Last games before the All-Star break
Four games are on tap today as the league heads into the All-Star Break with the festivities scheduled in Yekaterinburg. In the East, Avangard faces Avtomobilist. Then, Lada hosts Dinamo Minsk, Severstal welcomes SKA, and the Shanghai Dragons clash with CSKA. The KHL will be back on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
In Omsk, Avangard will try to further stretch a winning streak of eight matches in a home game against Avtomobilist. The Hawks are in exceptional form, with eight consecutive wins, including the last two on the road over Dynamo Moscow (4:1) and the Shanghai Dragons (5:3), once again with Michael McLeod and Andrew Poturalski – he has points in all Avangard’s wins in the streak – under the spotlight. Avangard keeps on battling with Ak Bars for the second place in the Eastern Conference’s standings, with a nine-point gap to first-placed Metallurg. However, the Hawks sport the second-best defense in the East, with 120 goals allowed. The Motormen enter today’s game after a road win in Vladivostok on Saturday (4:1). The teams met on Jan. 22, with the Omsk team claiming an extra time win (2:1) OT. After that game, Avtomobilist also defeated Amur (4:2) and suffered a defeat to the Tigers (2:5), and is the fourth seed in the East, with a four-point cushion over Salavat Yulaev with two games in hand.
16:30: Avangard (36-12-3, 2nd E) vs Avtomobilist (29-18-4, 4th E)
About the game
Avangard plays the lone home game of the series on an eight-match winning streak.
Avtomobilist enters the third game of a four-match road trip following a win over Admiral on Saturday (4:1).
The season series between the two teams is 2-2 (1:4, 0:3, 3:2 ОТ, 2:1 ОТ).
Avangard’s forward Andrew Poturalski is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 13 (2+11) points over that stretch.
Avangard’s forward Michael McLeod is on a five-game scoring streak, with 11 (6+5) points.
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Sharov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Avtomobilist’s defenseman Yaroslav Busygin had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Avangard: Alexander Volkov.
Avtomobilist: Dmitry Yudin.
Disqualifications
Avtomobilist’s forward Daniel Sprong serves a one-game ban.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Konstantin Okulov may reach 500 KHL points (currently at 498).
The action then shifts to the Western Conference, with Lada hosting Dinamo Minsk. Both sides will be seeking a return to win, with four straight losses. The Togliatti’s Motormen lost to Dynamo Moscow (1:3), Spartak (2:6), Lokomotiv (1:3), and Metallurg (2:3), and remained in last place in the West’s standings. The Belarusians also lost their last four matches, to Salavat Yulaev (1:2 OT), Sibir (1:4), Metallurg (4:5), and SKA (3:4 SO), and slipped down to fourth place at 67 points, six below conference-leading Lokomotiv. The team met three times in the current campaign, with the Bison claiming two wins.
18:00: Lada (15-32-6, 11th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (30-15-7, 4th W)
About the game
Lada is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its previous four matches.
Dinamo Minsk plays the lone road game of the series and also lost its previous four matches.
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (0:4, 1:0, 2:7).
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Joshua Brook, Xavier Ouellet.
Milestone alert
Lada’s forward Andrei Obidin may reach 100 career points (currently at 99).
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th KHL shutout.
In Cherepovets, Severstal faces SKA. The St. Petersburg franchise finally got a win after seven straight losses in a road game in Minsk on Tuesday (3:4 SO) – as the Shanghai Dragons lost to Avangard, Igor Larionov’s men moved further away from Shanghai in the playoff race. SKA remains in eighth place in the Western Conference at 56 points, nine more than the Dragons. Severstal has instead lost its last match, at home to Spartak (2:5) after two straight wins, over Torpedo (3:2 OT) and Dynamo Moscow (3:2), respectively. After the loss to the Red-and-Whites, the Lynx saw their gap to Lokomotiv increase to three points. Severstal will close today a short home series and will start on the road after the All-Star break.
19:00: Severstal (33-16-4, 2nd W) vs SKA (25-20-6, 8th W)
About the game
Severstal ends a two-game home series after a loss to Spartak (2:5).
SKA, who defeated Severstal earlier in the season (6:4), enters the fourth game of a six-match road trip following a win over Dinamo Minsk on Tuesday (4:3 SO).
Injury list
Severstal: Daniil Veryayev, Artyom Zhukov.
SKA: Igor Larionov, Trevor Murphy, Vladislav Romanov, Nikita Zaitsev.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s forward David Dumbadze may reach 100 career points (currently at 99).
Closing an exciting match day is a showdown between the Shanghai Dragons and CSKA. The Chinese franchise is still battling for a playoff spot, but is losing ground to SKA with the gap between the two teams now at nine points after a loss to Avangard. The Muscovites are instead on a roll, with five straight wins, including two home victories, over SKA (3:2 SO) and HC Sochi (3:1), with Klim Kostin finding his first two goals for CSKA. The team is now in fifth place in the Western Conference’s standings, at 64 points, three less than Dinamo Minsk as the teams fight for a spot in the top four.
19:30: Shanghai Dragons (19-24-9, 9th W) vs CSKA (28-17-8, 5th W)
About the game
The Shanghai Dragons are in the middle of a seven-game home series and lost to Avangard on Tuesday (3:5).
CSKA, who defeated the Shanghai Dragons earlier in the season (3:2), starts a six-game road trip on a five-match winning streak.
Injury list
Shanghai Dragons: Jeremy Groleau, Ben Harpur, Patrik Rybar.
CSKA: Dmitry Buchelnikov, Danila Moiseyev, Vladislav Provolnev.
Milestone alert
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Kirill Rasskazov may reach 100 career assists.
