KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Avangard tries to build a winning streak on home ice
Four games are on tap today, with two matches in either conference.
Avangard will try to build on its recent victory over Metallurg on Sunday, when Linden Vey won the game for the Hawks in OT as head coach Sergei Zvyagin recalled his goalie on a delayed penalty call. It was a key win for Avangard, with the Omsk side now trying to win again today as Lada comes to town. The Togliatti side is also coming from a win, with Vladislav Podyapolsky celebrating his 300th league appearance with a shutout win over Neftekhimik. Currently, Lada is above Avangard in the Eastern Conference’s standings, but both sides are outside of playoffs places.
Then, in Ufa, Salavat Yulaev takes on Admiral. The two sides met on Tuesday, with Salavat Yulaev claiming a hard-fought, 2:1 home win with goals coming from Joshua Leivo and Sheldon Rempal. The Sailors will seek revenge today, trying to bounce back as they lost three games in a row. Other than to Ufa, Admiral had two losses against Ak Bars (2:4, 0:2). For now, Admiral is the eighth seed in the East, but the Vladivostok franchise needs to return to winning to be able to retain its position just above the playoffs line.
The action then moves to the Western Conference, with Torpedo hosting Dinamo Minsk. Both teams will be eager to return to victory. Torpedo lost three games in a row, while the Belarusians had two consecutive defeats. Losses to CSKA (1:3), Vityaz (1:2), and Salavat Yulaev (4:5) got Igor Larionov’s squad slip down to seventh place, while Dinamo Minsk is the eighth seed in the West after its defeats against Lokomotiv (2:3) and Severstal (2:5). In the latter, Vadim Shipachyov finally surpassed Sergei Mozyakin’s KHL all-time scoring record, and maybe the Bisons will be now more focused on results as Vityaz caught them in the standings with 21 points.
The Moscow region side, who is the ninth seed in the Western Conference, will visit the Russian capital to face Dynamo in today’s last match. The Blue-and-Whites won their last couple of games, and have already defeated Vityaz earlier this season. Vityaz, on its hand, has most recently lost to Spartak (3:4 OT) and will be seeking a return to victory to try and take over Dinamo Minsk in the last playoff place in the West.
16:30: Avangard (7-11-1, 10th E) vs Lada (8-9-3, 9th E)
About the game
Avangard ends a four-game home series after a win over Metallurg on Tuesday (3:2 OT).
Lada enters the second game of a five-match road trip following a win over Neftekhimik also on Tuesday (3:0).
Avangard’s forward Linden Vey is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Avangard’s forward Reid Boucher is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points.
Avangard’s defenseman Semyon Chistyakov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Avangard’s defenseman Pavel Koledov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Lada’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
Avangard: Mikhail Berdin, Stanislav Galiyevv, Vladimir Tkachyov, Dmitry Zlodeyev.
Lada: Andrei Altybarmakyan, Yegor Chernikov, Nikolai Demidov, Evgeny Groshev.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov may score his 200th KHL point (currently at 199).
Lada’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky may reach 20 career shutouts.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (11-6-0, 4th E) vs Admiral (8-9-3, 8th E)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev, who defeated Admiral two days ago (2:1), enters the fourth game of a five-match home series on a three-game winning streak.
Admiral enters the fourth game of a five-match road trip on a three-game losing streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Nathan Todd is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 10 (4+6) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin, Yaroslav Tsulygin.
Admiral: Alexander Shepelev, Stepan Starkov.
19:30: Torpedo (10-8-3, 7th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (10-9-1, 8th W)
About the game
Torpedo ends a three-game home series on a three-match losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk ends a three-game road trip following two straight defeats.
Injury list
Torpedo: Andrei Belevich, Anton Berlyov, Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Voynov.
Dinamo Minsk: Dillon Dube, Andrei Kareyev, Andrei Stas.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s forward Kirill Voronin lines up for his 500th KHL game.
Torpedo’s forward Maxim Letunov may score his 100th league point (currently at 99).
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Kulbakov may celebrate his 50th win in the league.
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may reach 30 career shutouts.
19:30: Dynamo Moscow (11-7-2, 6th W) vs Vityaz (10-10-1, 9th W)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow, who defeated Vityaz earlier this season (3:0), enters the second game of a five-match road trip on a two-game winning streak.
Vityaz enters the fourth game of a six-match road trip following a loss to Spartak on Tuesday (3:4 OT).
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Maxim Motorygin is on a 99:47 shutout streak.
Vityaz’s forward Ivan Chekhovich is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Vityaz’s forward Dmitry Buchelnikov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Vityaz: Grigory Vashchenko, Ivan Yezhov.
Milestone alert
Vityaz’s goalies Maxim Dorozhkov and Dmitry Shikin may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
Vityaz’s forward Stanislav Yarovoi lines up for his 100th league appearance.
