A full-Western matchday with four games on tap
A four-game, all-Western matchday sets the stage for a packed evening, opening with Severstal facing Lokomotiv in a fifth meeting that sees the season series deadlocked. SKA aims to stop the bleeding against Barys, while Moscow hosts two key clashes as CSKA takes on in-form Avtomobilist and Spartak challenges Avangard in a high-octane showdown.
An All-Western matchday starts in Cherepovets, with Severstal taking on Lokomotiv. It will be the fifth meeting between the two teams this season, with the series being tied at two. The hosts enter today’s game after a loss to Torpedo at home, the second in the last five matches. Despite the loss, the Cherepovets side retained its spot in third place in the Western Conference’s table, now with a four-point advantage over Torpedo. The Railwaymen are instead on a roll, with five consecutive wins, including a 5:2 victory over SKA just on Saturday. Today’s game can easily go either way.
19:00: Severstal (38-20-4, 3rd W) vs Lokomotiv (41-15-5, 1st W)
About the game
Severstal ends a two-game home series following a loss to Torpedo on Friday (1:2).
Lokomotiv is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous five matches.
The season series between the two sides is 2-2 (1:4, 1:2, 4:3, 2:0).
Severstal’s defenseman Ioannis Kaldis is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that stretch,
Severstal’s Daniil Aimurzin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Severstal’s forward Adam Liska is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Lokomotiv’s defenseman Rushan Rafikov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Lokomotiv’s defenseman Andrei Sergeyev is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Lokomotiv’s defenseman Daniil Misyul is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Severstal: Nikolai Chebykin, Ilya Davydov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Pavel Kraskovsky may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 198).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th league shutout.
In St. Petersburg, SKA faces Barys as both teams will be seeking a return to victory. SKA, who celebrated a win in Astana earlier in the season, is now on a two-game losing streak, having lost to Lokomotiv (2:5) and Dynamo Moscow (1:4) – both at home. Igor Larionov’s men are now in eighth place in the Western Conference’s table. The Kazakhs are instead on a four-match losing streak, with three consecutive extra-time losses and a defeat to Spartak on Saturday (3:5). Barys is currently the tenth seed in the East, with an eleven-point gap to the playoff places.
19:30: SKA (31-22-7, 8th W) vs Barys (18-32-11, 10th E)
About the game
SKA, who defeated Barys earlier in the season (5:0), ends a seven-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Barys enters the second game of a six-match road trip on a four-game losing streak.
Barys’ forward Michael Vecchione is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that stretch.
Injury list
SKA: Igor Larionov, Trevor Murphy, Vladislav Romanov, Nikita Zaitsev.
Barys: Arsan Shaikhmeddenov.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Mikhail Vorobyov may score his 200th KHL point (currently at 198).
Barys’ goalie Nikita Boyarkin may line up for his 100th league appearance.
The action switches then to Moscow for two teams. CSKA will seek a third straight wins in a home game against Avtomobilist. In recent games, the Muscovites celebrated victories over Neftekhimik (2:0) and the Shanghai Dragons (6:5 OT), climbing up to fifth place in the Western Conference’s standings. Today’s opposition, Avtomobilist, enters the clash on a three-game winning streak. The Motormen defeated the Shanghai Dragons (4:1), Avangard (5:1), and Ak Bars (3:2 SO), showing a great shape and the right attitude before the start of the elimination stage. Avtomobilist is firmly in its conference’s top four, with an eight-point cushion over Salavat Yulaev. It will be the first meeting this season between the teams.
19:30: CSKA (33-19-8, 5th W) vs Avtomobilist (35-21-4, 4th E)
About the game
CSKA enters the third game of a seven-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Avtomobilist starts a three-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
Avtomobilist’s forward Daniel Sprong is on a six-game scoring streak, with 10 (6+4) points over that stretch.
Avtomobilist’s defenseman Nikita Tryamkin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
CSKA: Denis Guryanov, Klim Kostin, Danila Moiseyev, Vladislav Provolnev.
Avtomobilist: Dmitry Yudin.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Sergei Kalinin may net his 100th KHL tally (currently at 99).
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin may record his 10th career shutout.
In the second Moscow game of the night, Spartak welcomes Avangard trying to build on its current winning streak. The Red-and-Whites defeated Salavat Yulaev (5:3), Admiral (6:3), and Barys (5:3), and is in seventh place in the West at 70 points, one more than SKA. Avangard is in second place in the East, and most recently had a big win over league-leading Metallurg in extra time (3:2 OT), with Andrew Poturalski netting the game-winner for the Hawks. Earlier in the season, in December, Avangard celebrated a 7:5 win over Spartak. In 33 all-time meeting between the two sides, the Red-and-Whites only had seven regulation wins – Spartak will be looking to revert the trend in a high-octane game between two in-form sides.
19:30: Spartak (32-22-6, 7th W) vs Avangard (41-15-4, 2nd E)
About the game
Spartak ends a three-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Avangard, who defeated Spartak earlier in the season (7:5), starts a three-game road trip following a win over Metallurg on Friday (3:2 OT).
Spartak’s forward Pavel Poryadin and defenseman Dmitry Vishnevsky are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that stretch.
Spartak’s forward Daniil Gutik is equally on a three-game scoring streak, but with 5 (4+1) points.
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Spartak: Brandon Biro, Lucas Lockhart.
Avangard: Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Kirill Pilipenko may line up for his 300th league appearance.
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 298).
