Last matchday of 2025
The final matchday of 2025 features a packed eight-game slate stretching from the Far East to St. Petersburg. Amur hosts Sibir, Avangard welcomes Barys, CSKA faces Dynamo Moscow, Avtomobilist takes on Lada, Salavat Yulaev meets Dinamo Minsk, Ak Bars clashes with Severstal, Lokomotiv hosts Torpedo, and the night closes with a St. Petersburg derby between the Shanghai Dragons and SKA, as playoff races and milestones headline the year’s finale. The KHL will be back on Jan. 03, 2026.
The intense matchday starts again in the Far East, with Amur taking on Sibir. The Novosibirsk side just won two games in a row in Vladivostok and will want to prove there’s no two without three against Amur in its 2025 finale. After the two victories over Admiral, Sibir caught up with Barys at 34 points in the Eastern Conference’s standings, but are still out of the playoff picture in tenth place. After defeating the Kazakhs in their last outing, the Tigers have three wins in their last five matches and sit in seventh place in the East, four points above today’s opposition. Earlier in the season, Sibir had three wins over Amur.
12:15: Amur (16-18-6, 7th E) vs Sibir (15-21-4, 9th E)
About the game
Amur plays the lone home game of the series following a win over Barys on Saturday (4:1).
Sibir wraps up a three-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
The season series between the two teams is 1-3 (2:0, 3:4 SO, 0:1, 2:4).
Amur’s forward Kirill Petkov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Oleg Li may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).
Sibir’s forward Ivan Chekhovich may line up for his 300th league appearance.
Sibir’s forward Sergei Shirokov may score his 250th goal in the KHL (currently at 248).
Then, in Omsk, Avangard faces Barys. The two sides are in opposite directions. The Hawks flew high in the last five matches, even if they had to overgo extra time in the last three matches. This way, Avangard climbed up to second place in the Eastern Conference’s table, surpassing Ak Bars. Barys has instead lost its previous four matches, falling down to ninth place at three points from Salavat Yulaev. However, Barys did defeat Avangard earlier in the season, as well as Lokomotiv, and showed that they can be competitive against top-ranked teams. Will the Kazakhs manage to revert the trend and end 2025 on a positive note with another win against a contender?
16:30: Avangard (26-9-3, 2nd E) vs Barys (14-21-6, 9th E)
About the game
Avangard wraps up a four-game home series on a five-match winning streak.
Barys starts a five-game road trip on a four-match losing streak.
The season series between the two sides is 2-1 (2:6, 4:3, 2:5).
Injury list
Barys: Adam Scheel.
In Moscow, CSKA enters its second straight Capital Derby after a 2:1 win over Spartak on Sunday, with Dynamo now as an opponent. The Blue-and-Whites won three games in the season series, against CSKA’s lone victory. CSKA enters today’s game after celebrating wins over Spartak and Torpedo (3:2 OT), while Dynamo only won twice in the last five matches: against Lokomotiv on Thursday and CSKA on Dec. 21, both times shutting out the opposition. Today, both sides will be seeking a win, with Dynamo Moscow now having a seven-point advantage over its city rival in the Western Conference’s standings.
17:00: CSKA (19-15-7, 6th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (25-13-2, 4th W)
About the game
CSKA enters the second game of a six-match home series following two straight wins.
Dynamo Moscow enters the fifth game of a seven-match road trip following a loss to Dinamo Minsk on Sunday (3:5).
The season series between the two sides is 1-3 (6:2, 3:4 SO, 2:3, 0:1 SO).
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Maxim Motorygin is on a 64:24 shutout streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Dmitry Buchelnikov, Danila Moiseyev, Dmitry Samorukov.
Dynamo Moscow: Kirill Gotovets, Artyom Mikheyev.
In Yekaterinburg, Avtomobilist will try to stretch its winning streak in a home game against a struggling Lada. The Motormen won its last four matches, further cementing its positioning in the Eastern Conference top four, with a four-point cushion over Neftekhimik. Lada is in the opposite direction. The Togliatti side lost its previous three matches, to Dinamo Minsk (1:7), Traktor (1:6), and Avangard (3:4 SO), and slipped down HC Sochi, now sitting at the foot of the Western Conference’s table. Lada will thus try to reverse the trend in today’s match, remembering that earlier in the season, the team celebrated a 4:3 win over Avtomobilist.
17:00: Avtomobilist (22-14-3, 4th E) vs Lada (11-24-4, 11th W)
About the game
Avtomobilist plays the lone home game of the series on a four-match winning streak.
Lada, who defeated Avtomobilist earlier in the season (4:3), enters the second game of a six-match road trip on a three-game losing streak.
Avtomobilist’s forward Reid Boucher is on a three-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points over that stretch.
Avtomobilist’s forward Stephane Da Costa is also on a three-game scoring streak, but with 7 (2+5) points.
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Sharov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Denis Romantsev.
Milestone alert
Lada’s goalie Ivan Bocharov may reach 300 KHL appearances.
