Three Eastern games on a light KHL Sunday
It’s a light game day, with only three games on schedule, two of them in the Far East. There, Amur faces Avtomobilist and Admiral welcomes Traktor. In Kazakhstan, Barys hosts Metallurg.
The Sunday match day features again two early games in the Far East, with Amur facing off with Avtomobilist and Admiral hosting Traktor. After two straight wins, the Tigers fell to Metallurg on Friday and will face the Motormen today. Avtomobilist has already collected a win against Amur earlier in the season, and today will be looking to revert the trend after two consecutive losses, to Torpedo (0:2) and Barys (2:3 OT), respectively. After the losses, Avtomobilist are still in the Eastern Conference top four, tied with Avangard, while Amur sits in seventh place. The Tigers have just announced the signing of 28-years-old defenseman Yegor Rykov, who helped SKA lift the Gagarin Cup in 2017. Earlier, he was on a try-out with Traktor, but started the season with Lada.
10:00: Amur (9-11-3, 7th E) vs Avtomobilist (14-8-3, 4th E)
About the game
Amur enters the fourth game of a six-match home series following a loss to Metallurg on Friday (1:3).
Avtomobilist, who defeated Amur earlier in the season (3:1), enters the second game of a four-match road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov, Alex Broadhurst, Artur Gizdatullin.
Avtomobilist: Semyon Kizimov, Nikita Tryamkin, Sergei Zborovsky.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Ilya Talaluyev may reach 100 league points (currently at 99).
Avtomobilist’s forward Curtis Valk lines up for his 400th league appearance.
Avtomobilist’s forward Anatoly Golyshev may record his 200th KHL assists (currently at 198).
In Vladivostok, the Sailors host Traktor. Admiral just returned to win after an eight-game losing streak when Dmitry Zavgorodny found the back of the net in extra time in Friday’s game against Avangard. That win allowed the Sailors to overcome Sibir in the standings and leave the last place in the East. After winning two straight matches, Traktor suffered from a home loss to Neftekhimik on Wednesday, who overcame the Black-and-Whites in the standings. Recently, to increase its offensive depth, Admiral announced the signing of Vladimir Bryukvin, most recently with Neftekhimik. However, Traktor didn’t stay silent either, moving French-born forward Pierrick Dube to SKA in exchange for blueliner Nikita Smirnov.
10:00: Admiral (7-10-4, 10th E) vs Traktor (11-8-5, 6th E)
About the game
Admiral enters the third game of a four-match home series following a win over Avangard on Friday (2:1 OT).
Traktor starts a three-game road trip after a home loss to Neftekhimik on Wednesday (3:4).
Traktor’s forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev had at least an assist in each of his previous six matches, totaling eight helpers.
Traktor’s defenseman Jordan Gross is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that stretch.
Traktor’s forward Mikhail Goryunov-Rolziger is also on a three-game scoring streak, but with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Admiral: Mario Grman, Alexander Shepelev, Stepan Starkov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Mikhail Grigorenko lines up for his 500th KHL appearance. The three-time Gagarin Cup champion has 182 goals and 208 assists in his career.
Traktor’s defenseman Sergei Telegin may reach 100 assists in the league (currently at 99).
The action then moves to Kazakhstan, with Barys welcoming Metallurg. It will be the second meeting between the teams in the season, following a 5:1 Magnitka’s win. The Magnitogorsk franchise is currently at the top of the Eastern Conference’s standings with a six-point advantage over second-placed Ak Bars. The team won its previous three straight matches, defeating the Shanghai Dragons (6:1), Admiral (2:1), and Amur (3:1), respectively. Tight defense and a well-oiled attack are hard to contain for the opposition, and today Barys will have to face a formidable opponent. With an extra time win over Avtomobilist on Friday, however, the Kazakhs remained in playoff places despite a negative streak. Today, they will try to build momentum on that victory.
15:00: Barys (8-12-5, 8th E) vs Metallurg (18-4-2, 1st E)
About the game
Barys ends a four-game home series following a win over Avtomobilist on Friday (3:2 OT).
Metallurg, who defeated Barys earlier in the season (5:1), ends a three-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
Barys’ forward Dimukhamed Kaiyrzhan netted a goal in each of his previous three games.
Metallurg’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Metallurg’s forward Roman Kantserov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Metallurg’s forward Dmitry Silantyev scored a goal in each of his previous three games.
Metallurg’s defenseman Yegor Yakovlev had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
Barys: Nikita Boyarkin, Emil Galimov, Maxim Mukhametov, Tyler Wotherspoon.
Metallurg: Andrei Kozlov.
