Sibir looking to halt its skid in a home game against the Dragons
It’s a light KHL Monday with just three games on tap, starting with a showdown between Sibir and the Shanghai Dragons. In the Western Conference, Lokomotiv seeks a return to victory in a home game against Salavat Yulaev and HC Sochi hosts Barys.
In the first game of the day, Sibir will try to finally halt its skid and return to victory – also to avoid establishing a new club record for the most consecutive defeats, with the team lost the last twelve straight matches, just as it happened in the 2008-2009 season. Sibir entered its latest game with Dmitry Lozebnikov as acting head coach, but despite a quick goal, the team suffered a 2:3 home defeat to Dynamo Moscow. Coming to Novosibirsk are the Shanghai Dragons. The Chinese Franchise won only once in the last five matches, and is now in eighth place in the Western Conference’s standings, just one point above the playoff line.
15:30: Sibir (7-16-3, 11th E) vs Shanghai Dragons (11-8-6, 8th W)
About the game
Sibir ends a two-game home series on a twelve-match losing streak.
The Shanghai Dragons enter the third game of a four-match road trip following a loss to HC Sochi on Saturday (2:4).
Injury list
Sibir: Roman Kalinichenko, Chase Priskie, Valentin Pyanov, Sergei Shirokov.
Shanghai Dragons: Parker Foo, Jeremy Groleau.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Kirill Rasskazov may reach 100 career assists (currenly at 99).
The action then moves to the Western Conference for a couple of matches. In Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv will try to bounce back after being surprised by Barys on Saturday (0:4). Today’s opposition will be Salavat Yulaev. The Railwaymen have already collected a win in Ufa in early November, and today they will try to celebrate another win to remain at the top of the Western Conference’s standings. The Ufa side collected only two victories in the last five matches and are currently outside of the playoff places in the East.
19:00: Lokomotiv (18-7-2, 1st W) vs Salavat Yulaev (10-13-2, 9th E)
About the game
Lokomotiv, who defeated Salavat Yulaev earlier in the season (4:1), enters the second game of a five-match home series following a loss to Barys on Saturday (0:4).
Salavat Yulaev starts a four-game road trip fresh off a win over SKA on Wednesday (2:1).
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Richard Panik, Andrei Sergeyev, Daniil Tesanov, Alexander Volkov.
Salavat Yulaev: Daniil Alalykin, Anton Berlyov, Dennis Yan, Nikita Zorkin.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Beryozkin may reach 100 league assists (currently at 99).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th KHL shutout.
Closing the matchday is a showdown between HC Sochi and Barys. Both sides won their last outing, with HC Sochi defeating the Shanghai Dragons on home ice (4:2) and Barys claiming a sensational win in Yaroslavl (4:0) – it was the first away win of the season for the Kazakhs. Barys will try to collect a second straight road win to increase its record and perhaps surpass Amur in the standings to further cement its positioning in the playoff places. HC Sochi, meanwhile, sits at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, and climbing up has become increasingly difficult for the Southern franchise, although its results have improved significantly in recent games. The hosts will have to do without newly-signed goalie Ilya Samsonov and key defenseman Noel Hoefenmayer. It will be the first meeting of the season between the two teams. After today’s clash, Barys will fly back to Kazakhstan.
19:30: HC Sochi (6-14-4, 11th W) vs Barys (9-13-5, 8th E)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the second game of a five-match home series following a win over the Shanghai Dragons on Saturday (4:2).
Barys end a two-game road trip after a win in Lokomotiv also on Saturday (4:0).
Barys’ goalie Adam Scheel is on a 67:23 shutout streak.
Barys’ forward Dinmukhamed Kayirzhan is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Matvei Guskov, Noel Hoefenmayer, Ilya Samsonov.
Barys: Nikita Boyarkin, Tyler Wotherspoon.
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s goalie Pavel Khomchenko may record his 10th KHL shutout.
