Another possible decision day this Saturday
The league will see five games today, starting with a showdown between Avangard and Amur. In Kazakhstan, Barys hosts Admiral, then Avtomobilist faces Severstal. In the Western Conference, Lokomotiv welcomes Sibir, and SKA clashes with Kunlun Red Star. Three teams will have a chance to book a ticket for the postseason.
Avangard enters today’s game on a five-game winning streak, with victories achieved against Metallurg (2:1), Ak Bars (6:2), Amur (7:1), Admiral (5:2), and Lada (2:1). Today’s opponent, Amur, has instead lost its last six matches, including a recent one to the Hawks. Despite the wins, Avangard is still the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, while Amur already lost any playoff qualification hope and sits in eleventh place in the table. It’s however impressive to consider that Avangard is having such a strong series even after losing a key player like Reid Boucher, battling the whole season against injuries.
In Kazakhstan, Barys will seek a return to victory in its last game of the homestand with Admiral coming to town. The Sailors, however, defeated the Kazakhs twice this season, and will be trying to gain a further win to further cement their postseason positioning. Admiral is tied with Sibir at 58 points in the standings and can be the seventh and eighth team in the Eastern Conference’s playoffs. Barys is at the bottom of the league’s table, with slim chances even to overtake Amur in the penultimate place. If the season wasn’t hard enough for the Kazakhs, starting goalie Nikita Boyarkin – one of the best in the league – suffered from a serious knee injury in his last game, and most likely won’t hit the ice again this year.
In the last game in the Eastern Conference, Avtomobilist hosts Severstal. The guests from the West can book a ticket to the playoffs if they win today’s game and Kunlun Red Star loses to SKA later in the matchday. However, it won’t be a walk in the park for the Steelers, as the Motormen are in fine shape, having accumulated three consecutive victories, over Amur (5:3, 3:2 OT) and Sibir (5:0), respectively. Avtomobilist is currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference, while Severstal is the fourth team in the West.
The action then moves to the Western Conference for a further couple of matches. In Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv hosts Sibir. The Railwaymen just recovered top goalie Daniil Isayev, who sat on the bench in Lokomotiv’s victory over Kunlun Red Star on Thursday (4:1), with Alexei Melnichuk claiming the win. The Yaroslavl team is still leading the league with 87 points. Sibir will seek a return to victory after three straight losses, to Spartak (2:6), Avtomobilist (0:5), and Metallurg (2:5), respectively. Despite the setback, Sibir retained its seventh spot in the Eastern Conference standings, tied with Admiral at 58 points. Moreover, Sibir’s last win in Yaroslavl is dated back to October 2013 – almost twelve years ago.
In the closing match of the day, SKA welcomes Kunlun Red Star. The St. Petersburg franchise is the third team that can claim a trip to the postseason today – they only need to collect a win today. However, the Dragons are up 2-1 in the season series and are also in desperate need of points if they want to get closer to the playoffs themselves. New heroes are now taking on leading roles for SKA, with young guns Grigory Kuzmin and Matvei Korotky being on active scoring streak for the St. Petersburg side, who is now the fifth seed in the Western Conference. The Dragons are running out of time to catch up with Torpedo in eighth place in the conference’s table and will need a win today.
14:00: Avangard (32-21-4, 6th E) vs Amur (13-37-7, 11th E)
About the game
Avangard enters the third game of a four-match home series on a five-game winning streak.
Amur ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous six matches.
The season series between the two teams is 2-1 (2:3 SO, 2:1, 7:1).
Avangard’s forward Ryan Spooner is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (3+6) points over that span.
Avangard’s forward Konstantin Okulov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points.
Amur’s forward Devin Brosseau is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Avangard: Sergei Boikov, Reid Boucher, Alex Grant, Nikita Kholodilin, Michael McLeod, Vladimir Tkachyov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s defenseman Semyon Chistyakov lines up for his 300th KHL game.
Avangard’s forward Nail Yakupov may net his 100th league tally (currently at 99).
15:00: Barys (11-39-7, 12th E) vs Admiral (24-22-10, 8th E)
About the game
Barys ends a five-game home series on a seven-match losing streak.
Admiral starts a two-game road trip following a home defeat to Traktor on Feb. 15 (1:2).
The season series between the two teams is 0-2 (2:3 SO, 3:4 OT).
Injury list
Barys: Alikhan Asetov, Nikita Boyarkin, Maxim Mukhametov.
Admiral: Artyom Chmykhov, Vyacheslav Osnovin.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forwards Batyrlan Muratov and Alikhan Omirbekov line up for their 100th league appearance, and so does Admiral’s defenseman Mario Grman.
Admiral’s forward Nikita Soshnikov lines up for his 400th KHL game.
15:00: Avtomobilist (35-14-7, 2nd E) vs Severstal (35-20-1, 4th W)
About the game
Avtomobilist enters the second game of a four-match home series on a three-game losing streak.
Severstal, who defeated Avtomobilist earlier this season (3:2), is in the middle of a three-game road trip following a commanding win over Barys on Thursday (6:2).
Avtomobilist’s forward Stephane Da Costa is on a fourteen-game scoring streak, with 17 (4+13) points over that span.
Avtomobilist’s forward Brooks Macek is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (5+2) points.
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Sharov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points.
Avtomobilist’s forward Anatoly Golyshev had at least one assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Jesse Blacker, Curtis Valk.
Severstal: Yaroslav Dyblenko, Artyom Shchuchinov.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s goalie Vladimir Galkin may reach 50 KHL wins.
17:00: Lokomotiv (42-13-3, 1st W) vs Sibir (25-23-8, 7th E)
About the game
Lokomotiv, who defeated Sibir earlier in the season (3:2 SO), is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Kunlun Red Star on Thursday (4:1).
Sibir ends a two-game road trip on a three-match losing streak.
Lokomotiv’s forward Denis Alexeyev had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Sibir: Fyodor Gordeyev.
17:00: SKA (33-19-5, 5th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (24-28-5, 9th W)
About the game
SKA starts a three-game home series following a road win over Severstal on Monday (5:3).
Kunlun Red Star enters the second game of a ten-match road trip after a loss to Lokomotiv on Thursday (1:4).
SKA’s forward Grigory Kuzmin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Matvei Korotky is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Pavel Dedunov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
SKA: Arseny Gritsyuk, Artemy Pleshkov.
Kunlun Red Star: Jack Chelios, Parker Foo, Tomas Jurco, Semyon Sinyatkin.
Milestone alert
SKA’s defenseman Ilya Karpukhin lines up for his 400th KHL game.
SKA’s defenseman Andrei Pedan may record his 100th point in the KHL (currently at 99).
