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Plenty of action today!
Plenty of action is to be expected today, with a striking KHL matchday starting in the Far East, with Admiral taking on Dinamo Minsk. With both teams needing points to qualify for the postseason, the game will be maximally uncertain. The Belarusians are however on a four-game losing streak. Then, on the Urals, Traktor faces CSKA, while Metallurg hosts SKA. Both games promise to be open, but it will be particularly interesting to check whether Metallurg will return to victory after losing to Barys on Thursday following an eleven-game winning streak – its opponents from St. Petersburg are riding a ten-victory series.
In the last game in the Eastern Conference, Ak Bars faces Neftekhimik in the second Tatarstan Derby this year. In the first edition, the Wolves had a sensational 2:1 win – but today Ak Bars is on much better shape and won its previous three matches. Will Neftekhimik revert their current four-game skid?
The action then moves to the Western Conference, where Severstal hosts Barys. Once again, unpredictability will be high in this contest, and both teams will need to fight for their points. The temperature will be equally high in Nizhny Novgorod, where Torpedo hosts Dynamo Moscow for the fourth time this season. For now, the Igor Larionov young guys are up in the series two games to one, and the competition will be fierce on the Nizhny Novgorod ice. Expect a full-packed arena for this encounter, with Torpedo wanting another win to defeat a possible playoffs rival and return on the fourth place in the West after SKA’s surpassed them recently.
The latest showdown of a tense KHL matchday is HC Sochi facing Lokomotiv again. The two sides met just on Friday, with the Railwaymen blanking the Black Sea franchise as young goalie Sergei Murashov recorded his first league shutout, stopping 29 shots from Sochi.
10:00: Admiral (11-17-7, 11th E) vs Dinamo Minsk (15-17-4, 8th W).
About the game
Admiral starts a four-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Dinamo Minsk enters the third game of a four-match road trip with four straight losses.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Roman Gorbunov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Admiral: Pavel Makhanovsky.
Dinamo Minsk: Vladislav Kodola, Alexander Suvorov.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 20th KHL shutout.
15:00: Traktor (19-14-4, 6th E) vs CSKA (20-14-2, 6th W)
About the game
Traktor, who has already defeated CSKA this season (4:0), is in the middle of a five-game home series and lost to Dynamo Moscow on Friday (2:4).
CSKA starts a six-game road trip and defeated Dinamo Minsk on Wednesday (5:3).
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin is on a 67:15 shutout streak.
CSKA’s forward Pavel Karnaukhov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
CSKA’s defenseman Yaroslav Dyblenko had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
CSKA’s forward Andrei Svetlakov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Traktor: Viktor Antipin, Andrei Chibisov.
CSKA: Darren Dietz.
15:00: Metallurg (25-9-4, 1st E) vs SKA (23-13-0, 4th W)
About the game
Metallurg starts a four-game home series following a loss to Barys on Thursday (2:5).
SKA starts a three-game road trip and won its previous ten games.
Metallurg’s forward Danila Yurov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Mikhail Vorobyov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Valentin Zykov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Metallurg: Grigory Dronov, Nikita Kvartalnov.
SKA: Arseny Gritsyuk, Nikita Kalamov, Brendan Leipsic, Andrei Pedan.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Vasily Glotov lines up for his 200th league appearance.
17:00: Torpedo (21-13-3, 5th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (25-9-3, 1st E)
About the game
Torpedo ends a three-game home series and defeated Lokomotiv on Wednesday (3:2 SO).
Dynamo Moscow enters the fourth game of a six-match road trip and defeated Traktor on Friday (4:2).
Torpedo has defeated Dynamo Moscow twice this season (7:1, 3:1), while the Blue-and-Whites achieved one victory (2:3).
Torpedo’s forward Vasily Atanasov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points over that span.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Jordan Weal is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 10 (2+8) points over that span.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Nikita Gusev is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points.
Injury list
Torpedo: Sergei Goncharuk, Kirill Kirsanov, Igor Larionov, Bobby Lynch, Yu Sato.
Dynamo Moscow: Yegor Bryzgalov, Yegor Martynov.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Cedric Paquette lines up for his 100th KHL game.
17:00: Severstal (16-15-5, 7th W) vs Barys (11-19-7, 12th E)
About the game
Severstal starts a three-game home series after two straight wins.
Barys, who has already defeated Severstal this season (4:1), starts a five-game road trip and defeated Metallurg on Thursday (5:2).
Severstal’s forward Kirill Pilipenko is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 12 (8+4) points over that span.
Barys’ forward Batyrlan Muratov had an assist in each of his previous four matches.
Barys’ forward Kirill Savitsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Barys’ forward Dmitry Shestakov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Injury list
Barys: Alex Grant.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Anthony Camara lines up for his 100th KHL game.
17:30: Ak Bars (22-13-2, 5th E) vs Neftekhimik (14-15-8, 10th E)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a three-game home series and won its previous three matches.
Neftekhimik, who has already defeated Ak Bars this year (2:1), enters the second game of a four-match road trip on a four-game losing streak.
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Maxim Bykov, Amir Miftakhov, Semyon Terekhov.
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov, Dmitry Sokolov.
17:30: HC Sochi (14-21-2, 11th W) vs Lokomotiv (23-10-3, 3rd W)
About the game
HC Sochi ends a two-game home series and lost to Lokomotiv on Friday (0:5).
Lokomotiv ends a four-game road trip after its win over HC Sochi.
The teams have already defeated each other this season (2:0, 0:5).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Sergei Murashov is on a 76:43 shutout series.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30th KHL shutout.
