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Big matchday with two derbies in Kazan and Moscow!
It’ll be an excellent start to the twentieth week. The Moscow rivalry heats up with the sixth encounter between Spartak and CSKA this season, while in Kazan the fifth Green Derby of the season unfolds. Earlier, Avangard hosts Admiral, then Avtomobilist welcomes Amur, and Lokomotiv faces Dynamo Moscow.
It’s a big KHL Monday, starting in Omsk as the Hawks face Admiral for the third time this season. Earlier, the teams traded wins, and today Avangard has an excellent chance of returning to victory in a new homestand after suffering two consecutive losses to Salavat Yulaev (0:4) and Avtomobilist (1:2). With only one goal scored in the last two matches, the Hawks will try to shoot more and put Admiral under more pressure. The Sailors had three consecutive matches ending in a postgame shootout, claiming a win only once, in Astana, and losing to Conference leaders Ak Bars and Traktor. Avangard and Admiral are tied at 51 points, at the sixth and seventh place in the East, respectively.
In Yekaterinburg, Avtomobilist faces Amur. Avtomobilist has a chance to continue its impressive run, now boasting eight consecutive victories. In their most recent game, the Motormen defeated Lada on home ice (5:3). Despite sitting in the penultimate spot in the East, Amur has proven to be a challenging opponent for teams from the Urals this season. On Nov. 9, Avtomobilist narrowly edged out the Tigers by just one goal (3:2). Over the past week, the Far Eastern team managed to defeat Metallurg twice—both at home and on the road. Will they manage to pull off another upset in Yekaterinburg?
Then, the fifth chapter of one of the KHL’s marquee rivalries will take place in Kazan. So far, the opponents have an equal number of wins against each other—two apiece. Heading into the upcoming Green Derby, Ak Bars is coming off a shutout loss to Sibir (0:1). Salavat Yulaev arrives in Kazan from St. Petersburg, where they fell just short of salvaging their game against SKA in the final minutes (2:3). The Ufa team has relinquished second place in the Eastern Conference to Avtomobilist, although both teams are tied with 64 points. Ak Bars follows closely, rounding out the top four in the conference and trailing their arch-rivals by just two points.
The action then moves to the Western Conference, with a battle between two of its leaders, Lokomotiv and Dynamo Moscow. In the current regular season, the opponents traded wins. Heading into the upcoming clash, Lokomotiv comes off losses to SKA (2:5) and Spartak (2:4). Despite this, the Railwaymen remain the undisputed leaders of the regular season with 78 points. Dynamo Moscow occupies second place in the Western Conference, trailing Yaroslavl by 15 points. Their advantage over Spartak and CSKA is just one point. Alexei Kudashov’s team has won four of their last five games, recently defeating SKA (5:3) and Torpedo (4:1).
The matchday ends with a Moscow Derby between Spartak and CSKA. Spartak enters tonight’s clash on a three-game point streak. CSKA played its last game on Jan. 21, suffering a road loss to Severstal (4:5 SO). This will be the sixth meeting between the rivals this season. So far, Spartak holds a slight edge in wins, leading the series 3-2. The teams are direct competitors in the Western Conference standings, each with 62 points. Spartak occupies third place, while CSKA sits in fourth. The next victory would be CSKA's 750th in their KHL history—will they achieve this milestone in such a pivotal showdown?
16:30: Avangard (24-20-3, 6th E) vs Admiral (21-19-9, 7th E)
About the game
Avangard starts a three-game home series following two straight losses.
Admiral ends a three-game road trip after a loss to Traktor on Saturday (2:3 SO).
The teams traded wins earlier this season (2:3 ОТ, 2:1).
Injury list
Avangard: Sergei Boikov, Emil Galimov, Alex Grant, Michael McLeod, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Alexei Solovyov, Vladimir Tkachyov.
Admiral: Artyom Chmykhov, Alexander Shevchenko.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Ryan Spooner may reach 250 league points (currently at 249).
17:00: Avtomobilist (29-13-6, 2nd E) vs Amur (12-32-5, 11th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist, who defeated Amur earlier in the season (3:2), ends a three-game home series on an eight-match winning streak.
Amur ends a three-game road trip following a win over Metallurg on Saturday (3:2 OT).
Avtomobilist’s forward Stephane Da Costa, who is seeking his 200th league goal (currently at 198), is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points over that span.
Avtomobilist’s forward Denis Romantsev is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Nick Ebert, Curtis Valk.
Amur: Ignat Korotkikh, Oleg Li.
19:00: Ak Bars (30-15-2, 3rd E) vs Salavat Yulaev (31-15-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a two-game home series following a loss to Sibir on Friday (0:1).
Salavat Yulaev enters the third game of a four-match road trip after a defeat to SKA on Saturday (2:3).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a five-game scoring streak, with 12 (2+10) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forwards Nathan Todd and Scott Wilson are also on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Chmelevsky had at least one assist in each of his previous three matches, with four helpers.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Yegor Babenko, Mitchell Miller, Ilya Safonov.
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Semyon Koshelev may net his 100th league tally (currently at 99).
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov may reach 200 KHL assists (currently at 198).
19:30: Lokomotiv (38-10-2, 1st W) vs Dynamo Moscow (30-15-3, 2nd W)
About the game
Lokomotiv starts a four-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Dynamo Moscow ends a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (4:3 SO, 0:3).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Maxim Mayorov is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Daniil Isayev, Alexander Yelesin.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Cedric Paquette may score his 100th point in the KHL (currently at 99).
19:30: Spartak (28-13-6, 4th W) vs CSKA (27-12-8, 5th W)
About the game
Spartak is in the middle of a three-game home series and won against Lokomotiv on Saturday (4:2).
CSKA ends a four-game road trip and lost to Severstal on Tuesday (4:5 SO).
The season series between the two teams is 3-2 (4:2, 3:2 OT, 2:1, 4:5 OT, 2:4).
Injury list
Spartak: Roman Bychkov, Daniil Ivanov, Pavel Poryadin.
CSKA: Ivan Prosvetov, Dmitry Samorukov.
Milestone alert
Spartak’s goalie Artyom Zagidulin may line up for his 100th game in the league and may record his 10th KHL shutout, just like Dmitry Nikolayev.
CSKA may celebrate its 750th win in the KHL.
CSKA’s defenseman Frederik Claesson lines up for his 200th league appearance.
