Do-or-die for Amur, five games on tap today.
The KHL matchday begins early in Novosibirsk, where Sibir Novosibirsk hosts Amur Khabarovsk in a do-or-die game for the Tigers’ playoff hopes. Action then moves to Chelyabinsk for Traktor vs Salavat Yulaev, before shifting west with Dinamo Minsk facing Spartak. Torpedo welcomes the Shanghai Dragons in Nizhny Novgorod, while the nightcap features SKA against Severstal, with crucial Gagarin Cup implications across the board.
The matchday starts in Novosibirsk with a showdown between Sibir and Amur in a do-or-die game for the Tigers. Every game is worth its weight in gold for them right now. Sibir currently sit eighth in the standings, with Amur in ninth, but the Khabarovsk side still have a chance to reach the playoffs. To improve those chances, they need a win in Novosibirsk after defeating Admiral on Monday. Sibir, in turn, need a victory to strengthen their position in the battle for a spot in the Gagarin Cup playoffs. This will already be the teams’ sixth meeting of the season, with Sibir holding the upper hand in the head-to-head series. The Novosibirsk side has two straight wins as the team defeated HC Sochi (10:1) and Lada (3:2 OT).
15:30: Sibir (25-27-5, 8th E) vs Amur (20-29-7, 9th E)
About the game
Sibir wraps up a seven-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Amur enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a win over Admiral on Monday (3:0).
The season series between the teams is 4-1 (0:2, 4:3 SO, 1:0, 4:2, 3:2 OT).
Sibir’s forward Anton Kosolapov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that stretch.
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck is also on a four-game scoring streak, but with 10 (2+8) points.
Amur’s goalie Maxim Dorozhko is on a 62:17 shutout streak.
Amur’s forward Yaroslav Likhachyov is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 10 (5+5) points.
Amur’s forward Alex Galchenyuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Sibir: Mikhail Abramov, Timur Akhiyarov, Valentin Pyanov, Daniil Valitov.
Amur: Roman Abrosimov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Semyon Koshelev lines up for his 600th league appearance, while forward Pavel Tkachenko may reach 100.
In Chelyabinsk, both Traktor and Salavat Yulaev try to return to winning games after losing their last outing. After four straight wins, the Black-and-Whites lost to Avangard on Sunday (2:6), and are still in seventh place in the Eastern Conference’s table, at 58 points, just one point shy off Neftekhimik. Salavat Yulaev is higher in the standings, in fifth place, and lost to SKA on Monday (0:4) also following a long winning streak. Today, both sides will be looking for a win as they seek to improve their positioning in the last stage of the regular season. After today’s game, Salavat Yulaev returns to Ufa for the next three home games, including a rematch against Traktor on Feb. 26.
17:00: Traktor (26-23-6, 7th E) vs Salavat Yulaev (28-23-4, 5th E)
About the game
Traktor starts a three-game home series following a loss to Avangard on Sunday (2:6).
Salavat Yulaev ends a two-game road trip after losing to SKA on Monday (0:4).
The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (2:1, 2:3).
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Prokhor Korbit, Gleb Kuzmin.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Maxim Dzhoshvili may score his 100th career point (currently 99).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Pyotr Khokhryakov may reach 100 assists in the KHL (currently at 99).
The action then shifts to the West, starting with Dinamo Minsk facing Spartak for a rematch of Monday’s match. Then, the Muscovites celebrated a hard-fought 4:3 win that stopped a three-game winning streak for the Bison and was the first win for Spartak against the Belarusians in the current campaign. It was also the Red-and-Whites’ first win after three straight losses, to Lokomotiv (1:3), Dynamo Moscow (2:3), and CSKA (0:2). Spartak is currently the seventh seed in the Western Conference’s table, tied with SKA at 66 points, while Dinamo Minsk has already booked a ticket for the playoffs and is currently in third position, just below Severstal (73 points against 74) and Lokomotiv, leading the pack at 79 points.
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (33-16-7, 3rd W) vs Spartak (29-20-6, 7th W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk plays the lone home game of the series following a loss to Spartak on Sunday (3:4).
Spartak starts a three-game road trip fresh off its win over the Belarusians.
The season series between the two sides is 2-1 (3:0, 6:0, 3:4).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on a four-game scoring streak, with 9 (4+5) points over that stretch.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Alex Limoges is also on a four-game scoring streak, but with 8 (2+6) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Ryan Spooner had at least an assist in each of his previous five matches, totaling six helpers.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Joshua Brook, Andrei Stas.
Spartak: Nikita Buruyanov, Lucas Lockhart.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 700 KHL assists (currently at 695).
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th KHL shutout.
With the regular season approaching its end, playoff berths are being decided across the league, and today is no exception, as Torpedo looks to book its postseason ticket in a home game against the Shanghai Dragons. Moreover, the Nizhny Novgorod franchise has a chance to return to winning games after losing to Lada (1:3), Ak Bars (3:4 OT), and Dynamo Moscow (2:4). With this setback, Torpedo slipped down to fifth place in the West, tied with CSKA at 70 points. The Dragons are in a worse position. Not only did they lose their last five matches, but the Chinese franchise is now at sixteen points from the playoffs line, and a postseason qualification seems more and more unlikely to happen. Torpedo can claim its playoffs ticked to day – all the team needs is a win above the Dragons.
19:30: Torpedo (32-19-6, 5th W) vs Shanghai Dragons (19-27-10, 9th W)
About the game
Torpedo enters the second game of a four-match home series on a three-game losing streak.
The Shanghai Dragons start a five-game road trip on a five-match losing streak.
The season series between the two teams is 2-1 (0:1 ОТ, 4:3 SO, 7:2).
Injury list
Torpedo: Nikita Rozhkov.
Shanghai Dragons: Jeremy Groleau, Ben Harpur, Andrei Kareyev, Kirill Rasskazov, Patrik Rybar.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s forward Dmitry Shevchenko may reach 100 career points (currently at 99).
Torpedo’s forward Yegor Vinogradov may also reach 100 points in the KHL (currently at 98).
Shanghai Dragons’ goalie Dmitry Shikin may record his 10th KHL shutout.
Today’s action closes out with SKA hosting Severstal. Both sides are in great form, especially SKA, who had five straight wins, including two straight shutouts over Barys (5:0) and Salavat Yulaev (4:0), and allowing just two goals across their last four matches. The St. Petersburg franchise closes out the Western Conference’s top eight at 64 points, tied with Spartak, and has a sixteen-point cushion over the Shanghai Dragons. Severstal enters today’s game after two straight wins, over the Shanghai Dragons (3:2) and Neftekhimik (3:1), respectively, as the Lynx kick off a new road trip. The Cherepovets side is currently the third seed in the West and will be looking for a first win over SKA in the current campaign.
19:30: SKA (29-20-6, 8th W) vs Severstal (35-18-4, 3rd W)
About the game
SKA enters the second game of a seven-match home series on a five-game winning streak.
Severstal starts a four-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
The season series between the two sides is 2-0 (6:4, 3:1).
SKA’s goalie Artemy Pleshkov is on a 99:02 shutout streak, while Sergei Ivanov is at 72:26.
SKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points over that stretch.
SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 7 (4+3) points.
SKA’s defenseman Yegor Savikov had at least an assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
SKA’s forward Scott Wilson had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Severstal’s forward Daniil Veryayev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Igor Larionov, Trevor Murphy, Vladislav Romanov, Nikita Zaitsev.
Severstal: Nikolai Chebykin.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov may score his 250th KHL goal (currently at 249).
