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SKA travels to Yaroslavl to face Lokomotiv!
The top game of the night takes place in Yaroslavl, with Lokomotiv hosting SKA as the teams face for the second time this season. Five games are on tap on an exciting KHL Monday.
The Railwaymen return home in a good moment, with five straight wins against Avangard (twice, 5:3 and 3:2), Avtomobilist (1:0 OT), HC Sochi (3:1), and Severstal (4:1), while the St. Petersburg side has most recently lost to Severstal (3:4) after defeating Dinamo Minsk (3:0). Moreover, the two teams have already faced this year, with Lokomotiv getting a 2:0 victory with goals coming from Byron Froese and Maxim Beryozkin, joined by a 25-save performance by Daniil Isayev. Today, the Railwaymen enter the game as the Western Conference’s leaders, and SKA will have to play its best hockey to try to halt Lokomotiv’s streak. But it won’t be easy—Lokomotiv is a well-oiled mechanism, and they are in a good momentum.
Another Western Conference team in a good swing is Torpedo. The Nizhny Novgorod side won its previous four games, against Barys (10:1), Amur (7:2), Admiral (7:4), and Kunlun Red Star (4:2), whom will be battling today as the two teams collide for the second time this season. The Dragons lacked some consistency so far, with a loss to Vityaz (2:7) after defeating Salavat Yulaev (5:2) and SKA (5:4) in consecutive matchups. However, today’s game will be a good chance for Kunlun Red Star to win and claim two precious points in the standings to try and return on the right side of the playoffs line.
The other games of the matchday take place in the Eastern Conference. First, Avtomobilist hosts Barys. The Kazakhs sit on the bottom of the standings, but they got one of their only two wins in the current season against the Motormen. With that being said, Avto will be the team to beat today, as they will be eager to reverse the trend as the team lost its previous three matches, to Ak Bars (6:2), Lokomotiv (0:1 OT), and Sibir (0:4). Avto will also be seeking a return to goal while head coach Nikolai Zavarukhin is waiting to celebrate his 100th victory with the team. Barys is on a four-game losing streak and will be trying to rebound back.
Then, Lada hosts Admiral. The Sailors are another struggling side. They had a good start, but recently they lost four matches in a row to Lada (0:1 SO), HC Sochi (0:5), Dinamo Minsk (2:7), and Torpedo (2:4). Just like Avtomobilist, Admiral has failed to score in its latest couple of games, and this is certainly something that bench boss Leonids Tambijevs will want to fix as the team travels to Togliatti as its current road trip is on its closing stages. Today’s game will be a revenge match after Lada’s SO win on Saturday.
In the last game of the matchday, Ak Bars welcomes Sibir. After a long winning streak, the Kazan franchise lost to Amur on Friday (1:2), but keeps on being one of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference. Sibir, however, is also having a good season so far, with good chances to remain in the top four also following today’s games. Moreover, Ak Bars lost its previous five home games to the Novosibirsk side—that’s quite unusual for the Tatarstan franchise, and today a change in trend will be welcome for the Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men.
17:00: Avtomobilist (7-4-2, 2nd E) vs Barys (2-10-1, 12th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist ends a four-game home series on a three-match losing streak.
Barys, who has defeated Avtomobilist earlier this season (2:1 OT), ends a three-game road trip on a four-match losing streak.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Curtis Valk.
Barys: Batyrlan Muratov, Ruslan Ospanov, C.J. Smith.
18:00: Lada (4-6-2, 10th E) vs Admiral (5-4-2, 8th E)
About the game
Lada is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Admiral on Saturday (1:0 SO).
Admiral enters the fourth game of a five-match road trip following four straight losses.
Lada’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky is on a 103:15 shutout streak.
Admiral’s goalie Sergei Mishurov is on a 75:43 shutout streak.
Injury list
Lada: Andrei Altybarmakyan, Danila Moiseyev.
Admiral: Vyacheslav Osnovin.
19:00: Ak Bars (8-3-0, 3rd E) vs Sibir (7-5-0, 4th E)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a three-game home series following a loss to Amur on Friday (1:2).
Sibir is in the middle of a five-game road trip and defeated Avtomobilist on Saturday (4:0).
Ak Bars’ forward Nic Petan is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points over that span.
Sibir’s goalie Denis Kostin is on a 115:00 shutout streak.
Sibir’s defenseman Trevor Murphy is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 14 (3+11) points over that span.
Injury list
Sibir: Dmitry Ovchinnikov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s leader Sergei Shirokov lines up for his 1,000th game in the Russian national championships.
19:30: Torpedo (6-5-1, 6th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (5-7-0, 10th W)
About the game
Torpedo, who has defeated Kunlun Red Star earlier this season (4:2), plays the lone home game of the series on a four-match winning streak.
Kunlun Red Star enters the fourth game of a six-match road trip following a loss to Vityaz on Saturday (2:7).
Torpedo’s forward Nikita Artamonov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 10 (5+5) points over that span.
Torpedo’s forward Maxim Letinov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 10 (2+8) points.
Torpedo’s forward Vladislav Firstov is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points.
Torpedo’s forward Mikhail Abramov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Torpedo’s veteran forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Nail Yakupov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Injury list
Torpedo: Andrei Belevich, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Voynov.
Kunlun Red Star: Doyle Somerby.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30th career shutout.
19:30: Lokomotiv (10-1-1, 1st W) vs SKA (7-4-11, 4th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv, who posted a shutout win over SKA earlier in the season (2:0), starts a two-game home series on a five-match winning streak.
SKA ends a three-game road trip after a loss to Severstal on Saturday (4:5).
Lokomotiv’s forward Alexander Radulov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
SKA’s defenseman Danila Galenyuk had an assist in each of his previous five matches.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Denis Alexeyev.
SKA: Artyom Zemchyonok.
