Dinamo Minsk hosts league leader; four games on tap today
A four-game matchday spans the Far East and the West, opening with rematches in Khabarovsk and Vladivostok as Amur and Admiral look to repeat Sunday’s successes against Neftekhimik and Salavat Yulaev. The focus then shifts west as Lada Togliatti host Ak Bars, before Dinamo Minsk welcome league-leading Metallurg to close the night.
The matchday starts in the Far East again with a double revenge of Sunday’s matches, with Amur hosting Neftekhimik and Admiral facing Salavat Yulaev. On Sunday, the Tigers bit hard against Neftekhimik, skating away with a 3:2 win that helped Amur getting an inch closer to Sibir as now the gap in the standings reduced to five points, with today’s hosts having one game in hand. It was the second straight win for Amur, who also defeated Avangard on Feb. 22 (4:3). The Wolves have instead two straight losses. Other than the Tigers, they also lost to CSKA on Feb. 25 (0:2). Neftekhimik remains the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, tied with Traktor at 63 points.
12:15: Amur (23-30-7, 9th E) vs Neftekhimik (30-28-3, 7th E)
About the game
Amur enters the second game of a five-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Neftekhimik is in the middle of a five-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
The season series between the two sides is 3-0 (2:1, 4:1, 3:2).
Amur’s forward Yaroslav Likhachyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Amur: Roman Abrosimov, Alex Broadhurst.
Neftekhimik: Vladislav Barulin, Dinar Khafizullin.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s defenseman Luka Profaca may reach 100 league appearances.
In Vladivostok, Admiral faces Salavat Yulaev again, and once again with possible playoff implications. On Sunday, the Sailors celebrated a 4:2 home win, with Czech star blueliner Libor Sulak netting the game-winner and avoiding being crossed out from playoff contention, at least in theory. Similarly, Salavat Yulaev failed to secure a ticket for the elimination stage. Today, the Ufa team has another chance to book its ticket, but defeating Admiral won’t be enough – for that to happen, Amur has to lose to Neftekhimik in regulation. The Sailors can keep their playoff hopes alive with a regulation win over Salavat Yulaev, but it is hard to believe they still have a realistic chance of reaching the postseason given that they sit last in the Eastern Conference table, 15 points back of eighth-placed Sibir. Salavat Yulaev is currently in fifth place.
12:30: Admiral (16-33-11, 11th E) vs Salavat Yulaev (31-25-4, 5th E)
About the game
Admiral enters the second game of a six-match home series following a win over Salavat Yulaev on Sunday (4:2).
Salavat Yulaev enters the second game of a four-match road trip after its loss to Admiral.
The season series between the two teams is 1-2 (1:6, 0:5, 4:2).
Admiral’s defenseman Libor Sulak is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (2+6) points over that stretch.
Admiral’s forward Oskar Bulavchuk is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Alexei Vasilevsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Admiral: Vladimir Bryukvin, Alexander Daryin, Mario Grman, Ruslan Pedan.
Salavat Yulaev: Alexander Chyorny, Prokhor Korbit, Gleb Kuzmin.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s forward Daniel Usmanov lines up for his 100th league appearance.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Pyotr Khokhryakov may record his 100th KHL assist (currently at 99).
The action then switches to the West for two games, starting from Lada hosting Ak Bars. The two sides last met not long ago, on Feb. 25. The Kazan side was up by three goals after ten minutes of play, but ultimately lost the game, 4:5 after shootout. It was Lada’s second win over Ak Bars in the season, with just one win in the season series for the Tatarstan franchise. After that showdown, Lada lost at home to the Shanghai Dragons (1:2), while Ak Bars lost to Avtomobilist (2:3 SO) and won in Chelyabinsk (1:0). The Togliatti side is in penultimate place in the West, while Ak Bars is the Eastern Conference’s third seed.
18:00: Lada (18-37-7, 10th W) vs Ak Bars (38-15-8, 3rd E)
About the game
Lada enters the second game of a seven-match home series following a loss to the Shanghai Dragons on Sunday (1:2).
Ak Bars wraps up a three-game road trip following a win over Traktor also on Sunday (1:0).
The season series between the two teams is 2-1 (4:3 ОТ, 2:4, 5:4 SO).
Lada’s forward Tyler Graovac scored a goal in each of his previous three matches.
Ak Bars’ goalie Maxim Arefyev is on a 79:33 shutout streak.
Ak Bars’ forward Alexei Pustozyorov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Lada: Alexei Ozhgikhin.
Milestone alert
Lada’s forwards Tomas Jurco and Andrei Obidin may score their respective 100th league point (currently both at 99).
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov may reach 400 KHL points (currently at 399).
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.
Closing out an exciting match day is an intriguing showdown between Dinamo Minsk and Metallurg. On Jan. 31, the Steelers celebrated a 5:4 home win, but are now on a rare three-game losing streak, after defeats to Severstal (3:4 OT), Avangard (2:3 OT), and Dynamo Moscow (1:4). Despite the setback, Metallurg still sits atop the league standings with 95 points. The Belarusians have instead won their last three matches, all on the road, over Torpedo (4:3) and HC Sochi twice (7:2, 3:2), respectively. With 82 points, Dinamo Minsk is the second seed in the Western Conference, having one point more than Severstal, losing yesterday to conference leaders Lokomotiv in extra time.
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (37-16-8, 2nd W) vs Metallurg (44-9-7, 1st E)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk kicks off a two-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Metallurg, who defeated Dinamo Minsk earlier in the season (5:4), ends a three-game road trip and lost its previous three matches.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on a nine-game scoring streak, with 20 (6+14) points over that stretch.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Alex Limoges is also on a nine-game scoring streak, but with 15 (5+10) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Vitaly Pinchuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Ryan Spooner had at least one assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
Metallurg: Dmitry Silantyev.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th KHL shutout.
