Last KHL match day before the break
The final matchday before the break offers a packed slate of seven games across the league. SKA opens the action by hosting Amur in Khabarovsk, followed by Avangard welcoming Spartak in Omsk and Traktor taking on Dynamo Moscow in Chelyabinsk. Salavat Yulaev entertains CSKA in Ufa, while Barys faces visiting Sibir in Astana. In Togliatti, Lada meets Severstal before Neftekhimik closes the day in Nizhnekamsk, challenging regional rival Ak Bars.
The match day starts in the Far East again with a revenge game between SKA and Amur. The game is to be played in Khabarovsk, but SKA will nominally be the home team after the game was moved earlier in the season due to St. Petersburg’s arena unavailability. Yesterday, Amur was up until the last third period, when Marat Khairullin tied things up with fewer than two minutes to the final hooter. Brennan Menell in extra time gave SKA its third straight win. It was the sixth straight defeat for the Tigers, who however gained one point from the clash – one more than Admiral, who lost to Lokomotiv in regulation, and that allowed Amur remain in the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference’s table. In the West, SKA is still the seventh seed.
10:00: SKA (17-11-7, 7th W) vs Amur (12-16-6, 8th E)
About the game
SKA starts a four-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Amur plays the lone road game of the series on a six-match losing streak.
SKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that stretch.
Injury list
SKA: Matvei Korotky, Vladislav Romanov, Nikita Zaitsev.
Amur: Roman Abrosimov.
Milestone alert
Andrei Loktionov may reach 200 KHL assists (currently at 199).
In Omsk, Avangard will seek a third straight win when Spartak pays a visit to the Siberian city. After the pause, Avangard will start a new road trip as the team wraps up a short home stand. The Hawks flew high in the last couple of games, defeating Metallurg on the road (3:1) and HC Sochi on home ice (5:2), retaining their spot in third place in the East, with four games in hand on second‑placed Ak Bars, who are three points ahead. After three straight wins, Spartak fell to Barys on Thursday, despite being up 3:1 in Astana in the early second period, with Michael Vecchione winning the game for the Kazakhs and not allowing Spartak to climb up any higher that its current sixth place.
14:00: Avangard (20-8-3, 3rd E) vs Spartak (18-12-4, 6th W)
About the game
Avangard ends a two-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Spartak enters the third game of a twelve-match road trip following a loss to Barys on Friday (3:4 OT).
Avangard’s forward Vasily Ponomaryov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that stretch.
Avangard’s forward Alexander Volkov is on a three-game scoring streak instead, with 3 (2+1) points.
Spartak’s forward Adam Ruzicka is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points over that span.
Spartak’s forward Daniil Pivchulin is also on a four-game scoring streak, but with 5 (3+2) points.
Spartak’s forward Pavel Poryadin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Injury list
Spartak: Dmitry Vishnevsky.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov may record his 20th KHL shutout.
In the meantime, Traktor will seek revenge against Dynamo Moscow after losing their first clash of the season in extra time (2:3 SO). The Chelyabinsk side had three straight losses and will also seek a return to win after losing games to Severstal (2:3), Ak Bars (3:5), and CSKA (2:3) – this last at home. Traktor is thus the sixth seed in the East, certainly not what the team was expecting before the season. The Black-and-Whites will also try to gain a morale boost before the pause. Today’s opposition, Dynamo Moscow, is on a roll, with five consecutive wins, climbing up to just one point to the top four in the West, with 42 points against Torpedo’s 43, with two games in hand. After the pause, the Blue-and-Whites will return to action on home ice.
14:00: Traktor (15-15-5, 6th E) vs Dynamo Moscow (21-10-2, 5th W)
About the game
Traktor is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its previous three matches.
Dynamo Moscow, who defeated Traktor earlier in the season (3:2 SO), wraps up a three-game road trip on a five-game winning streak.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Dylan Sikura is on a six-game scoring streak, with 9 (6+3) points over that stretch.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Nikita Gusev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Daniila Pylenkov had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
Traktor: Sergei Mylnikov, Andrei Svetlakov.
Dynamo Moscow: Kirill Gotovets, Artyom Mikheyev.
In Ufa, Salavat Yulaev will seeking its 700th win in the KHL in a home game against CSKA. Both sides enter the last game before the pause with a win, with the Ufa team celebrating a nice win in the Green Derby over Ak Bars with four points from Sheldon Rempal (4:1) and CSKA defeating Traktor (3:2). Both sides are fighting for a spot on the right side of the playoff line, with Salavat Yulaev being just above in the Eastern Conference table and CSKA trailing the eighth-placed Shanghai Dragons by one point in the West. Earlier in the season, Salavat Yulaev celebrated a win over the Muscovites, and today they will try to repeat the trick on home ice.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (14-16-3, 7th E) vs CSKA (15-14-5, 9th W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev, who defeated CSKA earlier in the season (3:2 SO), ends a two-game home series following a win over Ak Bars on Friday (4:1).
