KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
The KHL returns for the New Year!
The KHL is back with eight games on tap for the first matchday of 2024!
The action will start, as usual, in the Eastern Conference, with Sibir hosting Admiral. Both teams are on a two-game losing streak and will be trying to return to victory. Another exciting matchup is Avangard welcoming Salavat Yulaev. The Hawks will celebrate the new year in style organizing the game against Salavat Yulaev on a Hogwarts style for a special game during the New Year holidays – the public will certainly love the magic atmosphere and a packed Omsk Arena is to be expected for the game.
The first 2024 matchday will give the fans a derby, with Traktor paying a visit to Yekaterinburg for the fifth Ural Derby of the season. It will also another edition of the Zavarukhin Derby – the two cousins, coaching the two teams, will face off once again, with Alexei Zavarukhin leading Traktor to victory (3:2 OT).
The action them moves to the Western Conference. Several teams will hit the ice at 17:00 Moscow Time. Lokomotiv, who is on a five-game winning streak and surpassed Dynamo Moscow for the second place in the West, hosts Barys who is also in good shape with three straight victories. Will the Kazakhs manage to break Loko’s recent success and return to playoffs consideration? In the meantime, another team absolutely needing a win is HC Sochi. The Black Sea franchise has lost its previous ten encounters and will need a pretty good performance to get their first 2024 ‘W’ as Metallurg comes to town. Red-hot SKA, who has won 17 out of its previous 19 matches, hosts Vityaz, who has climbed up to ninth place, while Severstal welcomes Amur as both teams will be vying for points. Severstal is the seventh seed in the West, with a five-point advantage over the eighth-placed team, Dinamo Minsk, while Amur is in ninth place in the East, just two points short of the playoffs line.
The first KHL matchday of 2024 promises to be an exciting one, with plenty of drama in all games and profound impact on the standings!
13:30: Sibir (20-18-8, 8th E) vs Admiral (14-21-9, 12th E)
About the game
Sibir enters the fourth game of a five-match home series following two straight home losses.
Admiral, who has already defeated Sibir this season (3:2 OT), starts a two-game road trip also on a two-match losing streak.
Admiral’s forward Daniil Gutik is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Admiral: Pavel Makhanovsky.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck may reach 300 career points in the KHL (currently at 299).
14:00: Avangard (29-12-3, 2nd E) vs Salavat Yulaev (27-14-3, 3rd E)
About the game
Avangard starts a two-game home series following a win over Lada on Dec 30 (2:1).
Salavat Yulaev enters the fourth game of a five-match road trip following a loss to Ak Bars also on Dec 30 (2:3).
The teams have already defeated each other this year (1:0, 1:3).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Chmelevsky is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Ivan Drozdov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Joshua Leivo is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Evgeny Timkin becomes the twelfth player to reach the 800-game mark in the league’s history.
14:30: Avtomobilist (25-17-5, 6th E) vs Traktor (25-16-5, 5th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist plays the lone home game of the series and lost to SKA on Dec 30 (0:4).
Traktor ends a seven-game road trip and lost to Barys also on Dec 30 (1:5).
The season series between the two teams is 1-3 (1:2, 2:1, 2:4, 2:3 OT).
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Denis Barantsev, Semyon Kizimov, Denis Osipov, Kirill Vorobyov.
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forwards Brooks Macek and Curtis Valk may reach 200 KHL points (199 and 198, respectively).
Traktor’s forward Anton Burdasov may net his 200th KHL tally (currently at 198).
17:00: Lokomotiv (30-11-3, 2nd W) vs Barys (15-23-7, 11th E)
About the game
Lokomotiv, who has already defeated Barys this season (6:0), ends a two-game home series and won its previous five matches.
Barys starts a four-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev is on a 68:47 shutout streak.
Barys’ defenseman David Sklenicka is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Barys’ forward Anthony Camara is also on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (6+1) points.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin.
Barys: Alex Grant.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30th KHL shutout.
Barys’ forward Dmitry Gurkov may line up for his 200th KHL game, while forward Pontus Aberg may reach 100.
17:00: HC Sochi (14-27-5, 11th W) vs Metallurg (29-12-5, 1st E)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the fourth game of a five-match home series on a ten-game losing streak.
Metallurg starts a three-game road trip following two straight home wins.
HC Sochi’s forward Kirill Rasskazov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points over that span.
HC Sochi’s forward Timur Khafizov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Metallurg: Danila Kvartalnov.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Pavel Akolzin may line up for his 400th KHL game, while forward Nikita Grebyonkin reaches 100.
17:00: Severstal (20-18-7, 7th W) vs Amur (19-18-7, 8th E)
About the game
Severstal starts a five-game home series following a loss to CSKA on Dec 30 (1:3).
Amur, who has already defeated Severstal this season (6:2), starts a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Severstal’s forward Alexander Skorenov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Severstal: Christian Jaros, Dmitry Moiseyev, Konstantin Shostak.
Amur: Alex Broadhurst, Pyotr Khokhryakov, Yakov Rylov.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s forward Nikita Korostelyov may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
17:00: SKA (30-14-1, 4th W) vs Vityaz (15-24-6, 9th W)
About the game
SKA, who has defeated Vityaz twice this season (3:2 SO, 3:2 OT), enters the second game of a four-match home series on a three-game winning streak.
Vityaz starts a two-game road trip fresh off a win over Spartak on Dec 30 (5:4 OT).
SKA’s goalie Pavel Moisevich is on a 200:25 shutout streak.
SKA’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov is on a 102:03 shutout streak.
SKA’s defenseman Alexander Nikishin is on a three-game scoring streak with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Vasily Glotov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points.
Injury list
SKA: Vadim Alistrov, Andrei Pedan.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Arseny Gritsyuk may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin may record his 100th career assist (currently at 99).
SKA’s forward Ivan Zinchenko and Vityaz’s forward Scott Wilson may reach 100 KHL games.
Vitayz’s goalie Dmitry Shikin may get to 250 KHL games and 10 career shutouts.
