Return to the Far East; four games scheduled for today
On an exciting KHL Wednesday, the Far East sees two matches, with Amur hosting Avangard and Admiral facing Metallurg. Then, Traktor welcomes Neftekhimik and Barys will seek a return to victory against Salavat Yulaev. Emotions are guaranteed in all four arenas for today’s games.
The match day starts in the Far East, with Amur hosting Avangard. The Tigers just halted a skid with a home win over Admiral in the local derby, and will be looking to build on that win as the Hawks land in Khabarovsk. Earlier in the season, Avangard already defeated Amur, and they won the previous couple of matches, against Neftekhimik (2:1) and Barys (4:3), respectively. The Hawks are currently the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, while Amur sits in seventh place. Both teams will be seeking a win to improve their record, and a hardly-fought game is to be expected.
12:15: Amur (8-10-3, 7th E) vs Avangard (14-6-1, 4th E)
About the game
Amur enters the second game of a six-match home series following a win over Admiral on Sunday (3:2).
Avangard, who defeated Amur earlier in the season (2:1), starts a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov, Alex Broadhurst, Artur Gizdatullin.
Avangard: Nail Yakupov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s defenseman Alexei Solovyov lines up for his 200th league appearance.
Avangard’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov may reach 20 KHL shutouts.
In the second Far East match of the game day, Admiral faces Metallurg. The Sailors start a four-game home stand, and lost their last seven matches. After this skid, Admiral slipped down to the foot of the Eastern Conference’s standings, with sixteen points. Metallurg lacked consistency lately, alternating wins and losses, but has three victories in its last five matches and with a win over the Shanghai Dragons Magnitka returned at the top of the league and the East’s table. In the game against the Chinese franchise, on Monday, Metallurg had six different scorers, and Swedish defenseman Robin Press posted a hat-trick of assists. However, Magnitka shouldn’t underrate the opposition in this confrontation between the first and last team in the conference. Evgeny Kuznetsov will miss the team’s road trip as he will remain in Magnitogorsk to gain match practice back. On Friday, the Far East franchises will swap opponents.
12:30: Admiral (6-9-4, 11th E) vs Metallurg (16-4-2, 1st E)
About the game
Admiral starts a four-game home series on a seven-match losing streak.
Metallurg starts a three-game road trip fresh off a win over the Shanghai Dragons on Monday (6:1).
Injury list
Admiral: Mario Grman, Alexander Shepelev, Stepan Starkov.
Metallurg: Andrei Kozlov.
Milestone alert
Admiral is still seeking to celebrate its 300 KHL wins.
In Chelyabinsk, Traktor will seek a third straight win in a game against Neftekhimik, after collecting victories over Barys (6:3) and Sibir (4:3). The team has defeated Neftekhimik twice earlier in the season. The Wolves also celebrated a recent win over Barys, on Monday (5:2). The Chelyabinsk side scored ten goals in those two wins, allowing six – Traktor will seek more defensive awareness to keep on his push for a top-four finish in the Eastern Conference. Neftekhimik has three wins in its last five matches, and is the sixth seed in the East, just two points below Traktor. After today’s game, the team will fly back to Nizhnekamsk for the next three matches.
17:00: Traktor (11-7-5, 5th E) vs Neftekhimik (12-10-1, 6th E)
About the game
Traktor ends a four-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Neftekhimik ends a three-game road trip following a win over Barys on Monday (5:2).
The season series between the two teams is 2-0 (4:3, 3:2).
Traktor’s forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev had at least an assist in each of his previous five matches, totaling seven helpers.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Alexander Dergachyov, Nikita Popugayev, Luka Profaca.
Disqualifications
Traktor’s defenseman Grigory Dronov serves the final game of a five-match ban.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s defenseman Jordan Gross lines up for his 100th league appearance.
Traktor’s defenseman Sergei Telegin may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
In Astana, Barys will seek a return to victory after four straight losses and eight defeats in its last ten matches. It will be the team’s 1,100th game in the KHL, and that may add some further motivation to the Kazakhs, who need points to safeguard their positioning in the playoff places. The ninth seed in the East is Salavat Yulaev, coming to Kazakhstan for today’s match. Despite being down in the standings, the Ufa side is in great shape, with four wins in its last five matches, losing only to Lokomotiv on Sunday. The local fans will be treated to an exciting game that can go either way. For Salavat Yulaev, new signing Sheldon Rempal may have his debut today.
17:30: Barys (7-11-5, 8th E) vs Salavat Yulaev (8-11-2, 9th E)
About the game
Barys enters the second game of a four-match home series on a four-game losing streak.
Salavat Yulaev starts a two-game road trip following a loss to Lokomotiv on Sunday (1:4).
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Semyon Vyazovoi is on an 83:07 shutout streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Maxim Kuznetsov had an assist in each of his previous four matches.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Artur Faizov is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Barys: Nikita Boyarkin, Emil Galimov, Maxim Mukhametov, Tyler Wotherspoon.
Salavat Yulaev: Danila Alalykin, Anton Berlyov, Pyogr Khokhryakov, Oleg Kuzmin, Alexei Pimenov, Dennis Yan, Nikita Zorkin.
Milestone alert
Barys plays its 1,100th league game.
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Alexei Vasilevsky may reach 100 assists in the league (currently at 99).
