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December kicks off with three intriguing clashes
As December begins, fans can look forward to an interesting matchday with three exciting matchups. In the Eastern Conference, Avangard faces Severstal as both teams fight for playoff positioning. The action then shifts to the Western Conference, where Kunlun Red Star hosts Dynamo Moscow in Mytishchi, with the Dragons seeking a much-needed victory and Dynamo looking to maintain their top-four spot. Finally, CSKA takes on Barys in Moscow. The hosts aim to build momentum, while the Kazakhs desperately seek to end their scoring drought.
In the lone Eastern game of the matchday, Avangard hosts Severstal. The Hawks gained some ground lately, and have currently three wins in their last five matches, with wins over Metallurg (2:1 SO), Barys (3:2 OT), and Admiral (2:1). These results helped Avangard returning to the playoff places, but the team was overtaken by Lada after a loss to Avtomobilist on Thursday (2:4). Severtal also lost to Lada in its last encounter (0:3 on Wednesday), and is struggling to find the back of the net after scoring seven goals to Ak Bars, with another shutout loss to Salavat on Monday (0:2). Much like Avangard, the Steelers are also battling to get a playoff spot, but are in a better position, with a five-point advantage over the ninth seed in the West, Vityaz.
The action then moves to the Western Conference for two games. In Mytishchi, Kunlun Red Star clashes with Dynamo Moscow as the Dragons seek a return to victory after a home loss again to Lada on Friday (1:2). The Dragons defeated Dynamo in the teams’ first encounter this season. The Blue-and-Whites had a long winning streak just halted by CSKA – in the Thursday’s Moscow Derby, a tally by Konstantin Okulov was enough to get the Red-and-Blues a win, despite Dynamo overshot CSKA by two times. The Blue-and-Whites will enter today’s game in fourth place in the West, while Kunlun Red Star remains the tenth seed in the Conference’s table.
Closing the matchday is CSKA hosting Barys. The two-time Gagarin Cup champion returned to victory against Dynamo following two straight losses, to Ak Bars (1:2) and Traktor (2:5), respectively, while Barys suffered from four straight losses. The Kazakhs lost to Metallurg (0:2), Sibir (0:2), Avangard (2:3 OT), and Amur (0:3). They will be looking to end their scoring draught, but returning to win in a game in Moscow won’t be easy. Barys currently sit in eleventh place in the Eastern Conference, while CSKA enters the game as the West’s fifth seed.
14:00: Avangard (13-15-2, 9th E) vs Severstal (17-13-0, 7th W)
About the game
Avangard starts a three-game home series following a loss to Lada on Thursday (2:4).
Severstal starts a two-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Injury list
Avangard: Mikhail Berdin, Sergei Boikov, Alex Grant, Ilya Reingardt, Vladimir Tkachyov.
17:00: Kunlun Red Star (12-17-3, 10th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (19-9-3, 4th W)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star, who defeated Dynamo Moscow earlier this season (3:1), enters the second game of a five-match home series following a loss to Lada on Friday (1:2).
Dynamo Moscow starts a three-game road trip after a loss to CSKA on Thursday (0:1).
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Spencer Foo is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Hunter Miska is on an 87:42 shutout streak.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Semyon Sinyatkin.
Milestone alert
Kunlun Red Star’s goalie Jeremy Smith may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
17:00 CSKA (15-7-7, 5th W) vs Barys (9-20-3, 11th E)
About the game
CSKA plays the lone home game of the series and defeated Dynamo Moscow on Thursday (1:0).
Barys ends a three-game road trip on a four-match losing streak.
CSKA’s goalie Ivan Prosvetov is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Christian Jaros, Dmitry Samorukov.
Barys: Viktor Antipin, Roman Starchenko, Damir Zhafyarov.
