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Sibir, Neftekhimik take the ice both seeking a victory!
The matchday starts in Novosibirsk as Sibir is trying to return into top eight despite two recent losses. Today, the opposition is Ak Bars – the Novosibirsk side has defeated them twice this season, but Kazan is always a tough opponent even if this year they aren’t doing as they planned, as Ak Bars currently sits only in seventh place in the East. It will be an exciting match, with Sibir trying to return to victory, and Ak Bars trying to get points to climb up in the standings. Moreover, the Novosibirsk side will be further motivated by Amur’s yesterday victory over Metallurg – the Tigers surpassed them at ninth place.
The second game of the matchday will be equally important – Neftekhimik hosts Lada. The Wolves will be looking to return to victory after three straight losses, while Lada is riding a hot streak by its goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky, who had two straight shutouts and was awarded Best goalie last week. To add a further layer of intrigue, both Neftekhimik and Lada have more than enough players sitting on the injury list – especially the former – and this will most likely make things even more uncertain. Both games will have a profound impact on the Eastern Conference standings, and no team will be willing to surrender as the regular season’s last month approaches.
15:30: Sibir (22-26-9, 10th E) vs Ak Bars (33-21-2, 7th E)
About the game
Sibir starts a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Ak Bars enters the fourth game of a five-match road trip following a win over Barys on Sunday (3:1).
Sibir has defeated Ak Bars twice this season (3:2 OT, 4:2).
Ak Bars’ forward Semyon Koshelev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that span.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Dmitrij Jaskin.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Artyom Lukoyanov may reach 200 career points (currently at 199).
19:00 Neftekhimik (23-24-11, 8th E) vs Lada (29-17-12, 5th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik ends a five-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Lada is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
The season series between the two teams is 2-2 (4:0, 0:3, 4:3 ОТ, 0:2).
Lada’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky is on a 138:57 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 Donat Stalnov may line up for his 100th league appearance.
