Barys faces Amur, Ak Bars welcomes Traktor!

It’s a light KHL Saturday, with just two games on tap. In Kazakhstan, Barys hosts Amur in a critical game for both sides’ playoff hopes. Then, in Kazan, Ak Bars hosts Traktor for an Eastern Conference classic.

The match day starts in Astana as the Kazakhs are almost in a do-or-die situation facing Amur after three straight losses. After the setback, Barys slipped down to ninth place, with Salavat Yulaev overcoming the team in eighth place after Thursday’s win over the Tigers during the Kazakhs’ loss to Avtomobilist. However, just one point separates the two teams in the standings. Amur is slightly above in the Eastern Conference’s table, in seventh place with one point more than Salavat Yulaev. Today’s game will be of utmost importance for both sides, but especially for Barys, who will play on home ice and is down in the standings.

14:30: Barys (14-20-6, 9th E) vs Amur (15-18-6, 7th E)
About the game
Barys ends a four-game home series on a three-match losing streak.
Amur wraps up a four-game road trip following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Thursday (2:4).
The season series between the two teams is 2-0 (4:3 SO, 3:1).
Injury list
Barys: Adam Scheel
Amur: Roman Abrosimov.
Milestone alert
Barys’ defenseman Ian McCoshen lines up for his 100th league appearance
Amur’s forward Oleg Li may score his 200th career point (currently at 199).

The action then moves to Kazan for an exciting matchup between Ak Bars and Traktor. After the pause, following a bad period for the team, Evgeny Koreshkov was appointed as the new head coach in Chelyabinsk, but the team lost its first game, to Metallurg (4:7). However, the Black-and-Whites then won twice in a row, over Barys (2:0) and Lada (6:1), and will have their first hard test today with a game in Kazan. Traktor remains in sixth place in the East, with an eight-point gap from the fourth spot. It will be the second meeting between the two sides this season, with Ak Bars – currently the third seed in the East after yesterday’s Avangard win – grabbing an early win at home less than a month ago.

17:00: Ak Bars (25-12-2, 3rd E) vs Traktor (17-17-5, 6th E)
About the game
Ak Bars, who defeated Traktor earlier in the season (5:3), starts a six-game home series fresh off a win over Salavat Yulaev on Dec. 20 (2:1).
Traktor enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a two-game winning streak.
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Traktor’s forward Andrei Svetlakov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Albert Yarullin
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Yegor Korshkov may net his 100th goal in the KHL (currently at 99).