Third Southern Urals derby of the season today!

Following yesterday’s bonanza, only one game is on tap today, with Traktor hosting Metallurg as the teams collide for the third time this season. So far, the series is level at one.

The teams have already met twice earlier in the season – both in Magnitogorsk – with each team claiming a victory. On Nov. 13, 26 saves by Zach Fucale guaranteed a shutout win to Traktor, led by a double from Andrei Svetlakov. In the revenge match, less than a month ago, Metallurg had five different scorers as the team claimed a 5:3 home victory, with the only penalty of the game coming from a bad clearing attempt whistled against Traktor’s Steven Kampfer. In the standings, little has changed since the second matchup. Traktor is still leading the Eastern Conference’s table, while Metallurg hasn’t found a way to return to the top four, despite being quite close to Salavat Yulaev, Avtomobilist, and Ak Bars, who follow the Chelyabinsk side in the standings. Traktor has won its previous couple of games, against Vityaz (2:0) and HC Sochi (3:2 OT), respectively, while Magnitka has three wins in its last matches, despite a recent loss to Salavat Yulaev (4:6). Moreover, Traktor celebrates its 1,100^th game in the league today.

17:00: Traktor (34-14-6, 1^st E) vs Metallurg (31-17-4, 5^th E)
About the game

Traktor is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.

Metallurg enters the third game of a seven-match road trip following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Monday (4:6).

The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (4:0, 3:5).

Metallurg’s forward Alexander Petunin and defenseman Yegor Yakovlev had an assist in each of their previous three matches.

Metallurg’s forward Dmitry Moiseyev is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.

Injury list

Traktor: Ostap Safin.

Metallurg: Makar Khabarov, Vladislav Yeryomenko.

Milestone alert

Traktor plays its 1,100^th game in the league today.

Metallurg’s forward Igor Geraskin may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).