Busy Friday touching both conferences; five games on tap
A busy matchday features five games across the league, touching both conferences. The action opens in Omsk with a classic Eastern showdown between Avangard and Metallurg, before moving to the Urals for Avtomobilist vs Ak Bars. In the West, HC Sochi hosts Dinamo Minsk, Severstal faces Torpedo in a key battle for positioning, and the day concludes in Moscow with CSKA taking on the Shanghai Dragons.
The matchday kicks off in Omsk, with a classical showdown between Avangard and Metallurg. It will be the sixth meeting between the two contenders this season, with the Hawks currently being up 3-2 in the series. To make things even more interesting, both teams will be interested in bouncing back after recent defeats. Avangard lost its previous couple of meetings, to Amur (3:4) and Avtomobilist (1:5), respectively, and is in second place in the Eastern Conference’s standings, ten points behind Metallurg. The Steelers most recently fell to Severstal at home (3:4 OT), but remain at the top of the league’s standings with a game in hand on the Hawks and two on Western Conference’s leader Lokomotiv.
16:30: Avangard (40-15-4, 2nd E) vs Metallurg (44-8-6, 1st E)
About the game
Avangard plays the lone home game of the series on a two-match losing streak.
Metallurg starts a three-game road trip following a loss to Severstal on Tuesday (3:4 OT):
The season series between the two teams is 3-2 (5:1, 1:4, 3:1, 2:1 SO, 1:2).
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Metallurg’s forward Roman Kantserov is also on a three-game scoring streak with 3 (2+1) points.
Metallurg’s forward Sergei Tolchinsky netted at least a goal in each of his previous three matches, totaling four tallies.
Metallurg’s defenseman Alexei Maklyukov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Avangard: Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Kirill Pilipenko lines up for his 300th league appearance.
In the Urals, another classic Eastern battle will unfold, between Avtomobilist and Ak Bars. In spite of the prolonged absence of top scorer Reid Boucher, the Motormen are in a great moment, with two straight wins, over the Shanghai Dragons (4:1) and Avangard (5:1), and four wins in the last five matches. Avtomobilist is currently the fourth seed in the East, with a six-point cushion over Salavat Yulaev, who defeated Traktor yesterday. Ak Bars is nine points above Avtomobilist, in third place. However, the Kazan side starts a three-game road trip after two consecutive losses, both in extra time, to Torpedo (2:3 SO) and Lada (4:5 SO).
17:00: Avtomobilist (34-21-4, 4th E) vs Ak Bars (37-15-7, 3rd E)
About the game
Avtomobilist wraps up a seven-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Ak Bars starts a three-game road trip following two consecutive losses.
The season series between the two sides is 2-1 (6:3, 4:1, 0:5).
Avtomobilist’s forward Daniel Sprong is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (6+3) points over that stretch.
Avtomobilist’s forward Semyon Kizimov is on a three-game scoring streak instead, with 4 (1+3) points.
Ak Bars’ forward Nathan Todd is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Dmitry Yudin.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitrij Jaskin may score his 200th league goal (currently at 199).
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov may record his 40th career shutout.
The action then moves to the West, starting with a showdown between HC Sochi and Dinamo Minsk. The difference in the standings was evident in the season series, with the Black Sea franchise losing games to the Bison three times this season already, and today will be looking for a sweep in the series. The two sides met only two days ago, with the Belarusians celebrating a huge 7:2 win. The Minsk franchise is now on a two-game winning streak, also defeating Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod (4:3). After the win in Sochi, Dinamo Minsk surpassed Severstal in second place in the Western Conference standings: with the two sides tied at 80 points, the Belarusians have 31 regulation wins against the Lynx’ 27. They also have one game in hand on Severstal. The Sochi franchise lost its previous for games and is last in the Western Conference’s standings.
19:30: HC Sochi (16-33-8, 11th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (36-16-8, 2nd W)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the third game of a six-match home series on a four-game losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk wraps up a four-game road trip following two consecutive wins.
The season series between the two teams is 0-3 (2:8, 2:5, 2:8).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 17 (5+12) points over that stretch.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Alex Limoges is also on an eight-game scoring streak, but with 13 (5+8) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Ryan Spooner had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Ilya Nikolayev, Alexei Shchetilin, Denis Vengryzhanovsky.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th KHL shutout.
Then, in Cherepovets, a critical matchup between Severstal and Torpedo unfolds. Both teams will be trying hard to get precious points for top four positioning in the Western Conference’s standings. The Lynx has currently the upper hand at 80 points, with Torpedo following at 74. Severstal has two straight wins, both in extra time, in Astana (3:2 OT), and Magnitogorsk (4:3 OT). The Nizhny Novgorod size has instead lost to Dinamo Minsk (3:4) after two consecutive victories. Severstal is currently sweeping the season series between the two sides.
19:30: Severstal (38-19-4, 4th W) vs Torpedo (34-20-6, 4th W)
About the game
Severstal starts a two-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Torpedo starts a two-game road trip following a loss to Dinamo Minsk on Monday (3:4).
The season series between the two sides is 3-0 (5:3, 7:6, 3:2 ОТ).
Severstal’s forward Mikhail Ilyin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that stretch.
Severstal’s defenseman Ioannis Kaldis is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Severstal’s forward Daniil Aimurzin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Torpedo’s forward Maxim Letunov scored a goal in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
Severstal: Nikolai Chebykin, Ilya Davydov.
Torpedo: Nikita Rozhkov.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s forwards Yegor Vinogradov and Alexander Shevchenko may reach 100 career points (currently both at 99).
Closing out an exciting match day is a showdown between CSKA and the Shanghai Dragons. The Muscovites defeated the Chinese franchise three times this season and will be on the lookout for a fourth win, while the Dragons desperately need a win to have at least some remaining hope for a postseason qualification. With playoff line fifteen points above, the Shanghai Dragons must stop losing games and focus on wins, but at this point, victories may be not enough for the Mitch Love’s men. CSKA is instead on a comfortable fifth place in the Western Conference’s standings, just two points behind Torpedo. The teams most recently met in St. Petersburg, where CSKA celebrated a 2:1 OT win on Feb. 15.
19:30: CSKA (32-19-8, 5th W) vs Shanghai Dragons (20-28-11, 9th W)
About the game
CSKA enters the second game of a six-match home series following a win over Neftekhimik on Wednesday (2:0).
The Shanghai Dragons enter the fourth game of a five-match road trip after losing to Avtomobilist on Sunday (1:4).
The season series between the two sides is 3-0 (3:2, 1:0, 2:1 OT).
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin is on a 61:16 shutout streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Denis Guryanov, Danila Moiseyev, Vladislav Provolnev.
Shanghai Dragons: Jeremy Groleau, Ben Harpur, Andrei Kareyev, Kirill Rasskazov, Patrik Rybar.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Sergei Kalinin may score his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin and Shanghai Dragons’ goalie Dmitry Shikin may record their 10th league shutout.