CSKA enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a win over Traktor also on Friday (3:2).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Jake Rodewald is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that stretch.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sheldon Rempal is also on a four-game scoring streak, but with 10 (4+6) points.
CSKA’s defenseman Jeremy Roy is on a six-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin.
CSKA: Dmitry Buchelnikov, Yegor Fateyev, Danila Moiseyev.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev may celebrate its 700th win in the KHL.
In Kazakhstan, Barys will try to build on its recent win over Spartak, that halted a skid, in a home game against Sibir. It will be the fifth meeting between the teams, with the Novosibirsk side claiming three games so far. Despite Sibir’s advantage in the season series, Barys has the upper hand in the standings, being the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference, trailing just one point from Amur, with the Novosibirsk team at the foot of the conference’s table. Before the game, Sibir had a few roster moves to try and improve the situation, parting ways with veteran forward Kirill Rasskazov. Then, Avtomobilist, Severstal and Sibir completed a three-team trade. Sibir sent defenseman Artyom Zhukov to Severstal in exchange for financial compensation. Severstal then traded defenseman Artyom Shchuchinov to Avtomobilist, also for financial compensation. Sibir additionally received defenseman Daniil Valitov from the Motormen, once again in exchange for financial compensation. The race for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference will now most likely be even more exciting.
15:00: Barys (12-17-5, 9th E) vs Sibir (10-19-4, 11th E)
About the game
Barys ends a two-game home series following a win over Spartak on Friday (4:3 OT).
Sibir plays the lone home game of the series after a loss, also to Spartak, on Wednesday (6:7 OT).
The season series between the two teams is 1-3 (6:4, 0:1 SO, 3:4 SO, 1:4).
Sibir’s defenseman Chase Priskie had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Sibir’s forward Anton Kosolapov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that stretch.
Sibir’s forward Mikhail Abramov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Injury list
Barys: Tyler Wotherspoon.
Sibir: Yegor Alanov, Valentin Pyanov.
In the West, Lada hosts Severstal. In its last outing, the Togliatti side halted Maxim Motoryin’s shutout streak, but still lost to Dynamo Moscow (2:4), suffering its third straight defeat. Lada is thus tied with HC Sochi at the bottom of the Western Conference’s standings, with a significant gap to the playoff line – a whole thirteen points. The Steelers also enter today’s game not in the best form, with two straight losses, to Dynamo Moscow (0:1 OT) and Avtomobilist (1:4). With those two defeats, Severstal lost the leadership in the West to Lokomotiv by one point, but they have one game in hand on the Motormen. Dinamo Minsk is also tied with Severstal at 47 points. After the pause, Severstal will return to action at home.
16:00: Lada (10-20-3, 10th W) vs Severstal (23-11-1, 2nd W)
About the game
Lada is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its last three matches.
Sevestal wraps up a two-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Lada’s forward Nikita Mikhailov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Lada: Andrei Obidin, Alexei Ozhgikhin.
Severstal: Makar Fomin, Vladislav Tsitsyura.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s forward Alexander Skorenov may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
A showdown between Neftekhimik and Ak Bars will wrap up an exciting last day of action before the Channel One Cup pause in the league. The Wolves are in good shape, with three straight wins, over Avangard (6:5), the Shanghai Dragons (7:5), and table-topping Metallurg (2:1 OT). Ak Bars has instead lost to Salavat Yulaev on Friday (1:4) after three straight wins, and will try to bounce back in another regional rivalry game. Losing in Ufa, the Kazan side lost a good chance to erase some of Metallurg’s advantage in the Eastern Conference standings, with the gap remaining at seven points. It will be the fourth meeting between the two Tatarstan sides in the season, with Ak Bars claiming two wins so far.
17:00: Neftekhimik (18-15-1, 5th E) vs Ak Bars (22-11-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Neftekhimik enters the sixth game of an eight-match home series on a three-game winning streak.
Ak Bars ends a two-game road trip following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Friday (1:4).
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (2:1, 1:4, 2:3).
Neftekhimik’s forward Nikita Artamonov had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Ilya Khlystov, Raul Yakupov.
Ak Bars: Albert Yarullin.
