Salavat Yulaev, Lokomotiv looking for another win!

Both Ufa and Yaroslavl are undefeated so far, and will play away games tonight. Six games are on tap on an action-packed KHL Saturday, with CSKA paying a visit to Severstal and Ak Bars hosting Metallurg, among the other games.

Salavat Yulaev won its first three game in the new season, and will travel to Yekaterinburg tonight on an Eastern Conference classic. The two sides have already met this season, with Ufa grabbing a 5:3 victory. Several top players are in good shape for Salavat Yulaev, who will try to stretch its winning streak with another key win.

Lokomotiv is on a similar position, although they collected four straight Ws. The Railwaymen will be called to a difficult challenge, however, since Neftekhimik defeated Metallurg twice in a row. This will be a very important game for their head coach Igor Nikitin. The bench boss will celebrate his 600^th game as a head coach in the KHL, and may celebrate his 400^th win. For the Wolves, young Zhoe Kristof Muissu, born in 2006, opened his goal-scoring account tying this up in the middle frame against Metallurg.

Not less interesting will be the clash between Ak Bars and Metallurg. Both sides had a slow start, and both sides have more losses than wins. They will want to see things changing, and one team will finally emerge victorious in this other Eastern Conference classic.

The action then moves to the West for another three games. HC Sochi hosts Traktor, with the Black-and-Whites coming from a shutout win in SKA in their latest game, with stars Zach Fucale and Maxim Shabanov in excellent shape – it won’t be easy for the Black Sea franchise to stop Traktor.

In Cherepovets, CSKA will try to return to victory when the team faces Severstal. The Ilya Vorobyov’s men had another productive night against Torpedo last time, but they suffered from an OT loss, with the Steelers equally entering the game following a loss. CSKA’s hot line of Abramov, Sorkin, and Poltapov scored again, and they will enter the game on a productive four-game scoring streak – all the eyes from the Severstal defensemen will be on them.

Torpedo, on its hand, plays another game in Moscow, this time facing Spartak. Both sides are on a two-game winning streak, and will be motivated to stretch it with another victory. Twelve teams hit the ice today on a high-octane KHL matchday.

14:30: Avtomobilist (2-2-0) vs Salavat Yulaev (3-0-0)

About the game

Avtomobilist starts a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.

Salavat Yulaev, who has already defeated Avtomobilist this season (5:3), plays the lone road game of the series and won its previous three matches.

Salavat Yulaev’s forward Josh Leivo is on a nine-game scoring streak, with 13 (6+7) points over that span.

Salavat Yulaev’s forward Nathan Todd is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.

Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Chmelevsky is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.

Injury list

Avtomobilist: Evgeny Kashnikov, Semyon Kizimov.

Salavat Yulaev: Danil Alalykin, Grigory Panin.

17:00: Neftekhimik (3-1-0) vs Lokomotiv (4-0-0)

About the game

Neftekhimik ends a two-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.

Lokomotiv ends a two-game road trip and accumulated four straight wins.

Lokomotiv’s defenseman Martin Gernat is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points over that span.

Injury list

Neftekhimik: Kirill Urakov.

Lokomotiv: Alexei Bereglazov.

Milestone alert

Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev may record his 20^th KHL shutout.

Lokomotiv’s head coach Igor Nikitin is at his 600^th KHL game and may celebrate his 400^th career win.

17:00: Ak Bars (1-2-0) vs Metallurg (1-3-0)

About the game

Ak Bars starts a three-game home series following a loss to Avangard on Monday (1:4).

Metallurg is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost twice in a row to Neftekhimik (0:2 at home, 2:3 in Nizhnekamsk).

Ak Bars’ forward Nic Petan is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.

Ak Bars’ forward Alexander Barabanov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.

Ak Bars’ forward Dmitrij Jaskin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.

Milestone alert

Ak Bars’ forward Yegor Korshkov may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).

Ak Bars’ forward Semyon Koshelev and Metallurg’s defenseman Robin Press may record their 100^th assist in the league (both currently at 99).

17:00: HC Sochi (1-1-0) vs Traktor (2-1-1)

About the game

HC Sochi starts a three-game home series following a loss to Vityaz on Monday (4:5).

Traktor ends a five-game road trip after a win over SKA on Thursday (3:0).

Traktor’s goalie Zach Fucale is on a 117:34 shutout streak.

Traktor’s forward Maxim Shabanov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.

Injury list

Traktor: Alexei Lipanov, Yegor Popov, Dylan Sikura.

Milestone alert

Traktor’s defenseman Artyom Blazhiyevsky and forward Alexander Sharov may reach 100 league points (both currently at 99).

Traktor’s forward Alexander Kadeikin may score his 100^th KHL goal (currently at 99).

Traktor’s forward Andrei Svetlakov may reach 200 career points (currently at 198).

17:00: Severstal (2-2-0) vs CSKA (2-1-1)

About the game

Severstal enters the second game of a four-match home series after a loss to Sibir on Thursday (2:5).

CSKA plays the lone road game of the series following a loss to Torpedo also on Thursday (3:4 OT).

Severstal’s forward Kirill Pilipenko is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.

CSKA’s forward Vitaly Abramov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 11 (5+6) points over that span.

His linemate Prokhor Poltapov is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (2+6) points.

Completing the unit is Maxim Sorkin, who also had 9 (5+4) points in his four-game streak.

CSKA’s defenseman Nikita Nesterov had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling five helpers.

Injury list

CSKA: Christian Jaros, Colby Williams.

17:00: Spartak (3-0-1) vs Torpedo (2-1-1)

About the game

Spartak ends a five-game home series on a two-match winning streak.

Torpedo enters the second game of a four-match road trip also on a two-game winning streak.

Spartak’s defenseman Andrei Mironov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.

Injury list

Spartak: Yegor Zaitsev.

Torpedo: Anton Berlyov, Mikhail Orlov.

Milestone alert

Spartak’s defenseman Dmitry Vishnevsky and forward Ansel Galimov may reach 200 KHL points. Vishnevsky is currently at 199 points, while Galimov stands at 198.

Torpedo’s forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky may reach 500 league points (currently at 497).

Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30^th KHL shutout.