Exciting games across both conferences today!
October ends, and it’s an exciting Friday today, with four games – three in the East and one in the West. In the Urals, Avtomobilist hosts Sibir and Traktor faces Barys, while Salavat Yulaev seeks a fifth straight in a home game against Admiral. In the West, Lokomotiv welcomes SKA in another exciting matchup.
The matchday starts in the Urals, with Avtomobilist hosting Sibir and Traktor welcoming Barys. The Motormen return home after a win in Chelyabinsk – it was the team’s third victory over the last three matches, a result that allowed Avtomobilist reaching the third spot in the Eastern Conference’s table despite being without several key players sitting in IL. However, Anatoly Golyshev’s return also helped the Motormen improve their records. Sibir, on the other hand, lost its previous five matches and will be looking for a return to victory in order to return to the playoff places. The Novosibirsk side is currently in last position in the East, tied with Salavat Yulaev and Admiral at 16 points.
17:00: Avtomobilist (13-7-2, 3rd E) vs Sibir (7-10-2, 11th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist starts a two-game home series fresh off a win over Traktor on Tuesday (2:1 SO).
Sibir is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its previous five matches.
Sibir’s defenseman Yegor Alanov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Sibir’s forward Arkhip Nekolenko had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Sibir’s forward Ivan Chekhovich is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Reid Boucher, Semyon Kizimov, Maxim Osipov, Nikita Tryamkin, Sergei Zborovsky.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Valentin Pyanov may line up for his 600th league appearance.
In the meantime, in Chelyabinsk, Traktor will try to bounce back after its loss to Avtomobilist in a home game against Barys. The Kazakhs lost their last couple of matches – both on a one-goal gap, to Neftekhimik (2:3) and Avangard (3:4) respectively, but retained their spot above the playoffs line as Barys is now in seventh place in the Eastern Conference’s table. The Chelyabinsk side is right above the Kazakhs in the standings, in sixth place, but with a four-point advantage. It will be the third meeting between the two sides this season, with the teams grabbing one win each so far, both in extra time. However, Traktor won its previous five home games against the Kazakhs. After today’s game, Barys will fly back to Astana, where the team will play the next four matches.
17:00: Traktor (9-7-5, 6th E) vs Barys (7-9-5, 7th E)
About the game
Traktor enters the second game of a four-match home series following a loss to Avtomobilist on Tuesday (1:2 SO).
Barys ends a three-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
The teams traded wins earlier in the season (3:4 OT, 3:2 OT).
Traktor’s goalie Chris Driedger is on a 61:20 shutout streak.
Traktor’s forward Mikhail Grigorenko is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (5+3) points over that span.
Traktor’s forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling five helpers.
Barys’ forward Michael Vecchione had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Barys: Alikhan Asetov, Nikita Boyarkin, Emil Galimov, Maxim Mukhametov.
Salavat Yulaev and Admiral face off again after Wednesday’s game in Ufa, where the hosts dominated with a 6:1 win, with three points coming from rookie Alexander Zharovsky. Salavat Yulaev is now on a four-game winning streak – finally for its fans, the Ufa team found some rhythm and managed to get a few wins, rising up to ninth place in the East’s table. The Sailors remain in the opposite direction. After losing to Ufa on Wednesday, they failed to rise in the standings and are now the tenth seed in the conference. Admiral has now five defeats in a row.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (7-10-2, 9th E) vs Admiral (6-7-4, 10th E)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev, who defeated Admiral on Wednesday (6:1), is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous four matches.
Admiral enters the fourth game of a five-match road trip and lost its previous five matches.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Maxim Kuznetsov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Jack Rodewald is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Admiral’s forward Stepan Starkov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Danil Alalykin, Anton Berlyov, Pyotr Khokhryakov, Oleg Kuzmin, Alexei Pimenov, Dennis Yan, Nikita Zorkin.
Admiral: Mario Grman, Alexander Shepelev.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Alexei Vasilevsky may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
Admiral may reach 300 KHL wins.
In the lone Western game of the series, Lokomotiv faces SKA. The Railwaymen are currently tied with Severstal and Torpedo at 28 points and are the second seed in the Western Conference’s standings, with one game less than the Steelers. Lokomotiv is in great shape, with four wins in the last five matches, only losing to Ak Bars (0:1) on Oct. 22. SKA travels to Yaroslavl after winning two consecutive games, over HC Sochi (8:1) and Sibir (3:2), respectively. Today’s game will be a great test for Igor Larionov’s squad to check whether they actually managed to improve the situation after a long skid. It will be the third meeting between the two Western sides, with the Railwaymen claiming two victories so far.
19:30: Lokomotiv (13-5-2, 2nd W) vs SKA (8-7-4, 9th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv ends a two-game home series following a win over Lada on Tuesday (3:2).
SKA plays the lone road game of the series on a two-match winning streak.
The season series between the two teams is 2-0 (4:2, 3:1).
SKA’s forward Mikhail Vorobyov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Andrei Sergeyev, Daniil Tesanov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
SKA’s defenseman Yegor Savikov lines up for his 200th KHL game.
SKA’s forward Mairat Khairullin may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 297).
