KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Spartak faces Avangard as Kovalchuk faces off against his former team!
Today, the temperature will be high in Moscow as Avangard will face Spartak in a tough away game. What makes this match intriguing is the face-off between Ilya Kovalchuk and the team with which he clinched his third Gagarin Cup. Kovalchuk’s return to the top-tier hockey scene has been mixed; on one hand, he has accumulated a respectable 4 (3+1) points in seven games, but on the other hand, he has only celebrated one victory so far.
Moreover, the clash between Spartak and Avangard sets the stage for a showdown between Nikolai Goldobin and the formidable duo of Reid Boucher and Vladimir Tkachyov (who can however miss the game). Seeing who will win this scorers’ duel will be intriguing for the fans and, most likely, will be the key factor in the final score. That being said, Spartak has three key centers out of the lineup, and it won’t be easy for the Alexei Zhamnov’s team to recover.
The action will however start earlier in the East, with Barys facing CSKA. The Kazakhs celebrated their latest home win over the Muscovites more than six years ago, with a 5:3 victory on Nov 5, 2017. CSKA will want to return to victory after suffering three straight losses.
On the Urals, Avtomobilist faces Severstal – who is sensationally above CSKA in the league’s standings – while Metallurg welcomes Admiral. The Motormen are pushing hard, but Severstal has six straight wins and is looking to further improve its record. Metallurg is still leading the pack in the East, even after its loss to Torpedo a couple of days ago. Today, they will be trying to rebound back as the Sailors are almost out from the struggle for the last playoff place in the Conference.
The action then moves to the Western Conference with three games. Other than the battle between Spartak and Avangard, Lokomotiv welcomes Amur as the Tigers will try to close the gap with Sibir and Neftekhimik, while SKA hosts Kunlun Red Star. For the Dragons, the time to qualify for the postseason is ticking as well.
16:30: Barys (19-26-6, 11th E) vs CSKA (26-21-4, 7th W)
About the game
Barys enters the third game of a four-match home series following a win over Salavat Yulaev on Tuesday (3:2 SO).
CSKA, who has already defeated Barys this season (4:0), enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a three-game losing streak.
Injury list
Barys: Alikhan Asetov, Alex Grant, Joseph Labate, Batyrlan Muratov, Eddie Pasquale, Roman Starchenko.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Pavel Karnaukhov lines up for his 400th KHL game.
CSKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov may reach the 500-point mark (currently at 497).
17:00: Avtomobilist (30-18-6, 4th E) vs Severstal (26-18-7, 6th W)
About the game
Avtomobilist ends a four-game home series on a four-match winning streak.
Severstal, who has already defeated Avtomobilist this season (4:2), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous six matches.
Severstal’s goalie Alexander Samoilov is on a 64:08 shutout streak.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Semyon Kizimov, Maxim Osipov, Kirill Vorobyov.
Severstal: Danil Aimurzin, Konstantin Shostak, Dmitry Shugayev.
17:00: Metallurg (34-13-6, 1st E) vs Admiral (15-25-11, 12th E)
About the game
Metallurg starts a two-game home series following a loss to Torpedo on Tuesday (4:7).
Admiral is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Avtomobilist on Wednesday (2:4).
Metallurg’s forward Denis Zernov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Admiral’s forward Nikita Anokhovsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Injury list
Admiral: Pavel Makhanovsky, Pavel Shen.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s defenseman Alexei Solovyov lines up for his 100th KHL game.
19:00: Lokomotiv (34-13-4, 1st W) vs Amur (21-22-8, 10th E)
About the game
Lokomotiv, who has already defeated Amur this season (4:0), enters the third game of a six-match home series against following a win over Neftekhimik on Tuesday (4:2).
Amur is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its previous four matches.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Nikita Cherepanov.
Amur: Cameron Lee, Pyotr Khokhryakov, Yakov Rylov.
19:30: SKA (34-16-2, 3rd W) vs Kunlun Red Star (17-31-6, 9th W)
About the game
SKA, who has already defeated Kunlun Red Star twice this season (6:2, 6:3), enters the second game of a six-match home series following a win over Amur on Wednesday (6:2).
Kunlun Red Star ends a three-game road trip after a win over Dinamo Minsk also on Wednesday (5:2).
SKA’s forward Arseny Gritsyuk is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 11 (5+6) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Vadim Alistrov, Stepan Falkovsky, Andrei Pedan.
Kunlun Red Star: Zach Yuen.
19:30: Spartak (31-15-7, 4th W) vs Avangard (35-13-3, 2nd E)
About the game
Spartak ends a four-game home series and defeated Vityaz on Wednesday (2:1).
Avangard starts a three-game road trip on a six-match winning streak.
Avangard’s forward Reid Boucher is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (4+3) points over that span.
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Avangard’s forward Nikolai Prokhorkin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Avangard’s forward Tomas Jurco is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Spartak: Andrei Loktionov, Ivan Morozov, Mikhail Maltsev, Daniel Usmanov.
Avangard: Vladimir Tkachyov.
