Big Tuesday with six matches!
It’s a big day in the league with six matches, five of them in the West. It will start with a Ural derby between Traktor and Avtomobilist. Then, Severstal faces Amur and Dinamo Minsk hosts HC Sochi. In Moscow, Spartak and CSKA face off in another Moscow derby, while Lokomotiv seeks a return to victory against Lada. Closing an exciting match day are the Shanghai Dragons facing off against Dynamo Moscow.
In the only Eastern game of the day, Traktor and Avtomobilist face off again in a new edition of the Urals Derby, with the trams trading wins so far in the season. The most recent meeting happened last week, when the Motormen celebrated a 5:3 home win. The Yekaterinburg franchise then lost to Torpedo on Sunday, allowing five goals in the first period alone, and isn’t in its best moment with only two wins in the last five matches. Despite the setback, the Motormen hold a solid place in the Eastern Conference top four. Following them in the standings is Traktor, who recovered from their loss to Avtomobilist with an extra time win in Novosibirsk (4:3 SO), but has equally only two victories in the last five outings. Today’s game will be an exciting one for fans in Chelyabinsk. After today’s game, Avtomobilist will fly back to Yekaterinburg, where the Motormen will play the next couple of matches.
17:00: Traktor (9-7-4, 5th E) vs Avtomobilist (12-7-2, 4th E)
About the game
Traktor starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Sibir on Saturday (4:3 SO).
Avtomobilist ends a two-game road trip after losing to Torpedo on Sunday (4:7).
The teams traded wins so far in the season (2:0, 3:5).
Traktor’s forward Mikhail Grigorenko is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (4+3) points over that span.
Avtomobilist’s forward Stephane Da Costa is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that stretch.
Avtomobilist’s forward Brooks Macek is also on a four-game scoring streak, but with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Reid Boucher, Semyon Kizimov, Maxim Osipov, Nikita Tryamkin, Sergei Zborovsky.
Disqualifications
Traktor’s defenseman Grigory Dronov serves the second game of a five-match ban.
The action then moves to the Western Conference for four further matches. In Cherepovets, Severstal will be seeking its eighth straight win against Amur. The two teams faced off last week, in Khabarovsk, with the Steelers claiming an extra time win after Mikhail Ilyin’s successful shootout attempt (3:2 SO). Severstal’s red-hot streak allowed the team to climb up to first place in the Western Conference’s table, tied with Lokomotiv, and they will try to ride the wave with another win today. Moreover, in Sunday’s win over the Shanghai Dragons (4:1), the team recovered leading forward Kirill Pilipenko, returning to the lineup after more than twenty days of absence. The Tigers will want to return to victory after three straight losses, as after the game against Severstal they also lost to Barys (1:3) and CSKA (1:2). Despite the setback, Amur is still in the playoff places, currently in eighth spot in the East.
19:00: Severstal (13-6-0, 1st W) vs Amur (7-8-3, 8th E)
About the game
Severstal, who defeated Amur earlier in the season (3:2 SO), enters the second game of a four-match home series on a seven-game winning streak.
Amur enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a three-game losing streak.
Severstal’s defenseman Ioannis Kaldis is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Severstal’s forward Ilya Kvochko is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Amur’s goalie Damir Shaimardanov is on an 80:29 shutout streak.
Injury list
Severstal: Vladimir Grudinin, Adam Liska, Kirill Tankov, Vladislav Tsitsyura, Grigory Vashchenko.
Amur: Roman Abrosimov, Artur Gizdatullin.
Milestone alert
Amur’s goalie Maxim Dorozhko may celebrate his 50th win in the KHL.
In Minsk, Dinamo Minsk will seek its third straight win, while HC Sochi will try to return to victory after eight straight losses. The Black Sea franchise is struggling at both ends of the ice, with 22 goals allowed and only seven scored across its last five matches. If that would not be enough, the team’s starting netminder Pavel Khomchenko is still sitting on the injury list. HC Sochi is currently the last team in the West, and has only collected four wins so far. The Belarusians just won two games in a row allowing only one goal in the process (4:0 over Lada and 2:1 SO against the Shanghai Dragons) and have three wins in their last five matches, continuing their quest for a top-four finish in the West.
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (10-5-3, 5th W) vs HC Sochi (4-11-2, 11th W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk enters the second game of an eight-match home series following two straight wins.
