Avangard hosts Traktor, Ak Bars faces Dynamo Moscow
Only two games are on tap on a light KHL Thursday, with two Eastern Conference matches.
The matchday starts again in Omsk, with an exciting showdown between Avangard and Traktor. Vitaly Kravtsov wasted little time in marking his return to his home club with a goal and an assist. The forward opened the scoring inside three minutes of Tuesday’s trip to Amur that ended with an extra time win for Traktor (2:1 OT). It was the second straight win for the Black-and-Whites, who caught Avangard in the standings at 31 points (also tied with Avtomobilist). The Hawks will want to spread their wings again after three straight losses, to Amur (2:3 OT), Admiral (1:2 OT), and SKA (0:1) – the forwards need to step up and score more if they want to give the team a chance. It will be the third meeting between the teams this season, after the teams traded wins earlier. Moreover, Traktor won its previous five matches in Omsk.
16:30: Avangard (14-7-3, 3rd E) vs Traktor (13-8-5, 5th E)
About the game
Avangard ends a two-game home series on a three-match road trip.
Traktor ends a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (1:5, 8:5).
Milestone alert
Avangard’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov may reach 20 KHL shutouts.
Traktor’s defenseman Sergei Telegin may reach 100 points in the league (currently at 99).
The action then moves to Kazan, where Ak Bars hosts Dynamo Moscow. After three straight losses, Ak Bars returned to win in Nizhnekamsk, where Dmitrij Jaskin netted a double in a 4:1 Kazan win. With that win, the team cut the gap with conference-leading Metallurg to six points. Dynamo Moscow instead lost their previous two matches, to SKA (2:3) and the Shanghai Dragons (1:4). The Blue-and-Whites slipped down to fifth place in the Western standings and will try to return to victory to climb up as they start a new road trip with today’s game in Tatarstan. It’s the first meeting between the two sides in the current season.
19:00: Ak Bars (16-7-2, 2nd W) vs Dynamo Moscow (15-8-1, 5th W)
About the game
Ak Bars starts a three-game home series fresh off a win over Neftekhimik on Monday (4:1).
Dynamo Moscow starts a two-game road trip following two straight home losses.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Albert Yarullin.
Dynamo Moscow: Artyom Mikheyev.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ defenseman Kirill Lyamkin lines up for his 600th league appearance, while defenseman Stepan Falkovsky reaches 300.
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Igor Ozhiganov may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 299).
