Unbeaten teams clash in Astana as five-game slate awaits

Five games are on tap as unbeaten Barys and Salavat Yulaev clash in Astana, while Ak Bars host Traktor in Kazan. In Moscow, Dynamo face Admiral and CSKA meet Torpedo for a First Teams’ Cup’s game. SKA and Lada then renew their rivalry in St. Petersburg.

In Astana, Barys will try to repeat its incredible home performance the team had two days ago, when the Kazakhs kicked off the 2026-2027 campaign with an annihilating 7:1 win over Sibir. Today, the opposition will be more serious, with Salavat Yulaev coming to town. The Ufa franchise has also had a fantastic start, with two consecutive road wins. First, the team downed Severstal 3:2 in Cherepovets. Then, in Omsk, Salavat Yulaev celebrated a sensational 4:0 win with four different scorers. Today’s game will be a good test for the hosts, who are looking for a return to the postseason.

In the second Eastern game of the season, Ak Bars hosts Traktor. Just like Barys and Salavat Yulaev, Ak Bars equally won its first two games, over Sibir (4:3 SO) and Admiral (2:0), respectively. The Chelyabinsk side has instead had a mixed start. First, Traktor suffered a loss in Yaroslavl (1:5). However, on Monday, they bounced back with an extra-time win over Avtomobilist, with Nathan Legare claiming the game in OT. After today’s game, the team will fly back to the Urals, where Traktor will play the next three matches.

The action then moves to the Western Conference. Two games are scheduled in Moscow, with Dynamo taking on Admiral and CSKA facing Torpedo. The Blue-and-Whites lost their first couple of matches in the new season, to Avtomobilist (1:2) and SKA (3:5), respectively. The Vladivostok side will be also looking for revenge after being shut out by Ak Bars on Monday (0:2). With much on stakes for both sides, the game is expected to be an intriguing one, with Dynamo Moscow’s head coach Leonards Tambijevs facing his former team for the first time in the current season.

In a game for the First Teams’ Cup, CSKA hosts Torpedo. The Nizhny Novgorod side had a strong start of the season with two consecutive wins, over Spartak (1:0) and Dinamo Minsk (4:3 SO). CSKA will instead want to bounce back after losing the first derby of the season, to Spartak, on Monday (2:3). Yesterday, Torpedo sent last season’s second top scorer Yegor Sokolov to Dinamo Minsk in exchange for monetary compensation. He hasn’t dressed for Torpedo in the first couple of games of the new campaign.

Closing up an exciting matchday is SKA facing Lada for the second time in five days. In the season opener, the St. Petersburg franchise celebrated a 4:3 OT win over the Togliatti side. Then, SKA defeated Dynamo Moscow on Monday (5:3). Nikolai Goldobin had a striking start of the campaign, with six points in the first couple of matches. In its second game of the season, Lada lost 0:1 to Severstal. The Togliatti side needs a win to gain confidence and start accumulating points.