CSKA faces Neftekhimik, Ak Bars hosts Lada, Dinamo Minsk travels to Sochi
Three games are on tap today, two in the West and one in the East. In Moscow, CSKA welcomes Neftekhimik trying to bounce back after two consecutive losses and the called off games in Sochi. The Black Sea franchise will host Dinamo Minsk, and in the East, Ak Bars faces Lada.
In the Moscow game, CSKA faces Neftekhimik as the club returned home after the game in Sochi, who was abandoned for security reasons with the teams tied at zero. Thus, this doesn’t change that the Muscovites have two straight losses, to Lada (1:2) and SKA (0:3). Today, the opposition is Neftekhimik. The Wolves have instead two straight wins, both shutouts, over Spartak (2:0) and Sibir (1:0). Neftekhimik has thus climbed up to fifth place in the Eastern Conference’s table, but they have a significant gap to fourth-placed Avtomobilist, hard to close at this point of the season. CSKA is in the same spot in the Western Conference, but a bit closer to the top four.
19:30: CSKA (31-19-8, 5th W) vs Neftekhimik (30-26-3, 5th E)
About the game
CSKA kicks off a six-game home series following two straight losses.
Neftekhimik, who defeated CSKA earlier this season (3:2), starts a five-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Denis Guryanov, Danila Moiseyev, Vladislav Provolnev.
Neftekhimik: Vladislav Barulin, Raul Yakupov.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Sergei Kalinin may net his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
In the meantime, in Kazan, Ak Bars will try to bounce back after a loss to Torpedo in a home game against Lada. The game will be a rematch of last week’s clash, when Ak Bars celebrated a 4:2 win, led by a double by Nathan Todd. After that game, Ak Bars suffered an extra-time loss to Torpedo (2:3 SO), while Lada lost in Chelyabinsk (2:4). The Kazan side remains the third team in the Eastern Conference’s table, while Pavel Desyatkov’s team is in tenth place in the West, and lost any postseason qualification hopes. It will be Lada’s last road game of the season – after today’s clash in Kazan, the team will fly back to Togliatti for the last four matches of the current campaign, including another game against Ak Bars on March 3.
19:30: Ak Bars (37-15-6, 3rd E) vs Lada (17-36-7, 10th W)
About the game
Ak Bars plays the lone home game of the series following a loss to Torpedo on Saturday (2:3 SO).
Lada ends a two-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
The season series between the two teams is 1-1 (3:4 ОТ, 4:2).
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Ak Bars’ forward Nathan Todd is also on a three-game scoring streak, but with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
Lada: Alexei Ozhgikhin.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitrij Jaskin may net his 200th KHL goal (currently at 199).
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov may record his 40th career shutout.
Lada’s forwards Andrei Obidin and Tomas Jurco may reach 100 KHL points (currently both at 99).
Closing out the matchday is a showdown between HC Sochi and Dinamo Minsk. The Bison move to the Black Sea coast after a 4:3 win in Nizhny Novgorod, after a dramatic game in Yaroslavl, which they lost in extra time (4:5 SO). The Belarusians have three wins in the last five matches, and remain in third place in the Western Conference’s standings at 78 points, two less than Severstal but with two games in hand on the Lynx. The hosts are instead entering today’s game on a three-match losing streak, with defeats handed by Lokomotiv (1:2 OT), Avtomobilist (1:4), and Dynamo Moscow (0:4). HC Sochi closes out the West’s table, with 40 points, one less than Lada, but with four games on hand on Togliatti’s side.
19:30: HC Sochi (16-32-8, 11th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (35-16-8, 3rd W)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the second game of a six-match home series on a three-game losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk enters the third game of a four-match road trip following a win over Torpedo on Monday (4:3).
The season series between the two sides is 0-2 (2:8, 2:5).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 16 (5+11) points over that stretch.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Alex Limoges is also on a seven-game scoring streak, but with 12 (4+8) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s defenseman Xavier Ouellet is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Dmitry Kagarlitsky, Ilya Nikolayev, Alexei Shchetilin, Denis Vengryzhanovsky.
Dinamo Minsk: Joshua Brook.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas lines up for his 200th KHL game.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Ryan Spooner may record his 300th point in the KHL (currently at 299).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 700 KHL assists (currently at 698).
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th league shutout.
