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Five-game Monday promises plenty of excitement across the league
Avangard host Eastern Conference leaders Metallurg in Omsk, while Dinamo Minsk welcome Lada and Shanghai Dragons face Sochi in St. Petersburg. Dynamo Moscow and Traktor revisit a familiar playoff rivalry before Torpedo and Salavat Yulaev clash at the VOLGA Arena, with five games on the schedule in an exciting KHL Monday.
The exciting matchday kicks off in Omsk, with Avangard hosting Metallurg. It will be the second meeting in the current season between the two sides, with the Hawks claiming a 3-2 OT win after a tally by Andrew Poturalski two weeks ago. After three straight losses, Avangard celebrated a long-waited victory on Thursday, when Poturalski found Mikhail Gulyayev in OT for the game-winner against Spartak (2-1). Injury-plagued Avangard is still trying to find some pace, and today’s game against Metallurg may be a good chance to gain some rhythm and please the home crowd in a game with a top opposition. Magnitka is currently on a four-win run, defeating Barys (3-0), Neftekhimik (6-2), Salavat Yulaev (4-3), and Ak Bars (2-1), and is currently trailing only on-fire Neftekhimik in the Eastern Conference’s standings. The crowd at the Omsk Arena will be treated to a top-quality matchup today in the lone Eastern game of this Monday.
The action then moves to the Western Conference, starting with Dinamo Minsk welcoming Lada. The Togliatti side won only once this season, and it was exactly against the Belarusians (4-2). After that game, Lada struggled with four consecutive losses, to Barys (0-6), Ak Bars (2-3 OT), Neftekhimik (3-7), and CSKA (0-5). In today’s game, the team will be looking to revert the trend, but Dinamo Minsk will be seeking revenge after two consecutive losses, to Dynamo Moscow (3-4 OT) and the Shanghai Dragons (1-2) as the Bison are currently sitting out the playoff places in the West’s table.
In St. Petersburg, the Shanghai Dragons host HC Sochi. The Chinese franchise has now two wins in a row, after victories over Avtomobilist (3-2) and Dinamo Minsk (2-1). The Dragons will want to keep the ball rolling, while HC Sochi is in a much difficult position, as the Black Sea club only won once in the current campaign. With the Dragons willing to hunt another win, and Sochi seeking a second victory in the season, the game will have a lot to offer to the St. Petersburg crowd.
Another exciting game is scheduled in the West, with Dynamo Moscow hosting Traktor. The Blue-and-Whites lacked some consistence of late, alternating wins and losses. Most recently, Leonids Tambijevs’ men fell to Salavat Yulaev, on Saturday (1-3). The Muscovites are currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference’s standings, but they will want more as today a struggling Traktor comes to town. The Chelyabinsk side is on the bottom of the East’s table, with just four points so far. After an encouraging win on home ice over Avangard last Sunday (2-1), Traktor lost again in the next game, to SKA on Friday (3-4). As the teams faceoff remembering the 2013 Gagarin Cup finals and the 2025 semis, the game promises to be uncertain and exciting, despite the significant gap in the league’s standings.
Closing out an exciting KHL Monday is a showdown between Torpedo and Salavat Yulaev in Nizhny Novgorod. Both sides enter today’s game in good form. The hosts have two wins in a row, over Avangard (5-1) and HC Sochi (3-0), respectively, and four victories in the last five matches. Salavat Yulaev lost no time to bounce back after a home loss to Metallurg on Thursday (3-4), downing Dynamo Moscow on the road on Saturday (3-1). Both teams are among the top four in the respective conference, and it will be an exciting West-East tilt as the puck drops in the brand-new VOLGA Arena, ready to a capacity crowd once again.
16:30: Avangard (4-4-0, 7th E) vs Metallurg (7-1-1, 2nd E)
About the game
Avangard, who defeated Metallurg earlier in the season (3-2 OT), starts a two-game home series
Metallurg starts a three-game road trip on a four-match winning streak.
Metallurg’s forward Nathan Todd is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that stretch.
Metallurg’s defenseman Valery Orekhov had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
Avangard: Maxime Lajoe, Pavel Leuka, Michael McLeod, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Damir Sharipzyanov, Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Nikita Mikhailis may reach 200 KHL assists (currently at 199).
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (2-2-4, 9th W) vs Lada (1-5-3, 10th W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk starts a five-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Lada, who defeated Dinamo Minsk earlier in the season (4-2), starts a three-game road trip after four consecutive losses.
Dinamo Minsk’s defenseman Ty Smith is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 10 (1+9) points over that stretch.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Alex Limoges, Nicolas Meloche.
Lada: Ivan Romanov.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th KHL shutout.
Dinamo Minsk may celebrate its 500th win in the KHL.
Lada’s forward Dmitry Kugryshev lines up for his 900th league appearance. The team’s captain has 176 goals and 264 career assists.
19:30: Shanghai Dragons (4-2-0, 8th W) vs HC Sochi (1-7-0, 11th W)
About the game
The Shanghai Dragons enters the third game of a four-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
HC Sochi wraps up a three-game road trip after three consecutive losses.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Dmitrij Jaskin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points over that stretch.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Nic Petan had an assist in each of his previous four matches.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Yegor Solovyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Shanghai Dragons: Martin Frk.
HC Sochi: Timur Khafizov, Kirill Slepets.
Milestone alert
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Vladislav Barulin may reach 100 league points (currently at 98).
HC Sochi’s forward Denis Vengryzhanovsky lines up for his 200th KHL appearance.
HC Sochi’s forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky may record his 350th career assist (currently at 349).
19:30: Dynamo Moscow (5-5-0, 6th W) vs Traktor (2-5-0, 11th E)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow enters the fourth game of a five-match home series after a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Saturday (1-3).
Traktor starts a three-game road trip following a defeat to SKA on Thursday (3-4).
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Daniil Pylenkov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Traktor’s forward Nathan Legare is also on a three-game scoring streak with 3 (1+2) points.
Traktor’s defenseman Ivan Vydrenkov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Yegor Rimashevsky, Nikita Tertyshny.
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Sergei Telegin.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Maxim Motorygin may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
19:30: Torpedo (6-2-0, 4th W) vs Salavat Yulaev (5-2-1, 4th E)
About the game
Torpedo wraps up a five-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Dynamo Moscow on Saturday (3-1).
Torpedo’s goalie Dmitry Shugayev is on a 60:43 shutout streak.
Torpedo’s forward Daniil Seroukh is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (7+1) points over that stretch.
Torpedo’s forward Pavel Kraskovsky is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Torpedo’s defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Torpedo: Matvei Polyakov.
Salavat Yulaev: Artyom Gorshkov, Gleb Kuzmin.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s forward Amir Garayev may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Vladislav Yefremov lines up for his 500th league appearance.
