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Lokomotiv look to make it seven straight in action-packed KHL Sunday
Six games are on tap as Traktor hosts Avangard in Chelyabinsk, while Salavat Yulaev welcomes in-form Spartak in Ufa. Neftekhimik visits Metallurg in a clash between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams, while unbeaten Lokomotiv hosts Barys in Yaroslavl. HC Sochi faces Sibir on the Black Sea coast, and Dinamo Minsk welcomes Avtomobilist in Belarus.
A dense matchday has its start in Chelyabinsk, with Traktor hosting Avangard. The hosts are struggling with results, with Scott Gordon earning only one win so far in his KHL career. On Friday, the team surrendered to Spartak, en route to its fifth straight win. This left Traktor at the bottom of the Eastern Conference’s standings, with two points – result of an OT win over Avtomobilist in the second game of the season. With only eight goals scored, Traktor has the worst offense in the East, and the 17 allowed tallies are second only to Sibir’s 23. Today, the Chelyabinsk side will try to turn the tide in a challenging game against Avangard. The Hawks are coming off a loss to unstoppable Lokomotiv on home ice on Friday (1:2), but earlier they had three straight wins, over HC Sochi (4:1), Metallurg (3:2 OT), and Avtomobilist (3:2 OT), respectively. As two North American coaches battle out in Chelyabinsk, this is a game that can easily go either way.
Then, in Ufa, Salavat Yulaev hosts Spartak. The Red-and-Whites are on a roll, with five consecutive wins. After losing the opener to Torpedo (0:1), Spartak celebrated wins over CSKA (3:2), SKA (3:1), Severstal (8:0), Metallurg (3:2), and lastly Traktor (3:1). Only the reigning champion, Lokomotiv, did better than Alexei Zhamnov’s men, for now. However, Salavat Yulaev will be a tough opponent for the Muscovites. After two straight losses to Barys (6:8) and Ak Bars (3:4 OT), the Ufa team bounced back with a shutout win over Neftekhimik on Friday (2:0) as the team is climbing up the Eastern Conference’s standings. The fans at the Ufa Arena can expect an exciting game between two offense-first teams. After the confrontation, Spartak will fly back to Moscow, where the Red-and-Whites will play the next five matches.
In the meantime, the Wolves will seek revenge for their Friday loss in Ufa in a road game in Magnitogorsk. Not only the game will be an exciting showdown between two offensive teams, but it will also be a confrontation between the two Eastern Conference’s top teams in the standings as both sides sport an identical 4-1-1 record. After two straight losses, to Avangard (2:3 OT) and Spartak (2:3), Metallurg turned the tide with a shutout victory over Barys on Friday (3:0). With so much on stake for both teams, uncertainty will be key at the Magnitogorsk Arena this afternoon.
The action then moves to the Western Conference for three games, starting with Lokomotiv entertaining Barys. The Railwaymen looked unstoppable so far, with six straight wins to kick off their 2026-2027 campaign, including a 2:1 win over Avangard on Friday in a repetition of last year’s playoff series. The Kazakhs are showcasing good results, but lack a bit of consistency – after a home loss to Amur (1:3), they downed Lada (6:0), but suffered another loss in Magnitogorsk (0:3). It will be interesting to see whether they will recover after the loss to Magnitka or the Railwaymen will continue their march.
In Sochi, the hosts will seek to build on their recent win over Ak Bars (3:2) as Sibir pays a visit to the Black Sea shore. Neither team had a good start to the season, and today’s game will be a good chance for getting a win and accumulate points for the standings. With both Sibir goalies hunting milestones, Sochi’s offensive lines will need to start delivering – the team has only five goals in the first five games, with three of them coming from the recent win over Ak Bars. However, Sibir has allowed the most goals in all the league with 23.
Closing out an exciting matchday is a showdown in Belarus between Dinamo Minsk and Avtomobilist. The Bison just won their first game of the season, when they celebrated a 4:1 win over Sibir on Friday. It was a disappointing start to the campaign for Dinamo Minsk, who will now try to build on their recent success to please the home crowd and gain some precious points for the Western Conference standings. Avtomobilist comes to Belarus after an extratime loss to Avangard (2:3) as the Motormen will be looking to bounce back. It will be an exciting game at the Minsk Arena, with an expected capacity crowd in a great hockey Sunday in Belarus.
14:00: Traktor (1-4-0) vs Avangard (3-2-0).
About the game
Traktor enters the third game of a four-match home series following three straight losses.
Avangard enters the second game of a four-match road trip after a loss to Lokomotiv on Friday (1:2).
Avangard’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov.
Avangard: Maxime Lajoie, Pavel Leuka, Michael McLeod, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Damir Sharipzyanov, Alexander Volkov.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (3-1-1) vs Spartak (5-1-0).
About the game
Salavat Yulaev enters the third game of a four-match home series after a win over Neftekhimik on Friday (2:0).
Spartak wraps up a three-game road trip riding a five-match winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Semyon Vyazovoi is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Jack Rodewald is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (5+3) points over that stretch.
Spartak’s defenseman Daniil Orlov is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points.
Spartak’s forward Daniil Gutik is on a three-game scoring streak instead, with 4 (2+2) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Artyom Gorshkov, Gleb Kuzmin.
Spartak: Maxime Comtois, Alex Galchenyuk, Nikita Kholodilin.
14:30: Metallurg (4-1-1) vs Neftekhimik (4-1-1).
About the game
Metallurg ends a three-game home series and defeated Barys on Friday (3:0).
Neftekhimik wraps up a three-game road trip following a loss to Salavat Yulaev also on Friday (0:2).
17:00: Lokomotiv (6-0-0) vs Barys (3-2-0).
About the game
Lokomotiv ends a two-game home series on a six-match winning streak.
Barys enters the third game of a four-match road trip after a loss to Metallurg on Friday (0:3).
Lokomotiv’s forward Alexander Radulov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (4+5) points over that stretch.
Lokomotiv’s defenseman Rushan Rafikov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Maxim Beryozkin, Artur Kayumov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev may reach 40 career shutouts, while Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th.
17:00: HC Sochi (1-4-0) vs Sibir (1-4-1).
About the game
HC Sochi ends a four-game home series after a win over Ak Bars on Friday (3:2).
Sibir ends a two-match road trip on a three-game losing streak.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Timur Khafizov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s goalie Anton Krasotkin may line up for his 300th career appearance.
Sibir’s goalie Maxim Berdin is looking to celebrate his 50th KHL win.
17:10: Dinamo Minsk (1-1-3) vs Avtomobilist (2-1-2).
About the game
Dinamo Minsk ends a two-game home series following a win over Sibir on Friday (4:1).
Avtomobilist is in the middle of a seven-game road trip and lost to Avtomobilist on Tuesday (2:3).
Dinamo Minsk’s defenseman Ty Smith had at least an assist in each of his previous five games, totaling seven helpers.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sam Anas is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Alex Limoges, Nicholas Meloche.
Avtomobilist: Nikita Shashkov.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th career shutout.
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Barabanov lines up for his 500th league appearance. The two-time Gagarin Cup champion has 132 goals and 164 assists in his career in the KHL.
