Both sides have achieved one victory, so tonight we’ll find out who’ll go ahead in the series. Later, in the East, Lada hosts Ak Bars, while Neftekhimik welcomes Spartak. It will be two exciting games – Lada has already defeated Kazan this season and both sides are very high in the standings; in the second match, Pavel Poryadin will return to Nizhnekamsk after being traded to Spartak this summer as he became a key player for the Red-and-Whites. The Muscovites have already defeated Neftekhimik earlier this year, but it will be much different now, as the Nizhnekamsk squad is on a tight struggle for reaching a postseason spot.
The action then moves to the Western Conference, with Dinamo Minsk hosting HC Sochi. With the Belarusians in seventh place and Sochi in the ninth, it will be a critical match for both squads, and the stakes will be high here as well.
A showdown between two past Gagarin Cup finalists – CSKA and Avangard – closes an intense KHL matchday, with plenty of drama in both conferences.
12:00: Amur (10-10-6, 10th E) vs Avtomobilist (15-10-4, 7th E)
About the game
Amur enters the second game of a four-match home series following a loss to Lokomotiv on Monday (1:4).
Avtomobilist starts a five-game road trip and lost to Sibir also on Monday (2:3 SO).
Both teams have already defeated each other this season (3:1, 1:2 SO).
Injury list
Amur: Alex Broadhurst, Pyotr Khokhryakov, Anatoly Nikontsev.
Avtomobilist: Semyon Kizimov, Vladimir Kuznetsov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s defenseman Alexander Shchemerov lines up for his 200th KHL game, while forward Kirill Slepets reaches 100.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Alikin may record his 20th KHL shutout.
18:00: Lada (16-8-5, 3rd E) vs Ak Bars (18-7-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Lada, who has already defeated Ak Bars this season (6:3), starts a two-game home series fresh off a win over CSKA on Sunday (4:3).
Ak Bars is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Lada’s forward Sergei Shumakov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov is on a 105:55 shutout streak.
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling four points.
Injury list
Lada: Andrei Altybarmakyan, Pavel Koltygin, Scott Kosmachuk, Nikita Popugayev, Nikolai Vladimirov.
Ak Bars: Dmitry Bykov, Amir Miftakhov, Sergei Terekhov.
Milestone alert
Lada’s forward Sergei Shumakov may reach 300 points in the KHL (currently at 298).
Ak Bars’ defenseman Konstantin Luchevnikov lines up for his 100th KHL game.
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 900 points in the league (currently at 897).
19:00: Neftekhimik (12-10-5, 8th E) vs Spartak (19-7-2, 2nd W)
About the game
Neftkhimik plays the lone home game of the series and won against Salavat Yulaev on Monday (4:3).
Spartak, who has already defeated Neftekhimik this season (6:1) starts a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov.
Spartak: German Rubtsov, Ilya Talaluyev, Daniel Usmanov.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s defenseman Artyom Serikov lines up for his 100th KHL game.
Spartak’s forward Andrei Loktionov may score his 250th league point (currently at 248).
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (12-9-4, 7th W) vs HC Sochi (12-13-2, 9th W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk enters the second game of a six-match home series on a two-game losing streak.
HC Sochi is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its previous five matches.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Roman Gorbunov, Oleg Pozhigan, Nikita Pyskailo, Ivan Sekerin, Alexander Suvorov.
HC Sochi: Michal Kristof.
19:30 CSKA (14-11-2, 5th W) vs Avangard (16-8-3, 5th E)
About the game
CSKA is in the middle of a five-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Avangard ends a four-game road trip and won its previous four matches.
Avangard’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 10 (2+8) points over that span.
Avangard’s forward Ryan Spooner is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (3+6) points.
Avangard’s forward Reid Boucher is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points.
Injury list
Avangard: Maxim Belyayev, Sergei Boikov, Ilya Proskuryakov, Ivan Telegin.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 20th KHL shutout.
19:30: SKA (13-13-0, 8th W) vs Traktor (16-10-2, 6th E)
About the game
SKA starts a two-game home series following a loss to Spartak on Monday (2:3).
Traktor ends a two-game road trip on a six-match winning streak.
SKA’s goalie Pavel Moiseyev is on a 131:55 shutout streak.
SKA’s forwards Sergei Tolchinsky and Mikhail Vorobyov had an assist in each of their previous three games.
Traktor’s forward Maxim Shabanov is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 12 (7+5) points over that span.
Traktor’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 10 (3+7) points.
Traktor’s defenseman Sergei Telegin is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury list
SKA: Stepan Falkovsky, Brandan Leipsic, Andrei Pedan.
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov, Sergei Mylnikov, Vladimir Zharkov.
