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Torpedo hosts Metallurg today!
The KHL matchday starts with Barys hosting its second game in two days. Yesterday, the Kazakhs faced Lada as they failed to score to suffer from a 0:3 losses to the KHL newcomer. today, Barys welcomes Salavat Yulaev. The Ufa side has achieved three victories already this season over Barys, and they will be seeking a fourth one.
The action then moves to the Western Conference as the East only had one game. Torpedo welcomes Metallurg in a possible high-octane game. With both sides playing an up-tempo, offensive hockey, goals are to be expected. Moreover, the Nizhny Novgorod side isn’t in its best period, and will be seeking a victory to boost its morale and maybe build a new winning streak. To add a layer of intrigue to the game, Torpedo’s most recent home win against Metallurg is dated Sep 21, 2018 – more than five years ago.
Then, Lokomotiv has another shot at a direct postseason qualification should the Railwaymen defeat Neftekhimik today and Vityaz loses to Spartak. Two days ago, Lokomotiv had a fantastic chance to clinch a playoff spot, but sensationally lost to Vityaz at home (1:2). Today, the opposition will be a tough one – the Wolves are battling out to reach the eighth spot in the East, and will be ready to fight as hard as possible to gain points in Yaroslavl.
In Belarus, Dinamo Minsk has a chance to make a big statement regarding its eighth place in the West as the Bisons host Kunlun Red Star tonight. Dinamo Minsk has an eleven-point gap over the Dragons in the standings, and a win today can mean a lot for the Western Conference positioning.
HC Sochi will try to return to victory today, with the Black Sea franchise having lost its previous fifteen matches. However, today’s opponent will be Ak Bars – Sochi doesn’t achieve a home victory over Kazan since December 2018, but has already defeated the Tatarstan franchise this season. Considering that Ak Bars isn’t in its top shape, maybe HC Sochi will manage to break the spell and finally return to write a ‘W’.
Another team who is seeking a return to victory is Spartak. After a fantastic first half, the Red-and-Whites have six straight losses as they are now the fourth seed in the West – even SKA has surpassed the Muscovites in the standings.
16:30: Barys (16-26-8, 12th E) vs Salavat Yulaev (31-16-3, 3rd E)
About the game
Barys enters the second game of a four-match home series following yesterday’s loss to Lada (0:3).
Salavat Yulaev, who has defeated Barys three times this season (3:2, 5:4, 5:3), enters the third game of a four-match road trip following a win over Kunlun Red Star on Sunday (5:3).
Injury list
Barys: Batyrlan Muratov, Edward Pasquale, Roman Starchenko.
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin, Joshua Leivo.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Ivan Drozdov may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
19:00: Torpedo (29-18-3, 5th W) vs Metallurg (34-12-6, 1st E)
About the game
Torpedo, who has already defeated Metallurg this season (3:2), starts a three-game home series following a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Saturday (1:6).
Metallurg ends a two-game road trip on a four-match winning streak.
Metallurg’s forward Denis Zernov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Metallurg’s forward Igor Geraskin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Torpedo: Vasily Atanasov, Nikolai Kovalenko.
19:00: Lokomotiv (33-13-4, 1st W) vs Neftekhimik (21-22-9, 9th E)
About the game
Lokomotiv enters the second game of a six-match home series following a loss to Vityaz on Sunday (1:2).
Neftekhimik ends a two-game road trip and lost to Ak Bars also on Sunday (0:1).
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Nikita Cherepanov.
Neftekhimik: Rafael Bikmullin, Emil Garipov, Ilya Khokhlov, Ruslan Petrishchev, Nail Yakupov, Artyom Zagidulin.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s defenseman Rushan Rafikov may line up for his 500th KHL game, while forward Yaroslav Likhachyov may reach 100.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30th shutout in the league.
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (22-22-5, 8th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (16-30-6, 10th W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk enters the fourth game of a five-match home series following a win over Traktor on Sunday (3:1).
Kunlun Red Star starts a three-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (3:4, 4:0, 3:4 SO).
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Vitaly Pinchuk, Brett Ritchie, Ivan Sekerin, Alexander Suvorov.
Kunlun Red Star: Zach Yuen.
19:30: HC Sochi (14-31-6, 11th W) vs Ak Bars (29-19-2, 7th E)
About the game
HC Sochi, who has already defeated Ak Bars this season (3:1), plays the lone home game of the series and lost its previous fifteen games.
Ak Bars ends a three-game road trip following a win over Neftekhimik on Sunday (1:0).
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov is on a 90:49 shutout streak.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Timur Khafizov, Kirill Rasskazov, Anton Sagadeyev, Maxim Tretyak.
Ak Bars: Dmitrij Jaskin.
19:30: Spartak (30-15-7, 4th W) vs Vityaz (16-28-6, 9th W)
About the game
Spartak enters the third game of a four-match home series on a six-game losing streak.
Vityaz enters the second game of a four-match road trip and defeated Lokomotiv on Sunday (2:1).
The season series between the two teams is 2-1 (4:1, 5:1, 4:5 OT).
Injury list
Spartak: Andrei Loktionov, Mikhail Maltsev, Ivan Morozov, Daniel Usmanov.
Vityaz: Scott Wilson.
