Playoff races intensify across a packed KHL matchday
A busy KHL matchday stretches across the league, opening in the Far East as Amur looks to halt its slide against second-placed Ak Bars. In Omsk, Avangard hosts an in-form CSKA side climbing the Western standings, while Barys tries to snap a skid versus surging Neftekhimik. Salavat Yulaev chase a fifth straight win in Togliatti against Lada before the matchday closes with a heavyweight Western clash between Severstal and Dinamo Minsk.
An exciting matchday starts in the Far East, with Amur taking on Ak Bars. The Tigers lacked their killer instinct of late, with four straight losses, including a 0:2 loss in Chelyabinsk in its latest outing. With this setback, Amur fell off the playoff places, being overcome by Sibir in eighth place, with 39 points against 41 for Novosibirsk's side. Ak Bars has equally suffered from a loss in its last match, losing out the Tatarstan Derby to Neftekhimik in a 0:2 shutout loss. Despite the loss, Ak Bars remains the second team in the Eastern Conference’s standings, with a one-point cushion over Avangard. Recently, Amur made two moves on the market. First, the Tigers sent Ilya Talaluyev to Novosibirsk in exchange for Ivan Chekhovich, then they moved Matvei Zaseda to Neftekhimik for Danil Yurtaikin. It will be interesting to see whether these moves will help Amur return to the playoff places – on paper, both are good moves by the Khabarovsk franchise. Today’s opponents will clash again in two days.
12:15: Amur (16-21-7, 9th E) vs Ak Bars (29-14-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Amur starts a three-game home series on a four-match losing streak.
Ak Bars starts a four-game road trip following a loss to Neftekhimik on Tuesday (0:2).
The season series between the two sides is 0-2 (1:5, 1:3).
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov.
Ak Bars: Mikhail Fisenko, Nikita Lyamkin, Albert Yarullin.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Oleg Li may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).
Ak Bars’ forward Alexei Pustozyorov may line up for his 200th league appearance.
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov may reach 40 career shutouts.
Then, in Omsk, the fans will be treated to an exciting showdown between Avangard and CSKA. The Muscovites set off on a two-game road trip riding a three-game winning streak against Dinamo Minsk (4.2), the Shanghai Dragons (3:2) and Spartak (2:1). Igor Nikitin’s team, whose head coach took his first steps in coaching with the Hawks, have for the first time in a long while climbed temporarily to fifth place in the Western Conference with 54 points. Avangard sit third in the East with 59 points, one fewer than second-placed Ak Bars, while holding two games in hand on the Kazan side. Guy Boucher’s men opened their current home stand with a 3:4 loss to Salavat Yulaev and will be looking to bounce back right away.
16:30: Avangard (28-12-3, 3rd E) vs CSKA (23-15-8, 5th W)
About the game
Avangard ends a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
CSKA starts a two-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Avangard: Alexander Volkov.
CSKA: Dmitry Buchelnikov, Danila Moiseyev, Dmitry Samorukov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Dmitry Rashevsky may score his 200th KHL point (currently at 199).
CSKA’s forward Maxim Sorkin lines up for his 400th league appearance.
Another team looking for a return to victory is Barys, who face Neftekhimik for the third time in the current campaign. Earlier this season, both meetings between the teams went the way of the visitors. The Nizhnekamsk side is riding a three-game winning streak, having beaten Admiral (3:2 SO, 4:2) and Ak Bars (2:0). With 49 points, Igor Grishin’s men retained the fifth spot in the East after yesterdays’ Traktor loss in Yekaterinburg. The Kazakhs, by contrast, are on a four-game losing streak and are still winless in 2026, having fallen to Torpedo (2:3), Ak Bars (1:3), Salavat Yulaev (1:3) and Avtomobilist (1:2 OT). With 37 points, the hosts sit second from bottom, four points adrift of the playoff zone.
17:00: Barys (15-24-7, 10th E) vs Neftekhimik (23-20-3, 5th E)
About the game
Barys starts a two-game home series on a four-match losing streak.
Neftekhimik is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous three matches.
The season series between the two sides is 0-2 (2:3, 2:5).
Injury list
Barys: Kirill Savitsky.
Neftekhimik: Raul Yakupov.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Vsevolod Logvin lines up for his 100th league appearance.
Then, in Togliatti, Salavat Yulaev will seek its fifth straight win. The first regular-season meeting between these opponents took place on Nov. 10 in Ufa with Lada recording a 5:3 win. The Togliatti side have picked up points in each of their last three games, against SKA (4:5 OT, 3:4 SO) and HC Sochi (4:1), respectively. However, that has still not been enough to climb off the bottom of the Western Conference, with the gap to HC Sochi remaining at two points. Salavat Yulaev, meanwhile, are on a four-game winning streak, having defeated Neftekhimik (2:1), Avtomobilist (4:1), Barys (3:1) and Avangard (4:3). Over that stretch, Viktor Kozlov’s team has conceded just six goals — an impressive figure. With 46 points, the Ufa side sit seventh in the East, just two points behind sixth-placed Traktor. Will the visitors be able to deliver another strong performance in Togliatti?
18:00: Lada (12-27-6, 11th W) vs Salavat Yulaev (21-20-4, 7th E)
About the game
Lada, who defeated Salavat Yulaev earlier in the season (5:3), enters the second game of a five-match home series following a loss to SKA on Monday (3:4 SO).
Salavat Yulaev is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous four matches.
Lada’s forward Artur Tyanulin had at least an assist in each of his previous five matches, totaling seven helpers.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sheldon Rempal is on a ten-game scoring streak, with 20 (5+15) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Lada: Viktor Antipin.
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin, Alexei Vasilevsky.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Artyom Gorshkov lines up for his 100th league appearance.
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Evgeny Kulik may reach 100 points in the KHL (currently at 99).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Pyotr Khokhryakov may dish out his 100th league assist (currently at 99).
The action then moves to the Western Conference for another showdown between Severstal and Dinamo Minsk. It will be the fifth meeting between the two sides in the current regular season. Earlier, Dinamo under Dmitry Kvartalnov — who took his first steps in coaching with the Cherepovets club — lost to Severstal three times, including a week ago on January 8. After that, the Bison managed to snap a three-game losing streak, defeating Admiral at home (2:1) with Vadim Shipachyov reaching the 1,000-point mark. Severstal, meanwhile, beat Torpedo (7:6) and then fell to Sibir (2:) over the same stretch. Both teams continue to battle for the lead in the Western Conference. The Cherepovets side holds a two-point advantage over Dinamo, despite having played three more games.
19:30: Severstal (29-14-3, 1st W) vs Dinamo Minsk (27-11-5, 3rd W)
About the game
Severstal wraps up a six-game home series following a loss to Sibir on Tuesday (2:3).
Dinamo Minsk starts a four-game road trip and defeated Admiral on Monday (2:1).
The season series between the two sides is 3-1 (2:4, 5:2, 4:2, 4:3).
Severstal’s forwards Daniil Aimurzin and Daniil Veryayev are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Severstal’s forward Nikolai Chebykin is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Severstal’s forward David Dumbadze is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 14 (5+9) points over that span.
Injury list
Severstal: Alexander Samoilov.
Dinamo Minsk: Joshua Brook, Xavier Ouellet.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may reach 30 KHL shutouts.
