First game at the brand new UGMK Arena in Yekaterinburg; five matches on tap today
Avtomobilist plays its first game in its new home against CSKA, Lada welcomes Traktor, Lokomotiv hosts Severstal, Ak Bars faces Spartak, and Vityaz clashes with Sibir on a tense KHL Monday with games across both Conferences.
The first, much-anticipated KHL game at the brand new UGMK Arena will finally take place today as Avtomobilist takes on CSKA. The Motormen’s new home will seat 12,588 spectators – a sell-out crowd is to be expected for today’s clash. Avtomobilist doesn’t get to the game on the best shape – the team lost its previous three matches, to Ak Bars (1:3), Dynamo Moscow (1:4), and Metallurg (1:3), respectively, netting a total of only three goals in this stretch. Today’s visitors are in much better form – CSKA won four of its last five games, with a loss to SKA in extra time on Tuesday before returning to victory in Astana this Saturday, celebrating a shutout, 3:0 away win. Both teams are fighting for a top four spot in their Conference.
Still fighting for protecting the top spot in the Conference’s standings is Traktor. The Chelyabinsk side retains a three-point lead over Salavat Yulaev in the East and today faces Lada on the road. The hosts finally halted their skid with a 1:0 OT home win over Sibir, but they lost any hope for postseason qualification. Traktor is on a positive streak, with three straight wins over Ak Bars (3:2), Barys (8:0), and Severstal (5:1), respectively. Moreover, Lada’s last home win over Traktor is dated almost ten years ago, with a 4:2 win on Oct. 25, 2015.
In the last Eastern game of the matchday, Ak Bars faces Spartak. The Red-and-Whites lost four straight matches and will seek a return to victory today in Kazan after losses to Dinamo Minsk (1:2), Avangard (1:5), Kunlun Red Star (2:3 SO), and Torpedo (0:3). Spartak’s attack wasn’t able to do much damage, and Alexei Zhamnov tried several tricks – none of them worked against Torpedo, so it’ll be interesting to see what the team will bring to Kazan. The Kazan side also failed to score in its latest outing, a 0:2 home loss to Avangard, and slipped down to fifth place – just like Spartak in the West.
The action then moves to the Western Conference for two games. Lokomotiv welcomes Severstal as the teams face for the fourth time this season, with the Railwaymen sweeping the season series so far with three wins. Both sides lost their last game: Lokomotiv lost to Dynamo Moscow in Thursday’s lone game (3:5), while the Steelers fell to Traktor the next day (1:5). Moreover, it will be the teams’ second encounter in a week, with Lokomotiv celebrating a commanding 5:0 victory in Cherepovets.
In the last game of the matchday, Vityaz hosts Sibir. The Novosibirsk side is still fighting for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but came up short in its last away game, losing 0:1 in extra time in Togliatti this Saturday. Despite the setback, Sibir still has a five-point cushion over Neftekhimik with just six games remaining in the regular season. A road victory today would not only be a pleasant return to winning ways after three straight losses but also a great boost to the team’s playoff ambitions. Moreover, this will be the last away game for Sibir in the regular season. After today’s match, the team will fly back to Novosibirsk to play its final five games.
17:00: Avtomobilist (37-18-7, 3rd E) vs CSKA (36-17-9, 3rd W)
About the game
Avtomobilist, who defeated CSKA earlier this season (4:3 SO), starts a six-game home series on a three-match losing streak.
CSKA is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Barys on Saturday (3:0).
About the game
CSKA’s forward Maxim Sorkin is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 9 (2+7) points over that span.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Jesse Blacker, Curtis Valk.
CSKA: Vitaly Abramov, Colby Williams.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s defenseman Nick Ebert may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Vladimir Galkin is still seeking his 50th career win.
18:00: Lada (21-33-8, 10th E) vs Traktor (41-16-6, 1st E)
About the game
Lada starts a six-game home series fresh off a win over Sibir on Saturday (1:0 OT).
Traktor starts a three-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
The season series between the two teams is 0-3 (1:2 ОТ, 0:5, 1:4).
Lada’s goalie Alexander Trushkov is on an 86:12 shutout streak.
Traktor’s forward Andrei Svetlakov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that span.
Traktor’s forward Maxim Shabanov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 8 (2+6) points.
Traktor’s forward Alexander Kadeikin is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points.
Traktor’s forward Nikita Korostelyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
Lada: Vladislav Chervonenko, Nikolai Demidov, Maxim Groshev, Artyom Ivanyuzhenkov, Pavel Koltygin.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Vitaly Kravtsov may score his 100th KHL goal (currently at 98).
19:00: Lokomotiv (45-15-3, 1st W) vs Severstal (37-24-1, 5th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv starts a three-game home series following a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Thursday (3:5).
Severstal ends a two-game road trip following a loss to Traktor on Saturday (1:5).
The season series between the two teams is 3-0 (4:1, 5:1, 5:0).
Lokomotiv’s forward Byron Froese is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 9 (5+4) points over that span.
Lokomotiv’s forward Artur Kayumov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Maxim Shalunov.
Severstal: Yaroslav Dyblenko, Artyom Shchuchinov.
19:30: Ak Bars (39-22-2, 5th E) vs Spartak (34-19-9, 5th W)
About the game
Ak Bars is in the middle of a five-game home series and lost to Avangard on Saturday (0:2).
Spartak, who defeated Ak Bars earlier this season (3:0), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its last four matches.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Yegor Babenko.
Milestone alert
Spartak’s goalies Dmitry Nikolayev and Artyom Zagidulin may record their respective tenth KHL shutout.
19:30: Vityaz (22-32-9, 10th W) vs Sibir (26-26-10, 8th E)
About the game
Vityaz plays the lone home game of the series following a win over HC Sochi on Saturday (5:0).
Sibir, who defeated Vityaz earlier in the season (4:3 SO), ends a three-game road trip on a three-match losing streak.
Vityaz’s goalie Andrei Kareyev is on a 63:22 shutout streak.
Injury list
Vityaz: Ivan Chekhovich, Frederik Gauthier.
Sibir: Fyodor Gordeyev.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Maxim Karpov may line up for his 800th league appearance.