In the meantime, in Ufa, Salavat Yulaev hosts Dinamo Minsk. Both sides are in good shape of late. The hosts won two games in a row, against Amur (4:2) and Severstal (2:1 SO), and have three wins in the last five matches. Ufa is now in eighth place in the Eastern Conference’s standings, and are now three points ahead of Barys, with one game in hand on the Kazakhs. However, Dinamo Minsk fared even better – after defeating Dynamo Moscow on Sunday, the Belarusians are now leading the Western Conference with 55 points, quite an impressive accomplishment by the team, who just celebrated head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov’s 1,000th KHL game. Today’s game promises to be an exciting one, and a capacity crowd is expected at the Ufa Arena.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (17-20-3, 8th E) vs Dinamo Minsk (25-8-5, 1st W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev enters the fifth game of an eight-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Dinamo Minsk starts a four-game road trip fresh off a win over Dynamo Moscow on Sunday (5:3).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (5+3) points over that stretch.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Vasily Pinchuk is also on a four-game scoring streak, but with 7 (3+4) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Alex Limoges is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (1+7) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Daniil Alalykin, Gleb Kuzmin.
Dinamo Minsk: Darren Dietz, Stanislav Galiyev.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Devin Brosseau and defenseman Evgeny Kulik may score their 100th point in the KHL (currently both at 99).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Pyotr Khokhryakov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th KHL shutout.
In the last Eastern game of the night, Ak Bars hosts Severstal as both sides try to climb up in the standings. The Kazan side just celebrated two straight wins, over Salavat Yulaev (2:1) and Traktor (3:2), respectively, while the Steelers have most recently lost to the Ufa side (1:2 SO) after defeating HC Sochi (4:3 OT) and CSKA (3:1). Ak Bars is now the third seed in the Eastern Conference, just one point below second-placed Avangard, while Severstal is tied with Lokomotiv at 54 points in the West, just one point shy of table-topping Dinamo Minsk. It will be the first meeting this season between the two sides.
19:00: Ak Bars (26-12-2, 3rd E) vs Severstal (26-12-2, 2nd W)
About the game
Ak Bars enters the second game of a six-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Severstal ends a two-game road trip following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Sunday (1:2 SO).
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Severstal’s forward Adam Liska is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Albert Yarullin.
Severstal: Makar Fomin.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s defenseman Nikita Kamalov may reach 100 league points (currently at 99).
In Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv hosts Torpedo as the sides meet for the second time this season. Earlier on, the Nizhny Novgorod side celebrated a 2:1 win, but the Railwaymen retain the upper hand in the standings, being now the third seed in the West, with a four-point advantage over fifth-placed Torpedo. The regional rivalry renews with both sides seeking to bounce back after recent losses. Lokomotiv suffered from a defeat to Dynamo Moscow on Thursday (0:2), and lost two of its last three matches – a setback that cost the team the lead in the Western Conference. Torpedo has instead lost two straight games, to CSKA (2:3 OT) and Neftekhimik (0:5), respectively.
19:00: Lokomotiv (25-12-4, 3rd W) vs Torpedo (23-12-4, 5th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv wraps up a six-game home series following a defeat to Dynamo Moscow on Thursday (0:2).
Torpedo, who defeated Lokomotiv earlier in the season (2:1), ends a two-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Andrei Sergeyev, Yegor Surin.
Torpedo: Alexei Kruchinin, Nikita Shavin.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Alexander Radulov may reach 500 KHL assists (currently at 499).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev may record his 30th KHL shutout, while Alexei Melnichuk may reach 10.
Closing an intense matchday is a St. Petersburg derby between the Shanghai Dragons and SKA. SKA currently holds the edge in the season series against the Shanghai Dragons at 2–1 (7:4, 2:3 OT, 4:1), and will look to bounce back from a heavy 8:4 loss to HC Sochi two days ago, after which Igor Larionov admitted that his team had “hit rock bottom in terms of performance.” The hosts have picked up points in their last two games against Spartak (4:3 SO) and Neftekhimik (3:4 OT), but that has not been enough to return to the playoff zone. Beyond the fact that both teams are based in St. Petersburg, the standings add extra spice to the matchup. Gerard Gallant’s side sits ninth in the West with 39 points, while SKA is seventh on 45. In practical terms, an SKA win would all but secure a comfortable place in the top eight for the Red-and-Blues, while leaving the Dragons with far slimmer playoff hopes. But will the hosts allow that to happen? Moreover, the Dragons just inked veteran forward Ilya Kablukov to a try-out contract. Kablukov, who lifted two Gagarin Cups with SKA and one with Avangard, is in second place for all-time games played, with 1,027, trailing only Vadim Shipachyov.
19:30: Shanghai Dragons (15-14-9, 9th W) vs SKA (20-13-5, 7th W)
About the game
The Shanghai Dragons enter the fifth game of an eight-match home series following a defeat to Neftekhimik on Friday (3:4 OT).
SKA wraps up a three-game road trip after losing to HC Sochi on Sunday (4:8).
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (7:4, 2:3 ОТ, 1:4).
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Nikita Popugayev and SKA’s forward Rocco Grimaldi are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Shanghai Dragons: Parker Foo, Jeremy Groleau, Ben Harpur.
SKA: Matvei Korotky, Trevor Murphy, Vladislav Romanov, Nikita Zaitsev.
Milestone alert
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Kirill Rasskazov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
SKA’s forward Brendan Leipsic lines up for his 300th KHL game, while defenseman Markus Phillips reaches 100.
SKA’s forward Andrei Loktionov may dish out his 200th league assist (currently at 199).
