Lokomotiv Remembrance Day: Moscow derby headlines busy eight-game matchday

Eight games are on tap as Avangard make their season debut against Salavat Yulaev in Omsk, while Avtomobilist host Traktor in Yekaterinburg. Barys welcome Sibir, Severstal face Lada, and Dinamo Minsk entertain Torpedo. In Moscow, CSKA and Spartak meet in the season’s first derby, while SKA host Dynamo Moscow in St. Petersburg. Ak Bars then round out the busy slate against Admiral in Kazan.

The third KHL matchday for the 2026-2027 campaign kicks off in Omsk, with the Hawks having their debut in the season in a home game against Salavat Yulaev. The Ufa franchise lost no time collecting a win in Cherepovets in its first game of the new season. Jack Rodewald netted a double as Viktor Kozlov’s men started the season on a positive note. Guy Boucher will now try to get Avangard to qualify for the Gagarin Cup finals for the third time as the team underwent some serious changes this summer and it will be interesting to see how the Hawks take off as they start the season on home ice.

In Yekaterinburg, Avtomobilist hosts Traktor. Both sides already played this season, with different outcomes. The Yekaterinburg side celebrated a nice win over Dynamo Moscow, with newcomers playing a strong role right away as Anton Slepyshev and Alexander Barabanov (assisted by Adam Ruzicka) scored for Avto. Traktor will instead seek its first win of the season after a 1:5 loss to reigning champion Lokomotiv in the 2026-2027 inaugural game. The Chelyabinsk side will need to up its game, as the team only scored once with Andrei Svetlakov and conceded five goals to the Railwaymen.

Another team to kick off its 2026-2027 campaign today is Barys. The Kazakhs will host Sibir. After a somewhat encouraging but also disappointing season in 2025-2026, Barys will try to hunt a playoff spot with a first home game, but the team will need to find a way to get more consistency than last term. On the other end of the ice, Sibir had a strong showing in Kazan for its first game, but despite Evgeny Kuznetsov’s 100th league tally, the Novosibirsk side suffered an OT loss. This was, however, not the worst way to start the season as the team will continue its road trip with one point in the standings after facing one of the league’s contending teams.

In Cherepovets, Severstal will try to find its first win of the season in a home game against Lada. The Steelers suffered from a defeat by the hand of Salavat Yulaev in the season’s opener, and they need to forget about that game to bounce back as soon as possible. The Togliatti side also lost its first game, when Lada lost 2:3 OT to SKA in St. Petersburg. The game wasn’t bad for the team, who showed character and resilience, and those qualities will be good for Lada as the season unfolds. Noticeably, Ben King scored his first KHL goal in the game against SKA.

In Belarus, Dinamo Minsk will finally entertain its crowd for the first time in the season. The Belarusians changed head coach in the summer, replacing Dmitry Kvartalnov with Sergei Brylin, as the team confirms its ambitions after last season’s excellent campaign. However, repeating last term’s results won’t be easy. Moreover, the Bison have several high-profile players sitting on IL. Paying a visit to Belarus is Torpedo, who collected a win in its first game of the season shutting out Spartak in Moscow with the game-winning goal scored by 17-years-old Sergei Skvortsov. Today’s game can easily go either side and it’s likely that the crowd will be treated to an exciting, offensive game.

In the Russian, the KHL will see its first Moscow derby of the season when CSKA hosts Spartak. It will be CSKA’s opener in the season, while the Red-and-Whites lost their inaugural match to Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod two days ago. CSKA had a strong offseason, signing good players as Marat Khairullin, Derek Barach, and Yegor Zamula, with the signings being better off than the losses for the team – it is expected that CSKA will be among the season’s contenders. Spartak will however want a win to bounce back after its loss to Torpedo, and a Moscow derby can give the Red-and-Whites extra motivation.

In St. Petersburg, SKA welcomes Dynamo Moscow in a Western Conference classic. The hosts have already won their first match, while the Blue-and-Whites lost to Avtomobilist. It will be a good chance for both sides to test their new teams in a competitive match between two conference rivals. The season is still very young, but such a game is not to be missed by any fan. After today’s game, Dynamo Moscow will fly back home.

To close off a busy matchday, Ak Bars hosts Admiral. The Kazan franchise started its 2026-2027 campaign with an extra-time win over Sibir and will want to double up in today’s match against Admiral. The Sailors had a busy offseason, with a significant turnover in players, but at least they retained their head coach, Oleg Bratash. At this point, Admiral doesn’t look like a contender in the Eastern Conference, but surprises and sensations are always to be expected in any high-level league.

16:30: Avangard vs Salavat Yulaev (1-0-0).
About the game
Avangard kicks off its 2026-2027 campaign with the first of a four-game home series, while Salavat Yulaev is in the middle of a three-game road trip.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Artyom Gorshkov, Gleb Kuzmin.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s defenseman Semyon Chistyakov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
Avangard’s forward Joshua Leivo may net his 100th league tally (currently at 99).
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Semyon Vyazovoi may record his 10th career shutout.

17:00: Avtomobilist (1-0-0) vs Traktor (0-1-0).
About the game
Avtomobilist ends a two-game home series, while Traktor is in the middle of a three-match road trip.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Adam Ruzicka may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 98).

17:00: Barys vs Sibir (0-0-1).
About the game
Barys starts a three-game home series to launch its 2026-2027 campaign, while Sibir ends a two-match road trip.
Injury list
Barys: Arkady Shestakov.
Sibir: Anton Krasotkin
Milestone alert
Sibir’s head coach Yaroslav Lyuzenkov reches 50 games in the KHL.

19:00: Severstal (0-1-0) vs Lada (0-0-1).
About the game
Severstal ends a two-game home series, while Lada is in the middle of a three-match road trip.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s defenseman Ioannis Kaldis lines up for his 200th game in the KHL.

19:10: Dinamo Minsk vs Torpedo (1-0-0).
About the game
Dinamo Minsk starts its 2026-2027 rush with a two-game home series, while Torpedo plays the second match of a four-game road trip.
Torpedo’s goalie Denis Kostin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Rhett Gardner, Alex Limoges, Nicolas Meloche.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 297).
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th career shutout.
Torpedo’s defenseman Anton Sizov lines up for his 300th league appearance, while Torpedo’s Amir Garayev reaches 300. He may also celebrate 100 career points (currently at 99).

19:30: CSKA vs Spartak (0-1-0).
About the game
CSKA kicks off its new season with the first of a four-game home series, while Spartak plays its only road game of the stint.
Injury list
Spartak: Will Reilly.

19:30: SKA (1-0-0) vs Dynamo Moscow (0-1-0).
About the game
SKA is in the middle of a three-game home series, while Dynamo Moscow ends a two-game road trip.
Injury list
SKA: Trevor Murphy.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Daniil Aimurzin may give his 100th KHL assist (currently at 99).
SKA’s goalie Sergei Ivanov and Dynamo Moscow’s netminder Alexei Motorygin may reach 10 KHL shutouts.

19:30: Ak Bars (1-0-0) vs Admiral.
About the game
Ak Bars enters the second game of a four-match home series, while Admiral starts a four-game road trip to start the season.
Injury list
Admiral: Kyle Olson, Artyom Pimenov, Vladislav Tsitsyura.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Artyom Galimov may score his 100th KHL tally (currently at 99).
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov may record his 40th career shutout.