KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
SKA faces Dinamo Minsk, Metallurg hosts Torpedo.
Another exciting KHL matchday this Thursday, with six games on tap; two in the East, and four in the West.
Avangard has recently found a win in its last game of a three-match home series, with the Hawks winning two of three encounters. Pavel Khomchenko recorded his first shutout of the season as he posted 20 saves in a 4:0 win over Barys. The two teams meet again today, but this time in Astana, with the hosts being on a five-game losing streak. Despite shuffling its roster, Barys is struggling to get points in the standings, and it’s currently the last seed of the Eastern Conference. Avangard is now seeking to return to the playoff zone, but is still out of it despite the recent improvements.
In the second Eastern game of the matchday, emotions will be guaranteed with Metallurg hosting Torpedo. Both sides are known for their offensive approach and are currently on winning streaks, with four victories for the guests and five for the Igor Larionov’s squad. Moreover, both teams feature several players on active scoring streaks. Today’s game promises to be one of the most interesting in the current week.
The action then moves to the Western Conference. HC Sochi hosts Vityaz as the teams meet for the third time this season, with the Moscow Region franchise winning each game so far, the most recent one being only on Tuesday. Moreover, Sochi lost its previous seven home games to Vityaz – history is definitely against the Black Sea franchise. However, the two teams have similar records, and this game can easily go either way.
Two games are scheduled in Moscow for today. After defeating Salavat Yulaev, CSKA faces Avtomobilist. The Motormen are among the leaders in the Eastern Conference, and returned to victory on Monday against Barys following three straight losses, to Sibir (0:4), Lokomotiv (0:1 OT), and Ak Bars (2:6). The Muscovites have also returned to winning games, after two shocking, goalless home defeats to Urals teams Metallurg (0:7) and Traktor (0:4). Historically, Avtomobilist only won nine times against CSKA in the KHL history, but they had two straight victories in head-to-head games (3:2 on Jan. 15 and 5:4 SO on Feb. 4).
In the other Moscow game, Spartak hosts Salavat Yulaev, who lost to CSKA on Tuesday, with Joshua Leivo ending its impressive fifteen-game scoring streak. The Red-and-Whites also lost their most recent game, to Metallurg (2:5), and lacked some consistency in the last couple of weeks. However, Spartak is currently the second seed in the West, while Salavat Yulaev is barely in playoff places, sitting in eighth position in the Eastern Conference.
In the remaining game of the night, SKA faces Dinamo Minsk at home. The two teams have often faced each other in the first round of the playoffs not too long ago. And SKA consistently emerged victorious. But this time, Dinamo will head to St. Petersburg particularly motivated, as just a week before the upcoming game, the Bisons suffered a 0-3 shutout loss to SKA on home ice. Perhaps Minsk missed Roman Gorbunov in that game. The forward last played on Sept. 29, and he happens to be Dinamo’s top scorer in matches against SKA (8 goals, 4 assists). But with Gorbunov still on the injured list, other players will need to step up. Maybe it will be Alexander Volkov, who previously lined up for SKA? Moreover, the Belarusians will want to rebound back after three straight losses. Star forward Evgeny Kuznetsov should be back in the lineup for SKA as he recovered after his recent injury.
17:00: Barys (2-11-1, 12th E) vs Avangard (5-7-1, 9th E)
About the game
Barys starts a two-game home series on a five-match losing streak.
Avangard starts a three-game road trip after defeating Barys on Saturday (4:0).
Avangard’s goalie Pavel Khomchenko is on a 61:18 shutout streak.
Avangard’s forward Linden Vey is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Avangard’s forward Ryan Spooner is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points.
Avangard’s forward Reid Boucher is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Injury list
Barys: Kirill Savitsky, C.J. Smith, Roman Starchenko.
Avangard: Mikhail Berdin, Vladimir Tkachyov.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Damir Zhafyarov may record his 200th career assist (currently at 199).
Avangard’s defenseman Sergei Boikov lines up for his 200th league appearance.
17:00: Metallurg (7-7-0, 6th E) vs Torpedo (7-5-1, 6th W)
About the game
Metallurg enters the second game of a four-match home series on a four-game winning streak.
Torpedo starts a two-game road trip on a five-match winning streak.
Metallurg’s forward Nikita Mikhailis is on a three-game scoring streak, with 10 (5+5) points over that span.
Metallurg’s forward Dmitry Silantyev is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Metallurg’s defenseman Valery Orekhov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points.
Metallurg’s forward Luke Johnson had at least one assist in his last three games, totaling four helpers.
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Kulbakov is on a 99:31 shutout streak.
Torpedo’s forward Nikita Artamonov is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 12 (6+6) points over that span.
Torpedo’s forward Maxim Letunov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 9 (2+7) points.
Torpedo’s forward Vladislav Firstov is also on a six-game scoring streak, with 9 (5+4) points.
Torpedo’s forward Bobby Lynch is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Torpedo’s defenseman Ivan Silayev had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Torpedo’s forward Evgeny Svechnikov is equally on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Torpedo: Andrei Belevich, Vyacheslav Voynov, Igor Larionov.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s goalie Ilya Nabokov may reach 10 league shutouts.
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may record his 30th KHL shutout.
19:30: HC Sochi (5-8-0, 11th W) vs Vityaz (6-7-0, 9th W)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the fifth game of a six-match home series following a loss to Vityaz on Tuesday (2:4).
Vityaz, who defeated HC Sochi twice this season (5:4, 4:2), ends a two-game road trip and defeated Sochi in the first game of the series.
HC Sochi’s forward Artur Tyanulin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points over that span.
HC Sochi’s forward Sergei Popov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Injury list.
HC Sochi: Roman Manukhov.
Vityaz: Grigory Vashchenko.
19:30: Spartak (8-2-2, 2nd W) vs Salavat Yulaev (6-4-0, 8th E)
About the game
Spartak enters the fifth game of a six-match home series following a loss to Metallurg on Sunday (2:5).
Salavat Yulaev enters the second game of a five-match road trip on a two-game losing streak.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin.
Milestone alert
Spartak’s forward Shane Prince lines up for his 300th KHL game, while goalie Dmitry Nikolayev may reach 100.
Spartak’s forward Ansel Galimov may score his 200th career point (currently at 199).
Spartak’s goalie Patrik Rybar may celebrate his 50th KHL win, while Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Alexander Samonov may reach 100.
19:30: CSKA (7-4-3, 4th W) vs Avtomobilist (8-4-2, 2nd E)
About the game
CSKA ends a four-game home series following a win over Salavat Yulaev on Tuesday (2:0).
Avtomobilist starts a three-game road trip fresh off a win over Barys on Monday (4:3).
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin is on an 80:07 shutout streak.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Curtis Valk, Denis Romantsev.
19:30: SKA (8-4-1, 3rd W) vs Dinamo Minsk (6-5-1, 7th W)
About the game
SKA, who has already defeated Dinamo Minsk this season (3:0), starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Lokomotiv on Monday (4:3 OT).
Dinamo Minsk ends a three-game road trip after three straight losses.
Injury list
SKA: Artyom Zemchyonok.
Dinamo Minsk: Roman Gorbunov, Andrei Kareyev.
