Lokomotiv seeks a return to win in Khabarovsk, three games on a light match day
Three games are scheduled for today. Two in the Far East, with Amur facing Lokomotiv and Admiral hosting SKA. Then, in Omsk, Avangard welcomes HC Sochi.
The KHL matchday kicks off in the Far East again. In Khabarovsk, Amur faces Lokomotiv. Both sides are in a losing streak, with the Tigers suffering from four consecutive defeats and the reigning champ – three. Earlier in the season, Amur defeated Lokomotiv in a high-scoring game, and today the Tigers will try to repeat the feat and return to winning games to avoid losing ground in the Eastern Conference’s table, where they are currently in eighth place. Lokomotiv is currently the third seed in the West.
12:15: Amur (12-15-5, 8th E) vs Lokomotiv (20-10-4, 3rd W)
About the game
Amur, who defeated Lokomotiv earlier in the season (6:4), enters the third game of a four-match home series on a four-game losing streak.
Lokomotiv starts a two-game road trip on a three-match losing streak.
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov.
Lokomotiv: Andrei Sergeyev, Daniil Tesanov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Alexander Radulov may reach 500 KHL assists (currently at 499).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th league shutout.
Then, in Vladivostok, Admiral hosts SKA. After defeating Amur on Wednesday (4:1), the Sailors lost the next couple of games, both to Western Conference’s opposition, to Dinamo Minsk (1:4) and HC Sochi (2:4), respectively. With these defeats, Admiral slipped down to ninth place, but trailing just one point from the playoff line. SKA is instead in great shape, with four wins in the last five matches, including an exciting extra time win in Yaroslavl on Tuesday (4:3 OT). The St. Petersburg franchise has now returned to playoff places with a one-point advantage over ninth-placed CSKA. The Far East franchises will swap opposition in two days.
12:30: Admiral (11-13-6, 9th E) vs SKA (15-11-4, 8th W)
About the game
Admiral enters the fourth game of a five-match home series on a two-game losing streak.
SKA enters the fifth game of a six-match road trip following a win in Yaroslavl on Tuesday (4:3 OT).
SKA’s forward Joseph Blandisi is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points over that stretch.
SKA’s forward Brendan Leipsic is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (6+1) points.
Injury list
Admiral: Alexander Daryin, Ruslan Pedan.
SKA: Matvei Korotky, Vladislav Romanov, Nikita Zaitsev.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Andrei Loktionov may reach 200 KHL assists (currently at 199).
In the last game of the match day, Avangard hosts HC Sochi. The Hawks landed at home after a long road trip and will now play the next two matches, before the Channel One Cup pause, in Omsk. Avangard won four games out of the last five, surrendering only to Neftekhimik (5:6) before defeating league-leading Metallurg in Magnitogorsk (3:1), and is now in a firm position in third place in the Eastern Conference’s standings. HC Sochi has also shown good form, winning its last two games in the Far East, over Amur (1:0) and Admiral (4:2), respectively. The Black Sea franchise has caught up with Lada in tenth place of the Western Conference’s standings, but the distance from the playoff line is still significant at eleven points.
16:30: Avangard (19-8-3, 3rd E) vs HC Sochi (9-17-5, 11th W)
About the game
Avangard starts a two-game home series fresh off a win over Metallurg on Thursday (3:1).
HC Sochi ends a four-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Avangard’s forward Vasily Ponomaryov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Rafael Bikmullin, Noel Hoefenmayer, Denis Vengryzhanovsky.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev lines up for his 200th league appearance.
Avangard’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov may record his 20th career shutout.
HC Sochi’s goalie Pavel Khomchenko may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
