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A big KHL Sunday with seven matches!
The action will kick off in Kazakhstan, where Barys will seek a return to victory after six straight losses. Today’s opponent will be Amur. The Tigers suffered a SO loss to Sibir on Friday, and that didn’t help their positioning in sight of the playoffs, yet they remain on consideration for the eighth spot in the East as only three points separate them from Neftekhimik. Barys, on its hand, sits on the bottom of the Conference’s standings.
The second game in the East promises to be no less exciting, with SKA visiting Ufa. The St. Petersburg side, who has recently taken off Lokomotiv on the top of the Western Conference’s standings, will face Salavat Yulaev for the first time this season. Both teams have already clinched their spot in the upcoming Gagarin Cup playoffs, but the competition should be interesting anyways.
The action then moves to the West, with Vityaz hosting Kunlun Red Star, then with a showdown between Severstal and Torpedo. The fans should be pleased with some good, offensive hockey as both the Steelers and the Igor Larionov’s young guns play an aggressive style with plenty of action in the offensive zone. Moreover, the challenge between Andrei Kozyrev and Igor Larionov – the Severstal’s coach was one of Larionov’s assistants last year – will add a layer of intrigue to the match. For now, Torpedo has achieved two wins over Severstal, with the Steelers claiming one game.
Two games are scheduled in the Russian capital, with CSKA welcoming Avtomobilist and Dynamo Moscow taking on Lokomotiv. Both showdowns will be exciting and uncertain, with the Railwaymen seeking a return on the top of the Western standings.
A Minsk showdown between injury-plagued Dinamo and Admiral closes an intense KHL Sunday.
14:00: Barys (19-32-6, 12th E) vs Amur (22-24-12, 9th E)
About the game
Barys enters the third game of a six-match home series on a six-game losing streak.
Amur enters the second game of a four-match losing streak following a loss to Sibir on Friday (3:4 SO).
Amur’s forward Konstantin Bocharov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Barys: Alex Grant, Joseph Labate, Batyrlan Muratov.
Amur: Pyotr Khokhryakov, Cameron Lee, Yakov Rylov.
14:00: Vityaz (18-33-7, 11th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (20-34-6, 10th W)
About the game
Vityaz enters the second game of a seven-match home series on a two-game losing streak.
Kunlun Red Star plays the road game of the series following a loss to Admiral on Friday (3:5).
The two teams have already defeated each other this season (2:1, 0:2).
Kunlun Red Star’s goalie Matt Jurusik is on a 64:24 shutout streak.
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Spencer Foo is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Kunlun Red Star’s defenseman Jake Chelios is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury ist
Vityaz: Ilya Arkalov, Ivan Vorobyov, Ivan Yezhov.
Milestone alert
Vityaz’s goalie Dmitry Shikin may record his 10th league shutout.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (37-16-5, 3rd E) vs SKA (39-16-3, 1st W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev enters the second game of a five-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
SKA enters the second game of a four-match road trip after four consecutive victories.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Danil Bashkirov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sergei Shmelyov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points.
Injury list
SKA: Vadim Alistrov, Andrei Pedan.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Dinar Khafizullin may reach 200 league points (currently at 199).
17:00: Torpedo (32-21-5, 5th W) vs Severstal (29-21-7, 7th W)
About the game
Torpedo enters the second game of a five-match home series following four straight losses.
Severstal starts a three-game road trip fresh off a home win over Dinamo Minsk on Friday (4:2).
The season series between the two teams is 2-1 (4:3, 0:4, 3:1).
Severstal’s forward Kirill Pilipenko is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Torpedo: Vasily Atanasov.
Severstal: Konstantin Shostak, Dmitry Shugayev.
17:00: CSKA (30-23-5, 6th W) vs Avtomobilist (32-21-7, 7th E)
About the game
CSKA ends a three-game home series following a loss to SKA on Friday (1:2).
Avtomobilist, who has already defeated CSKA this season (3:2), enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a two-game losing streak.
CSKA’s forward Mikhail Grigorenko is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
CSKA’s forward Maxim Mamin is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
CSKA: Marsel Ibragimov.
Avtomobilist: Semyon Kizimov, Kirill Vorobyov.
17:10: Dinamo Minsk (26-27-5, 8th W) vs Admiral (18-29-11, 11th E)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk, who has already defeated Admiral this season (3:1), starts a three-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Admiral enters the second game of a four-match road trip after defeating Kunlun Red Star on Friday (5:3).
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Dmitry Deryabin, Roman Gorbunov, Vitaly Pinchuk, Brett Ritchie, Ivan Sekerin, Nikita Smirnov, Alexander Suvorov.
Admiral: Evgeny Lisovets, Pavel Shen.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s forward Cliff Pu may reach 100 league appearances.
18:00: Dynamo Moscow (37-16-5, 3rd W) vs Lokomotiv (38-16-4, 2nd W)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow starts a two-game home series fresh off a win over Torpedo on Friday (2:1 OT).
Lokomotiv ends a four-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (2:5, 3:0, 0:2).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk is on a 78:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Maxim Dzhioshvili, Artyom Volchenkov.
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may reach 30 KHL shutouts.
