Three games on tap on a light KHL Friday
Magnitogorsk hosts the opening clash as high-scoring Metallurg seeks revenge against defensively solid Avtomobilist. Avangard looks to extend its streak in Sochi, while CSKA attempts to break a worrying scoring drought against Traktor.
The KHL Friday will open in Magnitogorsk, where Metallurg — the League’s highest-scoring team — will face Avtomobilist, the Eastern Conference leader in defensive reliability. For the hosts, the game will primarily be a chance for revenge after a crushing defeat in Yekaterinburg on Feb. 15, when Avtomobilist secured an emphatic 8:1 victory. That loss equaled Metallurg’s worst defeat in KHL history, so in the upcoming meeting the Steelers will be ready to give their all in an attempt to strike back. Magnitka enters into today’s game after a convincing win in Minsk, while the Motormen proved to be in good form, with five straight wins, including two consecutive shutouts in Moscow, over CSKA (1:0) and Dynamo (4:0). Metallurg remains at the top of the Eastern Conference’s standings, while Avtomobilist follows in fourth place.
17:00: Metallurg (45-9-7, 1st E) vs Avtomobilist (37-21-4, 4th E)
About the game
Metallurg starts a two-game home series fresh off a win over Dinamo Minsk on Tuesday (3:0).
Avtomobilist wraps up a three-game road trip on a five-match winning streak.
The season series between the two teams is 3-1 (5:4, 6:5, 4:1, 1:8).
Metallurg’s goalie Alexander Smolin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Vladimir Galkin is on an 85:17 shutout streak, while Evgeny Alikin is at 81:44.
Avtomobilist’s forward Daniel Sprong is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 13 (7+6) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Metallurg: Dmitry Silantyev.
Avtomobilist: Dmitry Yudin.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s goalie Vladimir Galkin may record his 10th KHL shutout.
The action then switches to the West for two further games. In Sochi, Avangard will seek to stretch its winning streak, now at three games. The Hawks defeated Metallurg (3:2 OT), Spartak (4:1), and CSKA (2:0). Two days earlier, HC Sochi fell to Lokomotiv (2:3). The first meeting between the teams in the current regular season ended in a convincing victory for Avangard (5:2). Guy Boucher’s team currently sits in second place in the Eastern Conference, holding a solid six-point lead over Ak Bars. Meanwhile, Sochi continues its remote battle with Lada for the penultimate spot in the Western Conference, currently trailing the Togliatti side by three points with three games in hand.
19:30: HC Sochi (17-35-8, 11th W) vs Avangard (43-15-4, 2nd E)
About the game
HC Sochi ends a five-game home series following a loss to Lokomotiv on Wednesday (2:3).
Avangard, who defeated HC Sochi earlier in the season (5:2), wraps up a three-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
Avangard’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov is on a 63:01 shutout streak.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Jean-Christophe Beaudin, Cameron Lee, Ilya Nikolayev, Denis Vengryzhanovsky.
Avangard: Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 298).
Closing out an exciting matchday is a showdown between CSKA and Traktor. The first meeting between the two teams this season took place on Dec. 5 in Chelyabinsk, where CSKA secured a narrow 3:2 victory. Now the Muscovites will try to end its scoring drought as the team failed to score since Feb. 27, suffering defeats to Avtomobilist (0:1) and Avangard (0:2) during that stretch. With 74 points, the hosts sit fifth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of Dynamo Moscow, which still has a game in hand. Meanwhile, Traktor is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 65 points. The team coached by Evgeny Koreshkov traveled to the Russian capital after a commanding 5:0 win in Nizhny Novgorod against Torpedo.
19:30: CSKA (33-21-8, 5th W) vs Traktor (29-25-7, 6th E)
About the game
CSKA, who defeated Traktor earlier in the season (3:2), enters the fifth game of a six-match home series on a two-game losing streak.
Traktor enters the second game of a four-match road trip following a win over Torpedo on Wednesday (5:0).
Traktor’s goalie Dmitry Nikolayev is on a 69:14 shutout streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Denis Guryanov, Klim Kostin, Danila Moiseyev, Vladislav Provolnev.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Sergei Kalinin may net his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin may record his 10th career shutout.
Traktor’s forward Joshua Leivo may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).
