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Big KHL matchday!
The December pause for the upcoming 2023 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game and the national team games at the Channel One Cup in St. Petersburg is approaching and the schedule is tight for today, with ten games on tap. It all starts in Novosibirsk, where Sibir hosts Dinamo Minsk. The Novosibirsk side is currently on a losing streak, and will be seeking a return to victory against a determined Dinamo Minsk team who is also hunting for points.
Then, Avangard hits the ice again following yesterday’s win over Amur. For its back-to-back game, today’s opponent is Barys. The Kazakhs also played well lately, and are currently riding a two-game winning streak. Emotions will be high in Chelyabinsk as well, with Traktor hosting Neftekhimik. The Wolves have already defeated Traktor this season, but they have lost their previous five matches and have slept down in the standings to tenth place. Another team not in its best shape is Avtomobilist. The Motormen lost their previous three matches, and they face SKA today. The St. Petersburg franchise is on an eleven-game winning streak, and they are looking to stretch it even further.
Quite different is the situation for SKA’s main rival – CSKA. The Muscovites had their ups and downs lately, and they travel to Magnitogorsk today. Magnitka isn’t either at its top, with two straight losses, but the boards have decided to shake things up a bit shuffling the roster and it will be interesting to see how the moves pan out for the perennial Eastern Conference contender. In the last game of the day for the East, Lada welcomes Torpedo.
The action then moves to the Western Conference, with Severstal facing Ak Bars and Vityaz welcoming Salavat Yulaev. Both the guests have won their most recent four games and they look hard to stop at the moment.
Then, while Kunlun Red Star hosts HC Sochi, the third Moscow Derby between Spartak and Dynamo Moscow will play out to see whose side will prevail. In case of a win, Spartak can surpass the Blue-and-Whites to return on the top of the Western Conference.
15:30: Sibir (17-15-7, 8th E) vs Dinamo Minsk (16-17-4, 8th W)
About the game
Sibir enters the sixth game of a seven-match home series on a three-game losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk ends a five-game road trip following a win over Admiral on Sunday (3:1).
Sibir’s forward Andy Andreoff is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Roman Gorbunov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Sibir: Trevor Murphy.
Dinamo Minsk: Vladislav Kodola, Alexander Suvorov.
16:30: Avangard (25-9-3, 2nd E) vs Barys (12-19-7, 11th E)
About the game
Avangard, who has already defeated Barys this season (4:1), enters the fourth game of a seven-match home series and won its previous tree matches.
Barys enters the second game of a five-match road trip on a two-game winning streak.
Avangard’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov is on a fifteen-game scoring streak, with 29 (8+21) points over that span.
Avangard’s forward Reid Boucher is on a six-game scoring streak, with 12 (6+6) points.
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov is also on a six-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points.
Barys’ forward Batyrlan Muratov had an assist in each of his previous five games.
Barys’ forward Dmitry Shestakov is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
Barys: Alex Grant.
17:00: Traktor (20-14-4, 6th E) vs Neftekhimik (14-16-8, 10th E)
About the game
Traktor enters the fourth game of a five-match home series following a win over CSKA on Sunday (3:1).
Neftekhimik, who has already defeated Traktor this season (2:1), enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a five-game losing streak.
Injury list
Traktor: Viktor Antipin, Andrei Chibisov.
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov, Dmitry Sokolov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s defenseman Ilya Karpukhin lines up for his 300th KHL game, while Neftekhimik’s blueliner Ilya Khokhlov reaches 400.
17:00: Avtomobilist (19-16-4, 7th E) vs SKA (24-13-0, 4th W)
About the game
Avtomobilist starts a four-game home series on a three-match losing streak.
SKA is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous eleven games.
Avtomobilist’s most recent home win over SKA is dated Sep 06, 2019 (5:2).
SKA’s forward Sergei Tolchinsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Semyon Kizimov.
SKA: Arseny Gritsyuk, Nikita Kamalov, Brendan Leipsic, Andrei Pedan.
17:00: Metallurg (25-9-5, 1st E) vs CSKA (20-15-2, 6th W)
About the game
Metallurg, who has already defeated CSKA this season (4:2), enters the second game of a four-match home series and lost its previous couple of games.
CSKA enters the second game of a six-match road trip and lost to Traktor on Sunday (1:3).
Metallurg’s forward Danila Yurov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points over that span.
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin is on a 67:15 shutout streak.
Injury list
Metallurg: Grigory Dronov, Danila Kvartalnov.
CSKA: Darren Dietz.
18:00: Lada (20-11-8, 4th E) vs Torpedo (22-13-3, 5th W)
About the game
Lada starts an eight-game home series fresh off a win over Sibir on Saturday (2:3 SO).
Torpedo starts a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Lada’s most recent home win over Torpedo is dated Oct 05, 2009 (4:0).
Torpedo’s forward Vasily Atanasov is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 8 (5+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Lada: Pavel Koltygin, Scott Kosmachuk, Danila Moiseyev, Nikita Popugayev.
Torpedo: Sergei Goncharuk, Kirill Kirsanov, Igor Larionov, Bobby Lynch, Yu Sato.
19:30: Severstal (16-15-6, 7th W) vs Ak Bars (23-13-2, 3rd E)
About the game
Severstal, who has already defeated Ak Bars this season (4:1), is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to Barys on Saturday (2:3 OT).
Ak Bars starts a five-game road trip on a four-match winning streak.
Severstal’s forward Kirill Pilipenko is on a nine-game scoring streak, with 13 (9+4) points over that span.
Severstal’s forward Adam Liska is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov is on a 63:18 shutout streak.
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Maxim Bykov, Amir Miftakhov, Semyon Terekhov, Nikita Yevseyev.
19:30: Vityaz (13-20-5, 11th W) vs Salavat Yulaev (23-13-1, 4th E)
About the game
Vityaz starts a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Salavat Yulaev, who has already defeated Vityaz this season (8:1), starts a two-game road trip on a four-match winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Chmelevsky is on a three-game scoring streak with 6 (2+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Grigory Panin, Artyom Pimenov, Alexei Pustozyorov.
Milestone alert
Vityaz’s goalie Dmitry Shikin may record his 10th KHL shutout.
19:30: Spartak (24-11-4, 2nd W) vs Dynamo Moscow (25-10-3, 1st W)
About the game
Spartak starts a two-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Dynamo Moscow enters the fifth game of a six-match road trip and lost to Torpedo on Sunday (4:1).
The teams have already defeated each other this season (4:3 OT, 3:6).
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Nikita Gusev is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (1+7) points over that span.
Injury list
Spartak: Ivan Morozov, Shane Prince.
Dynamo Moscow: Yegor Bryzgalov, Yegor Martynov.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Yegor Petukhov may reach 300 league appearances, while goalie Ilya Konovalov may reach 200.
19:30: Kunlun Red Star (14-21-5, 10th W) vs HC Sochi (14-21-3, 9th W)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star, who has already defeated HC Sochi this season (3:0), enters the third game of a four-match home series after two straight wins.
HC Sochi starts a five-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Corey Kane, Zach Yuen.
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s defenseman Jesse Graham lines up for his 100th KHL game.
