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Admiral, Sibir looking to stretch streaks at home!
Five games are on tap today, with four matches in the East—including two in the Far East—and one in the Western Conference. Both Admiral and Sibir are on impressive streaks, and will be trying to win again today, against Torpedo and Avtomobilist, respectively.
The KHL matchday starts in the Far East with Amur seeking a return to victory as the Tigers host Vityaz. The two sides have already met earlier in the season, with the Moscow Region team scoring a 2:0 victory, with Derek Barach netting the game-winner and Maxim Dorozhko recording a 29-save shutout. However, Vityaz doesn’t achieve a victory in Khabarovsk for almost five years—on Dec. 4, 2019, they had a 3:2, SO win. Both teams will try to seek a win to gain precious points for their standings.
The second Far East match of the day sees Admiral welcoming Torpedo. The Sailors are on a fantastic moment, with four straight wins and an excellent display. The Nizhny Novgorod side, instead, has just returned to victory as Torpedo defeated Kunlun Red Star on Monday following four straight losses. As Admiral will want to keep its winning streak alive, the Igor Larionov’s young guns will want to show that the win at the expenses of the Dragons wasn’t just a flash in the pan. Moreover, they will also need points as they are currently only the eighth seed in the West.
The matchday goes on in Novosibirsk, with Sibir hosting Avtomobilist in a highly anticipated matchup as the two teams will dispute the Eastern leadership. It’ll be the second contest between the two sides this season, with the Motormen shutting out the opposition with a sound 4:0 score. However, the situation is now different, with Sibir celebrating an impressive six straight wins, even if Avtomobilist has, on its end, won its previous three matches. The two teams’ place in the standings will add an extra layer of excitement for this game.
In Kazakhstan, Barys will trying to return to victory with its new head coach Vyacheslav Butsayev at his debut in Astana. Following David Nemirovsky’s dismissal, the Kazakhstan franchise lost its previous match, to Dynamo Moscow, with acting head coach Evgeny Korolyov behind the bench. Today, Butsayev, who has worked as a head coach in the KHL for CSKA, HC Sochi, Neftekhimik, and Vityaz, will try to get Barys up from the last place in the standings, with the team achieving only one victory in eight attempts. HC Sochi is also on a three-game losing streak, and won for the last time in Astana on Dec. 29, 2017 (3:2).
A showdown between Kunlun Red Star and Dinamo Minsk closes out an exciting KHL matchday. The Dragons are on a three-game losing streak and will try to reverse the trend and bounce back. The Belarusians won their most recent game and will be looking to build on that momentum. However, they played almost a week ago, and as recent results have shown, such a break isn’t always beneficial for teams.
12:00: Amur (2-5-0, 11th E) vs Vityaz (3-5-0, 9th W)
About the game
Amur enters the fourth game of a five-match home series on a three-game losing streak.
Vityaz, who has defeated Amur earlier this season (2:0), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost their latest game, to Admiral, on Tuesday (3:6).
Vityaz’s defenseman Jeremy Roy is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Amur: Ilya Talaluyev.
Vityaz: Ilya Arkalov, Vladimir Galuzin, Vladislav Tsitsyura, Grigory Vashchenko.
Milestone alert
Amur’s defenseman Yakov Rylov may reach 800 KHL games.
12:30: Admiral (5-1-1, 3rd E) vs Torpedo (3-5-1, 8th W)
About the game
Admiral ends a five-game home series on a four-match winning streak.
Torpedo enters the second game of a four-match road trip following an away win over Kunlun Red Star on Tuesday (4:2).
Torpedo’s forward Nikita Artamonov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Admiral: Vyacheslav Osnovin.
Torpedo: Andrei Belevich.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s defenseman Libor Sulak may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 98).
Torpedo’s forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky may score his 500th KHL point (currently at 497).
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30th career shutout.
15:30: Sibir (6-3-0, 2nd E) vs Avtomobilist (6-2-1, 1st E)
About the game
Sibir ends a six-game home series and won six straight matches.
Avtomobilist, who has defeated Sibir earlier this season (4:0), ends a four-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
Sibir’s defenseman Trevor Murphy is on a five-game scoring streak, with 10 (2+8) points over that span.
Sibir’s forward Sergei Shirokov is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (5+2) points.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Galkin is on a 64:04 shutout streak.
Injury list
Sibir: Dmitry Ovchinnikov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Vladimir Butuzov may net his 100th KHL tally (currently at 98).
17:00: Barys (1-6-1, 12th E) vs HC Sochi (2-5-0, 11th W)
About the game
Barys enters its second game of a four-match home series on a three-game losing streak.
HC Sochi enters the third game of a four-match road trip after three straight defeats.
HC Sochi’s forward Daniil Seroukh had at least an assist in each of his previous four games, totaling six helpers.
HC Sochi’s forward Timur Khafizov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (5+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Barys: Viktor Antipin, Nathan Beaulieu, Batyrlan Muratov, Damir Zhafyarov.
HC Sochi: Amir Garayev, Timur Manukhov.
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s forward Denis Vengryzhanovsky lines up for his 100th KHL match.
19:30: Kunlun Red Star (3-5-0, 10th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (4-2-0, 6th W)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star ends a two-game home series on a three-game losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk plays the lone road game of the series and won its previous game, against Severstal, on Saturday (3:1).
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Tomas Jurco and Dinamo Minsk’s defenseman Nicolas Meloche are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Doyle Somerby.
Dinamo Minsk: Andrei Kareyev.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Andrei Stas may reach 200 career points (currently at 198).
