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Top-of-the-table clash in the Western Conference!
Severstal travels to Yaroslavl for the West supremacy in the standings, while SKA welcomes Avangard eyeing a fourth straight win. In the East, Traktor hosts Spartak, while Metallurg faces Salavat Yulaev after finally getting its second win in the season. Four games are on tap on an exciting KHL Monday.
Spartak travels to Chelyabinsk trying to return to victory after suffering a loss to Sibir following three straight wins, against Torpedo (4:2), Dynamo Moscow (4:2), and Dinamo Minsk (5:2). The Muscovites are on the top four in the West, and they will be on the lookout for another win to try and surpass CSKA, who yesterday lost to Admiral. Traktor is also on the top four in its conference, and won three games in a row, against Neftekhimik (3:2), Sochi (4:1), and SKA (3:0), respectively. Other than Zach Fucale, forward Maxim Shabanov has shown excellent skills and scored points in all games this season. Both teams have a 4-1-1 record, and it will be interesting to see what side will prevail, with the Chelyabinsk side missing a couple of important players sitting on injury list.
In the meantime, on the Southern Urals, Metallurg will host Salavat Yulaev after finally winning in its latest game. On Saturday, Magnitka shut down Neftekhimik achieving a 1:0, SO win, with goalie Ilya Nabokov stopping 32 shots and forward Nikita Mikhailis netting the winning attempt. It was only Metallurg’s second win this season, thus the Andrei Razin’s men will try to push the gas tonight in front of their home crowd to gather another victory. However, the opposition, Salavat Yulaev, will battle hard to win its third straight game. The Ufa side has defeated Avangard (4:2) and Lokomotiv (3:2 OT), respectively, and will be on the lookout for another win. In the game against the Railwaymen, Josh Leivo brought his scoring streak to an impressive twelve games.
The action then moves to the Western Conference for an additional pair of games. Lokomotiv hosts Severstal with both sides losing their most recent game, against Salavat Yulaev and Dinamo Minsk, respectively. The game will be interesting to follow also for its implications on the Conference’s standing, with the two sides being currently the first and second seed in the West. Moreover, Lokomotiv boasts the best defense in the league so far, with only nine goals allowed. The Steelers, on their hand, have the second-most goals scored, trailing only CSKA.
Then, another exciting matchup is scheduled in St. Petersburg as SKA hosts Avangard. It can be said that the two teams are on opposite ends. The hosts won their previous three games, while the Hawks lost their previous four matches, to Amur (2:3 SO), Sibir (1:4), Salavat Yulaev (4:2), and Avtomobilist (0:3). Avangard tried improving the situation and halting its crisis by signing Ryan Spooner, who had an impressive 61 (23+38) points in 65 regular-season games last year, and was sitting on free agency despite such a successful 2023-2024 campaign. SKA, instead, achieved wins over Lada (4:3 OT), HC Sochi (7:4), and Torpedo (4:3), and will be looking for a fourth straight win.
17:00: Traktor (4-1-1, 4th E) vs Spartak (4-1-1, 4th W)
About the game
Traktor enters the second game of a four-match home series on a three-game winning streak.
Spartak is in the middle of a three-game road trip and most recently lost to Sibir on Saturday (1:3).
Traktor’s forward Maxim Shabanov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (5+3) points over that span.
Spartak’s forward Andrei Loktionov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Traktor: Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Yegor Popov, Dylan Sikura.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Andrei Svetlakov may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199), while defenseman Artyom Blazhiyevsky may reach 100 (currently at 99).
Traktor’s forward Alexander Kadeikin is still seeking his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
Spartak’s defenseman Dmitry Vishnevsky and forward Ansel Galimov may score their 200th league point (Vishnevsky is currently at 199, while Galimov is at 198).
17:00: Metallurg (2-5-0, 11th E) vs Salavat Yulaev (5-1-0, 3rd E)
About the game
Metallurg enters the second game of a five-match home series and defeated Neftekhimik on Saturday (1:0 SO).
Salavat Yulaev is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Metallurg’s goalie Ilya Nabokov is on a 95:47 shutout streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a twelve-game scoring streak, with 17 (7+10) points over that span.
Injury list
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin.
19:30: Lokomotiv (5-1-1, 1st W) vs Severstal (5-3-0, 2nd W)
About the game
Lokomotiv is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to Salavat Yulaev on Saturday (2:3 OT).
Severstal enters the second game of a five-match road trip following a loss to Dinamo Minsk also on Saturday (1:3).
Lokomotiv’s forward Daniil But had an assist in each of his previous four matches.
Severstal’s forward Danil Aimurzin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
Severstal’s forward Mikhail Ilyin had an assist in each of his previous five games.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Denis Alexeyev, Dmitry Simashev.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Alexander Radulov may score his 250th KHL goal (currently at 248).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev may record his 20th career shutout.
Severstal’s defenseman Gleb Ivanov and forward Mikhail Ilyin line up for their 100th career game.
19:30: SKA (4-2-1, 5th W) vs Avangard (3-3-1, 8th E)
About the game
SKA starts a three-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Avangard starts a three-game road trip following four straight losses.
SKA’s forward Grigory Kuzmin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Vasily Glotov, Ivan Zinchenko.
Avangard: Mikhail Berdin, Reid Boucher, Vladimir Tkachyov.
