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Big KHL Tuesday with eight games!
The KHL matchday starts early in the Far East, with Amur facing Traktor and Admiral hosting Barys. The Tigers will need points to keep their hopes alive as they are just two points behind eighth-seeded Neftekhimik in the Eastern Conference standings – who will face Ak Bars today – but Traktor will also want to secure a win to clinch a playoff spot. It can happen in case of a regulation win in Khabarovsk, but also in case of an OT/SO win and a regulation loss by Neftekhimik. It’s worth noting, however, that Amur is on a hot streak, having won its previous three games with two straight shutout by Igor Bobkov, while Traktor is on a three-loss streak.
Admiral and Barys have both lost any chance to get to the Gagarin Cup playoff, yet the Sailors will definitely want to please the home crowd, which will be pleased with special jerseys dedicated to the Chinese New Year for their last home series of the season. Both Far East games will have a rematch tomorrow.
The action in the East continues with Avtomobilist hosting Dynamo Moscow. The Motormen are also looking to book a ticket for the playoffs, and a home win today may not be enough. They also need a regulation loss by Amur or Neftekhimik. Less than a week ago, the Muscovites have already defeated Avtomobilist, who will also looking for revenge.
The East will feature another two interesting showdowns. First, Salavat Yulaev hosts Avangard with the two sides clashing for the fourth time this season. The Ufa team will have a good chance of catching up with the Hawks and perhaps try and stole them second place in the East. Then, Ak Bars welcomes Neftekhimik. The Wolves are fighting hard to keep their eighth place, but Kazan can also reach the playoffs today in case of a win or some intricacy tied with Amur’s result in today’s game against Traktor.
The action then moves to the Western Conference. Another team looking to qualify for the postseason is Dinamo Minsk. The Belarusians only need to at least get the game to extra time today, or Kunlun Red Star not defeating CSKA with any score. It will be the sixth and last encounter between Vityaz and Dinamo Minsk this season.
For a team who could book a playoff spot there’s one who could lose any hope – Kunlun Red Star. The Dragons absolutely need a win tonight against CSKA or at least Vityaz forcing an OT, and as an encouragement, they won their last four home games against the current Gagarin Cup Champions.
In the last game of such an action-packed matchday, SKA welcomes Lada in its second game at the brand-new SKA Arena. After gathering a crowd of more than 21,000 in the inaugural game against HC Sochi, the St. Petersburg franchise hosts Lada today – the Togliatti squad is yet to achieve a win over SKA at the KHL level, and lost its previous four matches.
12:00: Amur (25-24-12, 9th E) vs Traktor (33-22-6, 6th E)
About the game
Amur, who has already defeated Traktor this season (3:2), starts a four-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Traktor enters the third game of a six-match road trip following three straight losses.
Amur’s goalie Igor Bobkov is on a 131:56 shutout streak.
Injury list
Amur: Evgeny Grachyov, Pyotr Khokhryakov, Cameron Lee, Yakov Rylov.
Traktor: Andrei Chibisov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Alexander Khokhlachyov may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 298), while Traktor’s forward Nikita Soshnikov may record his 100th KHL assist (currently at 99).
12:30: Admiral (19-31-11, 11th E) vs Barys (19-34-8, 12th E)
About the game
Admiral starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Lokomotiv on Thursday (2:1).
Barys starts a four-game road trip on a ten-match losing streak.
The teams have already defeated each other this season (3:4, 3:2 SO).
Injury list
Admiral: Evgeny Lisovets, Pavel Shen.
Barys: Alex Grant, Batyrlan Muratov.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s defenseman Libor Sulak lines up for his 200th KHL game.
Barys’ forward Roman Starchenko may reach 200 league assists (currently at 198).
17:00: Avtomobilist (33-22-7, 5th E) vs Dynamo Moscow (39-16-6, 3rd W)
About the game
Avtomobilist starts a three-game home series after a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Tuesday (3:5).
Dynamo Moscow ends a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Nikita Gusev had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling six helpers.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Semyon Kizimov.
Dynamo Moscow: Cedric Paquette, Artyom Volchenkov.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Brennan Menell may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (39-17-5, 3rd E) vs Avangard (41-16-4, 2nd E)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev ends a five-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.
Avangard starts a two-game road trip fresh off a win over Sibir on Sunday (7:2).
The season series between the two sides is 2-1 (0:1, 3:1, 4:2).
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Ilya Ezhov is on a 78:20 shutout streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Avangard’s forward Reid Boucher is on a three-game scoring streak, with 7 (5+2) points.
Avangard’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 9 (2+7) points.
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov had at least an assist in each of his previous four games, totaling nine helpers.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Nikolai Kulemin, Alexei Vasilevsky.
19:30: Ak Bars (36-23-2, 4th E) vs Neftekhimik (26-24-12, 8th E)
About the game
Ak Bars starts a two-game home series following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Saturday (1:2).
Neftekhimik enters the second game of a five-match road trip after defeating Torpedo on Sunday (4:3 OT).
The season series between the two teams is 2-1 (1:2, 4:0, 1:0).
Neftekhimik’s forward Jean-Sebastien Dea is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Dmitrij Jaskin.
Neftekhimik: Nail Yakupov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky may reach 500 KHL points (currently at 497).
19:30: Vityaz (19-36-7, 11th E) vs Dinamo Minsk (28-29-5, 8th W)
About the game
Vityaz enters the sixth game of a seven-match home series after a loss to CSKA on Sunday (1:5).
Dinamo Minsk enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a defeat to Severstal also on Sunday (2:3).
The season series between the two teams is 2-3 (0:7, 2:3, 2:1, 1:4, 6:4).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Alexander Volkov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Vityaz: Ilya Arkalov, Vladimir Galuzin, Ivan Vorobyov, Ivan Yezhov.
Dinamo Minsk: Sam Anas, Yegor Borikov, Dmitry Deryabin, Ivan Sekerin, Nikita Smirnov, Alexander Suvorov.
19:30: Kunlun Red Star (21-34-6, 9th W) vs CSKA (31-25-6, 6th W)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Vityaz on Feb 4 (4:2).
CSKA enters the fourth game of a five-match road trip after defeating Vityaz on Sunday (5:1).
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (3:2 ОТ, 0:7, 3:4).
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Kyle Wood.
CSKA: Marsel Ibragimov.
19:30: SKA (42-17-3, 1st W) vs Lada (29-19-4, 7th W)
About the game
SKA, who has already defeated Lada this season (3:0), enters the second game of a four-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Lada starts a six-game road trip on a four-match losing streak.
SKA’s defenseman Alexander Nikishin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 16 (5+11) points.
Lada’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky is on a 65:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
SKA: Vladimir Alistrov, Johan Mattsson.
Lada: Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov, Alexei Ozhgikhin, Nikolai Vladimirov.
