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Metallurg hosts Avangard, Traktor faces Torpedo
Several classic matchups are on tap on an exciting KHL Saturday with six scheduled games.
Metallurg and Avangard aren’t that far from each other in the standings, with only three points separating them, but the mood in Magnitogorsk and Omsk seems very different. Metallurg has started to gain momentum after a terrible season start, achieving few impressive victories. Avangard, on the other hand, is still searching for its identity and lacks consistent performance. Moreover, they just lost to bottom-of-the-table Barys. In such circumstances, a match against the reigning champion could be healing for the Omsk team—if they give it their all and secure a victory, the impact could be truly monumental. However, Metallurg won four straight games before losing to Torpedo on Thursday (4:5), and thus the Foxes will be the team to beat in today’s contest. The Hawks did defeat Barys in their first encounter this week (4:0), but earlier lost to Lokomotiv (3:5).
But Metallurg hosting Avangard won’t be the only exciting game of the matchday. The KHL Saturday starts with Traktor welcoming Torpedo. The Nizhny Novgorod side is running a six-game winning streak, with young forward Nikita Artamonov turning into a league’s star, being on an eight-game scoring streak. However, Traktor isn’t really far behind. The Chelyabinsk side is currently on a five-game winning streak, with goalie Zach Fucale posting two straight shutouts in wins against CSKA (4:0) and Admiral (2:0). However, the Nizhny Novgorod franchise enjoyed its latest win in Chelyabinsk about six years ago, when Torpedo recorded a 5:3 away win on Nov 24, 2018.
In the meantime, in Moscow, Spartak hosts Ak Bars to end a long, six-game home series. Both games lost their previous couple of matches. The Red-and-Whites lost games to Metallurg and Salavat Yulaev (both 2:5), while Ak Bars lost to Amur (1:2) and Sibir (3:6). History will be against Spartak, with the last four games held in Moscow between the two sides being lost with an aggregate score of 1:11. It will be the first of three road games for Ak Bars after a forgettable home series.
The Western Conference will see other three games. First, HC Sochi welcomes Lokomotiv. The Black Sea franchise just turned ten years old, but failed to celebrate with a victory as it lost its previous couple of matches – both to Vityaz (2:4, 2:3 OT). The Railwaymen have already defeated Sochi this season, and won five straight games before falling to SKA on Monday (3:4 OT) and defeat Kunlun Red Star on Wednesday (3:2 OT).
In Moscow, Dynamo hosts Salavat Yulaev. The Ufa franchise continues its five-game road trip, which began with a shutout loss to CSKA (0:2) that also halted Joshua Leivo’s impressive scoring streak. However, Salavat Yulaev made a strong comeback, confidently defeating Spartak (5:2). With 14 points, the visitors are on the edge of the playoff zone in the Eastern Conference. The Muscovites have one point less and is ahead of only Kunlun Red Star and HC Sochi in the West. In their last game, Alexei Kudashov’s team struggled against Metallurg on the road, losing 3:5. The coach of the Blues-and-Whites lamented the poor performance of the first two lines—will they be able to demonstrate better hockey in the match against Ufa?
In the last game of the matchday, SKA hosts Avtomobilist. SKA continues its home series after a loss to Dinamo Minsk (2:4)—not even Evgeny Kuznetsov’s return saved the team from a defeat. The next opponents will be guests from Yekaterinburg, who, with 20 points, are competing with Traktor for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, trailing only on additional criteria. In their last two matches, Nikolai Zavarukhin’s team triumphed over Barys (4:3) and CSKA (4:3 SO) in Moscow. One of the biggest intrigues of the upcoming game is who will start in goal for SKA. In the previous match, the army team used Artemy Pleshkov and Yegor Zavragin, who just returned from his loan spell at HC Sochi, while Nikita Serebryakov remained on the bench.
14:00: Traktor (9-2-2, 1st E) vs Torpedo (8-5-1, 4th W)
About the game
Traktor enters the second game of a five-match home series on a five-game winning streak.
Torpedo ends a two-game road trip on a six-match winning streak.
Traktor’s goalie Zach Fucale is on a 153:08 shutout streak.
Traktor’s defenseman Grigory Dronov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Kulbakov is on a 99:31 shutout streak.
Torpedo’s forward Nikita Artamonov is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 15 (7+8) points over that span.
Torpedo’s forward Maxim Letunov is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 13 (3+10) points.
Torpedo’s forward Vladislav Firstov is also on a seven-game scoring streak, with 10 (6+4) points.
Torpedo’s forward Evgeny Svechnikov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury list
Traktor: Semyon Der-Arguchintsev.
Torpedo: Andrei Belevich, Anton Berlyov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Voynov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Vladimir Zharkov may record his 100th KHL assist (currently at 99).
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may reach 30 career shutouts.
14:00: Spartak (8-3-2, 2nd W) vs Ak Bars (8-4-0, 5th E)
About the game
Spartak ends a six-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Ak Bars starts a three-game road trip after two straight losses.
Spartak’s forward Mikhail Maltsev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Ak Bars’ forward Nic Petan is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 9 (1+8) points.
Ak Bars’ forward Alexander Barabanov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Spartak: Daniil Ivanov.
Milestone alert
Spartak’s forward Shane Prince may line up for his 300th league appearance, 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.
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 298).
14:30: Metallurg (7-8-0, 6th E) vs Avangard (5-8-1, 10th E)
About the game
Metallurg enters the third game of a four-match home series after a loss to Torpedo on Thursday (4:5).
Avangard is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its first game of the series to Barys also on Thursday (0:1).
Metallurg’s forward Dmitry Silentyev is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points over that span.
Metallurg’s defenseman Valery Orekhov is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 9 (2+7) points.
Injury list
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Avangard: Mikhail Berdin, Vladimir Tkachyov.
17:00: HC Sochi (5-8-1, 11th W) vs Lokomotiv (11-1-2, 1st W)
About the game
HC Sochi ends a six-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Lokomotiv, who has defeated HC Sochi earlier this season (3:1), starts a three-game road trip fresh off a victory over Kunlun Red Star on Wednesday (3:2 OT).
HC Sochi’s forward Artur Tyanulin is on a six-game scoring streak, with 10 (3+7) points over that span.
HC Sochi’s forward Sergei Popov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Beryozkin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Shalunov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Roman Manukhov.
Lokomotiv: Denis Alexeyev.
17:00: Dynamo Moscow (6-7-1, 9th W) vs Salavat Yulaev (7-4-0, 7th E)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow starts a two-game home series following a loss to Metallurg on Tuesday (3:5).
Salavat Yulaev is in the middle of a five-game road trip and defeated Spartak on Thursday (5:2).
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin, Yaroslav Tsulygin.
17:00: SKA (8-5-1, 5th W) vs Avtomobilist (9-4-2, 2nd E)
About the game
SKA enters the second game of a four-match home series following a loss to Dinamo Minsk on Thursday (2:4).
Avtomobilist is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its last couple of matches.
SKA’s defenseman Anthony De Angelo is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Artyom Zemchyonok.
Avtomobilist: Denis Romantsev, Curtis Valk.
