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Eight games on tap on a busy KHL Sunday!
The KHL matchday will start early with two games in the Far East. Amur hosts Metallurg, who has just clinched a playoff spot first in the Eastern Conference. In the meantime, Admiral welcomes Salavat Yulaev. The Ufa team is also looking to guarantee itself a postseason qualification, and a win today would be a good boost.
The second team to get a ticket to the playoffs in the East may be Avangard – the Hawks host Traktor today as both sides are in good shape, especially the hosts. However, Traktor’s attack has been excellent of late, with top scorer Anton Burdasov finding the back of the net five times in his last three games. To automatically reach the postseason, Avangard needs Metallurg to win its clash against Amur, or Lada winning over Neftekhimik later today in case of an Hawks loss. Another intriguing clash is Barys welcoming Ak Bars. Both sides can’t be really satisfied with their season, however the Kazakhs are sitting on a very disappointing eleventh place in the East, and at this point, reaching the playoffs would almost be a miracle as they are lagging thirteen points behind eighth-placed Neftekhimik. The Wolves will face Lada today for an interesting clash as Neftekhimik needs to defend its place in the standings, while the KHL newcomer will certainly try to return into top four.
The action then moves to the West with another three games. HC Sochi will try to gain some form and to please the home crowd as the Black Sea franchise hosts Kunlun Red Star, then Severstal hosts CSKA following a nice, 4:0 win over Sibir on Friday. The Muscovites, on their hand, will want to rebound back after an outright defeat against SKA, again on Friday. Then, the playoff struggle will be at a high in both conference with Dinamo Minsk hosting Sibir. Both teams need points – Sibir a bit more, though. It will be a real battle in Belarus, and a sellout crowd is to be expected in the capital.
10:00: Amur (21-23-11, 10th E) vs Metallurg (37-14-6, 1st E)
About the game
Amur enters the third game of a four-match home series following eight straight defeats.
Metallurg, who has already defeated Amur this season (4:3 OT), enters the third game of a four-match road trip and has defeated Admiral on Friday (4:2).
Metallurg’s forward Danila Yurov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Amur: Pyotr Khokhryakov, Cameron Lee, Yakov Rylov.
Metallurg: Yegor Korobkin.
10:00: Admiral (16-28-11, 12th E) vs Salavat Yulaev (35-16-4, 3rd E)
About the game
Admiral, who has already defeated Salavat Yulaev this season (2:1 SO), enters the third game of a four-match home series after losing to Magnitka on Friday (2:4).
Salavat Yulaev enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a four-game winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Alexander Samonov is on a 104:02 shutout streak.
Injury list
Admiral: Pavel Shen.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Dinar Khafizullin may score his 200th KHL point (currently at 199).
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Mikhail Naumenkov may reach 100 league assists (currently at 99).
14:00: Avangard (38-14-3, 2nd E) vs Traktor (31-19-6, 5th E)
About the game
Avangard ends a two-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Traktor ends a two-game road trip and won its previous three matches.
The teams have already defeated each other this season (1:4, 2:1 OT).
Avangard’s forward Reid Boucher is on a nine-game scoring streak, with 13 (7+6) points over that span.
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov had at least an assist in each of his previous seven games, totaling eight helpers.
Traktor’s forward Anton Burdasov had at least a goal in each of his previous three games, totaling five tallies.
Injury list
Avangard: Vladimir Tkachyov.
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Mark Verba and Traktor’s defenseman Ilya Nikolayev may line up for their 100th KHL game.
Traktor’s forward Nikita Soshnikov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
14:00: Barys (19-30-6, 11th E) vs Ak Bars (32-21-2, 7th E)
About the game
Barys starts a six-game home series on a four-match losing streak.
Ak Bars is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Avangard on Friday (2:4).
Ak Bars has defeated Barys three times this season (5:3, 3:0, 1:0 SO).
Injury list
Barys: Alex Grant, Joseph Labate, Roman Starchenko.
Ak Bars: Dmitrij Jaskin.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Artyom Lukoyanov may reach 200 league points (currently at 199).
17:00: Neftekhimik (23-23-11, 8th E) vs Lada (28-17-12, 6th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik enters the fourth game of a five-match home series and lost its previous couple of games.
Lada starts a three-game road trip fresh off a win over Barys on Friday (2:0).
The season series between the two teams is 2-1 (4:0, 0:3, 4:3 OT).
Lada’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky is on a 78:57 shutout streak.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Rafael Bikmullin, Ilya Khokhlov, Ruslan Petrishchev, Nail Yakupov, Artyom Zagidulin.
Lada: Pavel Koltygin, Alexei Ozhgikhin, Nikolai Vladimirov.
Milestone alert
Lada’s forward Pavel Kugryshev may line up for his 750th league appearance, while forward Donat Stalnov may reach 100.
17:00: HC Sochi (18-32-6, 9th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (17-33-6, 11th W)
About the game
HC Sochi starts a three-game home series following three straight wins.
Kunlun Red Star, who has defeated HC Sochi twice this season (3:0, 5:4 OT), starts a two-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
HC Sochi’s forward Artur Tyanulin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
HC Sochi’s forward Michal Kristof is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Timur Khafizov, Kirill Rasskazov.
Kunlun Red Star: Zach Yuen.
17:00: Severstal (24-20-7, 6th W) vs CSKA (28-22-5, 7th W)
About the game
Severstal enters the third game of a four-match home series following a win over Sibir on Friday (4:0).
CSKA ends a two-game road trip and lost to SKA also on Friday (1:5).
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (2:1, 2:3, 1:3).
Severstal’s goalie Alexander Samoilov is on a 62:23 shutout streak.
Severstal’s forward Adam Liska had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Severstal: Timofei Davydov, Konstantin Shostak, Dmitry Shugayev.
CSKA: Yaroslav Dyblenko, Marsel Ibragimov.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Andrei Svetlakov lines up for his 500th KHL game.
CSKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov is still seeking his 500th point in the league (currently at 499).
17:10: Dinamo Minsk (25-25-5, 8th W) vs Sibir (22-25-9, 9th E)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk plays the lone home game of the series after a win in Yaroslavl against Lokomotiv on Friday (5:3).
Sibir ends a four-game road trip following a loss to Severstal also on Friday (0:4).
Dinamo Minsk has already defeated Sibir this season (3:2).
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Vitaly Pinchuk, Brett Ritchie, Ivan Sekerin, Andrei Stas, Alexander Suvorov.