HC Sochi ends a three-game road trip on an eight-match losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Zach Fucale is on a 71:37 shutout streak.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on a six-game scoring streak, with 10 (6+4) points over that span.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Vitaly Pinchuk is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Amir Garayev, Pavel Khomchenko, Vasily Machulin.
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s defenseman Artyom Volkov lines up for his 500th league appearance.
In Moscow, it will be time for another Capital derby, the second clash of the season between Spartak and CSKA. The Red-and-Whites keep delighting their fans with high-scoring games and crazy comebacks. Not long ago, Spartak managed to pull off a 7:6 shootout win over the Shanghai Dragons after trailing by three in the third period, and back in September they took the Moscow derby against CSKA, when the latter was up 5:2 midway through the match. Moreover, Spartak hasn’t lost to CSKA on home ice since November 2023. Can Alexei Zhamnov’s team extend their winning streak in the Capital Derby? However, CSKA will enter today’s clash in top form, following four straight victories. The winner of today’s game has a chance to climb up to sixth place in the Western Conference’s table.
19:30: Spartak (10-6-3, 6th W) vs CSKA (10-7-2, 7th W)
About the game
Spartak, who defeated CSKA earlier in the season (6:5 SO), ends a four-game home series following a win over HC Sochi on Sunday (5:3).
CSKA starts a three-game road trip on a four-match winning streak.
CSKA’s forward Dmitry Buchelnikov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Spartak: Nikita Buruyanov, Pavel Poryadin.
CSKA: Yegor Fateyev, Danila Moiseyev.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Maxim Sorkin may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
In the meantime, Lokomotiv will seek to surpass Severstal again in the standings as the Railwaymen face Lada on home ice. The two teams already met this season, with Lokomotiv claiming a commanding 6:1 win – the Yaroslavl franchise won its previous five home games against Togliatti. However, Lokomotiv just suffered from a somewhat unexpected 0:1 loss in Kazan, a result that cost them the Western leadership. Today, the Railwaymen will seek a return to victory, facing a Lada side that has only won once in its last five matches. The Togliatti side is currently the tenth seed in the West, with only Sochi trailing behind in the conference standings.
19:30: Lokomotiv (12-5-2, 2nd W) vs Lada (5-12-2, 10th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv starts a two-game home series following a loss to Ak Bars on Oct. 22 (0:1).
Lada starts a seven-game road trip fresh off a win over Torpedo on Friday (3:2 SO).
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Andrei Sergeyev, Daniil Tesanov.
Lada: Alexei Ozhgikhin.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Byron Froese lines up for his 100th league appearance.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th KHL shutout.
In the closing game of the day, the Shanghai Dragons try rebound back after a four-game skid, with losses to Dynamo Moscow (2:3 SO), Spartak (6:7 SO), Dinamo Minsk (1:2 SO), and Severstal (1:4). That stretch featured only one regulation loss, which helped the Chinese franchise stay within reach in the Western Conference standings. The Dragons are currently the fourth seed in the West, tied at 23 points with Dinamo Minsk and Spartak. Dynamo Moscow follows in eighth place. The Blue-and-Whites defeated the Shanghai Dragons twice this season, with one loss. Most recently, Dynamo shut out Spartak in a heated Moscow derby, ended with a 5:0 scoreline. Earlier, the Blue-and-Whites also defeated CSKA (4:3 SO), confirming a good trend against capital teams. Today, however, they will have to play against a determined team, with the Dragons willing to recover in the standings and finally celebrate their 200th league win.
19:30: Shanghai Dragons (9-4-5, 4th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (10-6-1, 7th W)
About the game
The Shanghai Dragons plays the lone home game of the series and lost their previous four matches.
Dynamo Moscow is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Spartak on Thursday (5:0).
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (2:3 OT, 3:2, 2:3 SO).
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky is on a 61:01 shutout streak.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Anton Slepyshev is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Shanghai Dragons: Spencer Foo, Jeremy Groleau, Nikita Popugayev, Riley Sutter.
Dynamo Moscow: Artyom Mikheyev.
Milestone alert
Shanghai Dragons’ defenseman Alexander Bryntsev may reach 600 KHL games.
The Shanghai Dragons may celebrate their 200th league win.
