Traktor faces Amur, CSKA hosts Shanghai Dragons on a light KHL Friday
Only three games are on tap today, one in the East and two in the West. First, Traktor hosts Amur trying to build on a recent winning streak. Then, HC Sochi hosts Lada and CSKA welcome the Shanghai Dragons in two exciting Western Conference matchups.
The matchday starts with a showdown between Traktor and Amur. The Black-and-Whites have recently found some form, with two straight wins, over Avtomobilist (3:1) and Dinamo Minsk (3:1), but being on a three-game point streak considering the extra time loss to Metallurg on Dec. 29 (4:5 OT). The team keeps on sitting outside of the Eastern Conference’s top four, but cut the deficit to five points. The Tigers will instead keep on fighting for the eighth spot in the conference, now tied with Sibir at 39 points. However, Amur lost its previous three matches, to Sibir (2:3 OT), Admiral (2:3), and most recently the Shanghai Dragons (0:2). After today’s game, the Tigers will fly back to Khabarovsk, where Amur will play the next three games, including a double-header against Ak Bars.
14:00: Traktor (19-18-6, 6th E) vs Amur (16-20-7, 8th E)
About the game
Traktor enters the third game of a four-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Amur ends a three-game road trip on a three-match losing streak.
The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (2:1 ОТ, 4:6).
Traktor’s forward Vasily Glotov and defenseman Jordan Gross are on an identical five-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that stretch.
Traktor’s forward Maxim Dzhioshvili is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov, Alex Galchenyuk, Kirill Petkov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Oleg Li may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).
The action moves then to the Western Conference for a pair of games. On the Black Sea shores, HC Sochi faces Lada. Earlier this season, the teams split the season series with two wins apiece. Sochi will wrap up a five-game homestand, while Togliatti’s side concludes a six-game road trip. Lada is currently mired in a seven-game losing streak, most recently falling on the road to SKA in extra time (4:5 OT). Pavel Desyatkov’s team sits at the bottom of the Western Conference, five points behind HC Sochi. Dmitry Mikhailov’s squad recently enjoyed a strong run, winning three straight games against SKA (8:4), Neftekhimik (2:1), and Dynamo Moscow (2:0), but failed to beat the Blue-and-Whites for a second straight time, losing 0:3. Can HC Sochi now extend their advantage over Lada and further climb up in the standings?
17:00: HC Sochi (13-21-6, 10th W) vs Lada (11-27-5, 11th W)
About the game
HC Sochi wraps up a five-game home series following a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Wednesday (0:3).
Lada ends a seven-game road trip on a seven-game losing streak.
The season series between the two sides is 2-2 (5:4 SO, 4:0, 1:3, 3:5).
Lada’s forward Artur Tyanulin had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Daniil Seroukh.
In the meantime, in Moscow, CSKA faces the Shanghai Dragons with the team clashing for the first time this season. The Chinese franchise will play its milestone 600th game in the KHL, looking to secure a third straight victory after back-to-back wins over Lada (3:2) and Amur (2:0), results that have trimmed the gap to the Western Conference playoff zone to six points. CSKA sits sixth in the standings with 50 points, one more than SKA and Spartak just behind them. Igor Nikitin’s team earned an important confidence-boosting win three days earlier, defeating one of the conference leaders, Dinamo Minsk, 4:2.
17:00: CSKA (21-15-8, 6th W) vs Shanghai Dragons (17-16-9, 9th W)
About the game
CSKA enters the fifth game of a six-match home series following a win over Dinamo Minsk on Tuesday (4:2).
The Shanghai Dragons play the lone game of the road trip on a two-game winning streak.
Shanghai Dragons’ goalie Andrei Kareyev is on a 68:32 shutout streak.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Nick Merkley is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
CSKA: Dmitry Buchelnikov, Danila Moiseyev, Dmitry Samorukov.
Shanghai Dragons: Parker Foo, Jeremy Groleau, Ben Harpur, Troy Josephs.
Milestone alert
The Shanghai Dragons play their 600th KHL game.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Ilya Kablukov may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 198).
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Kirill Rasskazov may dish out his 100th league assist (currently at 99).
