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Neftekhimik and Sibir face off in a key game!
It’s a key day for the Eastern Conference playoffs qualification, with Neftekhimik and Sibir facing off as both teams are battling to reach the eighth spot in the conference standings, with Amur also taking part in the struggle. The Tigers yesterday climbed up to the last playoff place with a 1:0 SO win in Togliatti, so the stakes will be high today in Nizhnekamsk – the teams traded wins this season, so unpredictability will be key as the Wolves face Sibir in a critical game. Neftekhimik may have a little advantage as they get to the game with two straight victories, but the Novosibirsk side will also be looking for points.
In the Western Conference, Torpedo welcomes HC Sochi. The Black Sea franchise has already managed to defeat the Igor Larionov’s young guns, and theoretically they can still qualify for postseason so the team will do its best to rack up points as the end of the regular season gets closer and closer – both teams have only eight games to go before the start of the postseason.
19:00: Neftekhimik (25-24-11, 9th E) vs Sibir (24-27-10, 10th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik plays the lone home game of the series on a two-match winning streak.
Sibir enters the third game of a four-match road trip after a loss to Lokomotiv on Wednesday (2:3 OT).
The teams have already defeated each other this season (3:1, 1:3).
Sibir’s forward Andy Andreoff is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Nail Yakupov.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s forward Alexander Dergachyov and Sibir’s defenseman Ziyat Paigin both line up for their 400th KHL game.
19:00: Torpedo (33-22-5, 5th W) vs HC Sochi (20-33-7, 10th W)
About the game
Torpedo enters the fourth game of a five-match home series following a win over Traktor on Tuesday (3:1).
HC Sochi, who has already defeated Torpedo this season (5:2), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of games.
Injury list
Torpedo: Vasily Atanasov, Kirill Kirsanov.
HC Sochi: Kirill Rasskazov, Yegor Spiridonov.
