SKA takes on Dynamo Moscow in the matchday’s central game!
Five games are on tap on an exciting KHL Thursday, starting with Barys facing Admiral in the Eastern Conference. Then, in the West, Severstal welcomes Kunlun Red Star, Torpedo clashes with Amur, HC Sochi hosts Salavat Yulaev and SKA and Dynamo Moscow collide in St. Petersburg.
The KHL matchday will start in Kazakhstan, with Barys trying to turn the tide and return to victory on home soil after eleven straight defeats against Admiral. The Kazakhs sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table, and, at this point, only mere mathematics is keeping their playoff hopes alive, with the eighth place being at twenty points. This doesn’t mean that the Sailors will be handed a win, as Barys will want to please its home fans and perhaps return to taste victory after so many losses. Admiral just lost twice in a row at home to Ak Bars (2:5, 1:2 SO) and will want to grab some points to secure its postseason qualification place. Today’s game is the first meeting between the two sides this season.
Then, the action moves to the Western Conference for four games. In Cherepovets, Severstal face Kunlun Red Star for the fifth time this season, with the Steelers taking three wins in the series. Severstal collected two straight wins against West’s giants SKA (7:4) and CSKA (5:4 SO), and climbed up to fourth place in the Conference’s standings. The Dragons had a long winning streak recently but lost to Avangard (2:3) and Spartak (0:2) in their last two matches. Kunlun Red Star is now six points from eighth-placed Torpedo.
The Nizhny Novgorod side will try to stretch its advantage in its playoff push in a home game against Amur. Both sides are riding a two-game winning streak, with Torpedo defeating Lada (3:2) and Spartak (3:2 SO), and Amur getting the best of Eastern titans Ak Bars (5:4) and Metallurg (3:2 SO). While Torpedo sits in eighth place in the West, Amur surpassed Barys in the penultimate place in the Eastern Conference’s standings.
In Sochi, Ufa pays a visit to the Southern team. Salavat Yulaev is tied with Ak Bars at 62 points, trailing only Traktor in the standings. The Ufa team has most recently defeated Avangard (4:0), rehabilitating after a disappointing home loss to Avtomobilist (1:4). Sochi also collected a loss in its last outing, and against Avtomobilist as well. Joshua Leivo has been on fire recently and it will be interesting to see whether he can keep on scoring at his current pace.
Then, in the central game of the night, SKA faces Dynamo Mosccow. The St. Petersbug franchise have hit a bit of a slump in January, suffering four consecutive losses, but has just recovered with a nice home win over Lokomotiv on Tuesday (5:2). Additionally, the rivalry between SKA and Dynamo Moscow is filled with stories of players and coaches who have been on both sides of the barricade. Dynamo's head coach Alexei Kudashov, as well as key players Nikita Gusev and Igor Ozhiganov, spent part of their careers in St. Petersburg, while Andrei Pedan moved to SKA from the Blue-and-whites’ roster
Both meetings between the teams this season have gone Dynamo’s way, with 4:2 and 5:4 victories. The most recent matchup, on Jan. 11, saw Gusev netting the game-winning goal for Dynamo, who is currently two points above SKA in the standings.
17:00: Barys (10-33-5, 12th E) vs Admiral (20-19-8, 7th E)
About the game
Barys is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its previous eleven matches.
Admiral starts a three-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Injury list
Barys: Alikhan Asetov, Anton Burdasov, Batyrlan Muratov, Maxim Mukhametov.
Admiral: Yegor Stepanov.
19:00: Severstal (29-17-1, 4th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (20-22-4, 9th W)
About the game
Severstal ends a two-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Kunlun Red Star enters the fourth game of a five-match road trip following two straight defeats.
The season series between the two sides is 3-1 (4:2, 0:3, 7:2, 4:3).
Injury list
Severstal: Yaroslav Dyblenko.
Kunlun Red Star: Jack Chelios, Parker Foo, Semyon Sinyatkin.
19:30: Torpedo (21-17-8, 8th W) vs Amur (11-31-5, 11th E)
About the game
Torpedo, who defeated Amur earlier this season (7:2), is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.
Amur starts a three-game road trip also on a two-match winning streak.
Torpedo’s forward Kirill Voronin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Torpedo’s forward Vasily Atanasov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Torpedo: Igor Larionov, Vyacheslav Voynov.
Amur: Ignat Korotkikh, Oleg Li.
19:30: HC Sochi (14-28-4, 11th W) vs Salavat Yulaev (30-14-2, 3rd E)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the second game of a four-match home series following a loss to Avtomobilist on Sunday (1:2).
Salavat Yulaev starts a four-game road trip fresh off a win over Avangard on Monday (4:0).
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Semyon Vyazovoi is on a 65:13 shutout streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a three-game scoring streak, with 8 (7+1) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Nathan Todd had at least one assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling five helpers.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Scott Wilson is equally on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin.
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s defenseman Maxim Fedotov may line up for his 200th league appearance.
19:30: SKA (26-15-5, 6th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (28-15-3, 5th W)
About the game
SKA is in the middle of a five-game home series and defeated Lokomotiv on Tuesday (5:2).
Dynamo Moscow starts a three-game road trip following a home loss to HC Sochi on Friday (1:2).
The season series between the two teams is 0-2 (2:4, 4:5).
SKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
SKA’s defenseman Alexander Nikishin is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points.
SKA’s forward Ivan Demidov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Maxime Comtois is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Injury list
SKA: Evgeny Kuznetsov, Mikhail Vorobyov.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Jordan Weal may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 198).
Dynamo Moscow’s head coach Alexei Kudashov may celebrate his 350th win in the league.
