Dynamo Moscow against SKA, Lokomotiv hosts Ak Bars
Five matches are on tap today, all in the West. The Shanghai Dragons will seek a return to victory against Severstal, Lokomotiv hosts Ak Bars in a heated game, CSKA and Sibir will try to revert the trend, Dinamo Minsk welcomes Lada, and Dynamo Moscow faces off with SKA for the second time in less than a week.
In St. Petersburg, the Shanghai Dragons will try to return to victory after losing to Metallurg (1:6) and SKA (2:3 OT) in a home game against Severstal. The teams met just one meet ago, with the Dragons claiming a 6:3 win in Cherepovets, with Kevin Labanc finding his first KHL goal. After that game, the Steelers achieved a hard-fought win in Sochi, celebrating an extra time victory with four-point performances from leaders Daniil Aimurzin and Mikhail Ilyin. Moreover, Severstal won eleven straight road games against the Chinese franchise, who will depart for a new road trip after today’s match. Four points, and two positions, separate the teams in the Western Conference’s standings.
17:00: Shanghai Dragons (10-6-6, 7th W) vs Severstal (15-8-0, 5th W)
About the game
The Shanghai Dragons play the lone home game of the series on a two-game losing streak.
Severstal enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a win over HC Sochi on Thursday (5:4 OT).
The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (1:4, 6:3).
Injury list
Shanghai Dragons: Parker Foo, Jeremy Groleau, Riley Sutter.
Severstal: Vladimir Grudinin, Vladislav Tsitsyura, Grigory Vashchenko.
Milestone alert
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Ryan Spooner may record his 200th KHL assist (currently at 198).
In Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv, who is on a roll with four straight wins, will face Ak Bars, who somewhat surprisingly lost its previous couple of matches after an eleven-game winning streak. First, the Kazan side fell to Lada on home ice (3:4 OT), then in Minsk despite being up in the scoring for most of the game. Today’s game will be an exciting one: with two contending teams facing off in Yaroslavl, it can easily go either way, but the price of a mistake can cost the match.
17:00: Lokomotiv (16-5-2, 1st W) vs Ak Bars (15-6-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Lokomotiv ends a two-game home series on a four-match winning streak.
Ak Bars, who defeated Lokomotiv earlier in the season (1:0), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its previous couple of seasons.
Lokomotiv’s defenseman Martin Gernat is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points over that span.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Andrei Sergeyev, Daniil Tesanov, Alexander Volkov.
Ak Bars: Albert Yarullin.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th KHL shutout.
In Moscow, both CSKA and Sibir will try to turn the tide after several straight losses. For the guests, the situation is more complicated as the team lost its previous eight matches. Trying to improve the team’s record, Sibir sent forward Nikita Soshnikov back to Admiral after a mere two goals in twenty games in exchange for another forward, Artyom Koshelev. With this setback, Sibir is now sitting at the bottom of the Eastern table. CSKA, losing its last four games, may instead see the debut of its new goalie Alexander Samonov, who just moved to Moscow from Salavat Yulaev. The veteran netminder has more than 250 KHL appearance and 21 career shutouts.
17:00: CSKA (10-11-2, 8th W) vs Sibir (7-12-3, 11th E)
About the game
CSKA is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its previous four matches.
Sibir starts a three-game road trip on an eight-match losing streak.
Sibir’s defenseman Yegor Alanov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that stretch.
Injury list
CSKA: Yegor Fateyev, Danila Moiseyev, Colby Williams.
Sibir: Fyodor Gordeyev, Roman Kalinichenko, Chase Priskie, Valentin Pyanov, Sergei Shirokov.
In Belarus, Dinamo Minsk will try to stretch its already impressive winning streak in a home game against Lada. The teams already met this season, with the Bison claiming a shutout win in late October. However, a couple of games ago, Dinamo Minsk lost a key player in Canadian defenseman Xavier Ouellet. The Bison are currently the third seed in the Western Conference, tied with Dynamo Moscow at 31 points. After stopping Ak Bars’ eleven-game winning streak, Lada suffered a shootout loss to the Blue-and-Whites and are currently the tenth seed in the West.
17:10: Dinamo Minsk (14-5-3, 3rd W) vs Lada (6-14-3, 10th W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk, who defeated Lada earlier in the season (4:0), enters the sixth game of an eight-match home series on a six-game winning streak.
Lada enters the fifth game of a seven-match road trip following a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Thursday (3:4 SO).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Ilya Usov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that stretch.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Daniil Sotishvili is also on a three-game scoring streak, but with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Xavier Ouellet.
Lada: Alexei Ozhgikhin.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may line up for his 300th league appearance and may record his 30th KHL shutout.
Closing an exciting match day is a Moscow showdown between Dynamo and SKA, a Russian hockey classic. It will be the second encounter between the teams in this season and in less than a week after the Blue-and-Whites claimed an early victory on Tuesday. Dynamo Moscow is on a roll, with six consecutive victories, a streak that allowed the team climbing up to the fourth place in the standings, tied with Dinamo Minsk. With leaders Nikita Gusev and Jordan Weal on an active scoring streak, SKA’s defense will need an extra effort to stop their momentum and give the team a chance to close the gap with the playoff places, with the St. Petersburg’s franchise being now stuck in a disappointing ninth place.
19:30: Dynamo Moscow (9-6-1, 4th W) vs SKA (9-9-4, 9th W)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow, who defeated SKA earlier in the season (2:1), is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous six matches.
SKA starts a three-game road trip fresh off a win over the Shanghai Dragons on Thursday (3:2 OT).
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Nikita Gusev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that stretch.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Jordan Weal is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Artyom Mikheyev.
SKA: Vladislav Romanov, Nikita Zaitsev.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Igor Ozhiganov and SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin may both reach 300 league points (both currently at 299).
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Alexei Motorygin may celebrate his 50th KHL win.
SKA’s forward Andrei Loktionov may reach 200 assists in the league (currently at 199).
