Six matchups on today’s schedule
Six games are on the schedule today, starting in the Far East with Amur facing Barys and Admiral hosting Avtomobilist. Action then shifts to Novosibirsk, where Sibir meets Traktor, and to Ufa for a cross-conference clash between Salavat Yulaev and Torpedo. League leaders Metallurg welcome Dinamo Minsk in Magnitogorsk, before the matchday wraps up in Kazan with the sixth Tatarstan derby of the season between Ak Bars and Neftekhimik.
The match day starts with two games in the Far East, with Amur taking on Barys and Admiral hosting Avtomobilist. The Tigers just celebrated a big win at home against Avtomobilist, and their hopes for a postseason qualification are still alive, even if Amur has now an eight-point gap with eighth-placed Sibir. Paying a visit to Khabarovsk is Barys. The Kazakhs lost their last four matches, including in Vladivostok on Wednesday, and their chances to reach the elimination stage are getting thinner and thinner.
10:00: Amur (17-26-7, 9th E) vs Barys (16-29-7, 10th E)
About the game
Amur enters the second game of a six-match home series following a win over Avtomobilist on Thursday (5:2).
Barys starts a three-game road trip on a four-match losing streak.
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (3:4 SO, 1:3, 4:1).
Amur’s forward Evgeny Svechnikov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov.
In the second Far East games, Admiral hosts Avtomobilist. The Sailors just halted a nine-game skid with a win in Astana – the first under new head coach Oleg Bratash – and returned to Vladivostok to kick off a six-game home stand. The teams traded wins earlier in the season, and it will be interesting to see what team will go ahead. The Motormen will be at their second Far East game after a loss to Amur, but they have three wins in the previous four matches, good enough to maintain their spot in the Eastern Conference’s top four, at 60 points. Admiral sits eleventh, at the bottom of the table, at 36 points – thirteen less than eighth-placed Sibir.
10:00: Admiral (14-27-8, 11th E) vs Avtomobilist (28-18-4, 4th E)
About the game
Admiral kicks off a six-game home series following a win over Barys on Wednesday (5:2).
Avtomobilist enters the second game of a four-match road trip after a loss to Amur on Thursday (2:5).
The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (4:2, 2:3).
Injury list
Admiral: Alexander Daryin.
Avtomobilist: Dmitry Yudin.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s defenseman Semyon Ruchkin lines up for his 300th KHL appearance.
In Novosibirsk, Sibir takes on Traktor trying to stretch a winning streak. The Novosibirsk side is in excellent shape, with four straight victories, over Metallurg (2:1), Ak Bars (3:2 SO), Torpedo (4:2), and Dinamo Minsk (4:1) – the team is now rounding out the playoff places in the Eastern Conference, with an eight-point cushion over Amur. However, the hosts lost all three games to Traktor in the current campaign. The Black-and-Whites enter today’s game after losing to Metallurg (2:3) and Avangard (0:1) and are just one place above Sibir in the East’s table, with their advantage thinning down to one point, albeit with two games in hand. After today’s game, Traktor will fly back to Chelyabinsk for a home game against Ak Bars.
13:30: Sibir (22-25-5, 8th E) vs Traktor (22-22-6, 7th E)
About the game
Sibir enters the second game of a seven-match home series on a four-game winning streak.
Traktor ends a three-game road trip following two straight defeats.
The season series between the two sides is 0-3 (3:4 SO, 3:4, 1:4).
Sibir’s forward Anton Kosolapov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that stretch.
Sibir’s defenseman Timur Akhiyarov is on a three-game scoring streak instead, with 3 (2+1) points.
Injury list
Sibir: Mikhail Abramov, Ilya Fedotov, Valentin Pyanov, Daniil Valitov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Joshua Leivo may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
In Ufa, Salavat Yulaev will also look to add another win to a series when the team hosts Torpedo after three straight wins. Recently, Viktor Kozlov’s men celebrated victories over HC Sochi (2:1), Dinamo Minsk (2:1 OT), and Ak Bars (4:3 OT), climbing up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference’s standings at 54 points. Paying a visit to Ufa, Torpedo will be looking to turn the tide after two losses, to Sibir (2:4) and Severstal (2:3 OT), respectively. At 65 points, the Nizhny Novgorod side rounds up the Western top four, just one point shy of Dinamo Minsk. Earlier in the season, Torpedo celebrated a win over Salavat Yulaev, and today will try to repeat the feat.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (25-22-4, 6th E) vs Torpedo (30-16-5, 4th W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev starts a three-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Torpedo, who defeated Salavat Yulaev earlier in the season, kicks off a five-game road trip following two straight defeats.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Vladislav Yefremov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Torpedo’s forward Yegor Vinogradov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (5+4) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dean Stewart, Alexei Vasilevsky.
Torpedo: Alexei Kruchinin.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Pyotr Khokhryakov may reach 100 KHL assists.
Torpedo’s forward Yegor Vinogradov lines up for his 200th league appearance.
Torpedo’s forward Dmitry Shevchenko may score his 100th KHL point (currently at 99).
In the meantime, Metallurg faces Dinamo Minsk as the two teams collide for the first time this season. Magnitka keeps on leading the way in the league, at 80 points, and is currently the lone team to have already booked its ticket for the elimination stage. Metallurg’s latest victims were Amur (4:2) and Traktor (3:2) as Andrei Razin’s men will seek a third straight win today. The Belarusians come to Magnitogorsk on a two-game losing streak, with defeats to Salavat Yulaev (1:2 OT) and Sibir (1:4). Dinamo Minsk slipped down to third place in the Western Conference’s standings, now five points below Lokomotiv. After today’s game, the Bison will fly back to Belarus for a home game against SKA.
14:30: Metallurg (38-7-4, 1st E) vs Dinamo Minsk (30-14-6, 3rd W)
About the game
Metallurg wraps up a four-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Dinamo Minsk ends a two-game road trip following two straight defeats.
Metallurg’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Vadim Shipachyov had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Daniil Lipsky is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Joshua Brook, Xavier Ouellet.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Alexander Petunin may score his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th league shutout.
In the last game of an exciting match day, in Kazan, Ak Bars and Neftekhimik will dispute the sixth Tatarstan derby in the season, with the hosts up in the season series. However, despite the result in the series, the Wolves appear to be in better form, with seven straight wins, including a 2:0 blanking of Ak Bars on Jan. 13. The Kazan side lost its previous couple of matches, with extra time defeats to Sibir (3:4 SO) and Salavat Yulaev (3:4 OT). Neftekhimik is now the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, at 57 points, while Ak Bars is the third team in the East, at 70 points, one less than Avangard. Will Ak Bars manage to halt Neftekhimik’s hot run or will the Wolves tie things up in the season series against the other Tatarstan franchise and get closer to the Eastern’s top four?
17:00: Ak Bars (33-14-4, 3rd E) vs Neftekhimik (27-20-3, 5th E)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a three-game home series following two straight losses.
Neftekhimik starts a three-game road trip on a seven-match winning streak.
The season series between the two teams is 3-2 (1:2, 4:1, 3:2, 3:1, 0:2).
Injury list
Ak Bars: Stepan Falkovsky, Mikhail Fisenko, Albert Yarullin.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Artyom Galimov may reach 100 career assists (currently at 99).
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov may record his 40th league shutout.
