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Shanghai and Metallurg put winning streaks on the line in six-game matchday
Avtomobilist hosts Lada and Ak Bars welcomes Barys in two Eastern Conference clashes, while Spartak faces Traktor and Sochi takes on Salavat Yulaev in the West. Lokomotiv and Sibir have a rematch in Yaroslavl before the Shanghai Dragons host league leaders Metallurg, with six games promising plenty of intriguing battles.
The matchday kicks off with two clashes in the Eastern Conference, starting with Avtomobilist hosting Lada. The Motormen just came out of a four-game losing streak after an encouraging win in Moscow on Saturday against Spartak (4-2). Avto is thus the sixth seed in the Eastern Conferene – not what they will want to be, so it’s likely that the Motormen will push the gas in today’s showdown against Lada. The Togliatti side is currently the second-last team in the Western Conference, with only one win thus far since the start of the 2026-2027 campaign.
In the second Eastern showdown, Ak Bars hosts Barys. Both teams had a strong start to the season, but the Kazakhs have somewhat lost the momentum with two consecutive home losses in back-to-back games, to Neftekhimik (3-6) and SKA (3-5), respectively. With the offense capable to produce six goals in two matches, head coach Mikhail Kravets will want to tighten the defense in their visit to Tatarstan. The Kazan side is right above Barys in the Eastern table, and has also lost its latest game, to Metallurg on Saturday (1-2). With both teams willing to bounce back, it will be an exciting matchup at the Tatneft Arena.
The action then moves to the West. In Moscow, Spartak hosts Traktor as the Chelyabinsk side plays its second consecutive game in the Russian capital. On Monday, 28 saves from Henrik Haukeland led Traktor to an extra-time win over Dynamo (2-1 OT). Despite the win, however, the Chelyabinsk side is still sitting on the bottom place of the Eastern Conference’s standings. The Muscovites had a strong showing, but now they lost three times in a row, to Salavat Yulaev (1-3), Avangard (1-2) and Avtomobilist (2-4), slipping down to fifth place in the West’s table. Spartak will try to bounce back, while Traktor will be willing to build on its recent win to snap a second victory in Moscow. However, early in the season, the Red-and-Whites already defeated Traktor in Chelyabinsk on Sept. 18 (3-1).
Another struggling side is HC Sochi. The Black Sea franchise won only once in the current season and is at the bottom of the league’s standings with only two points. However, the team will be called to a hard challenge, with Salavat Yulaev coming to town. Sochi lost its previous four matches, to Sibir (1-5), Torpedo (0-3), Severstal (1-3), and the Shanghai Dragons (1-4). The Ufa team is instead faring much better with four wins in the last five matches. Most recently, Salavat Yulaev won twice on the road, over Dynamo Moscow (3-1) and Torpedo (3-0). In Nizhny Novgorod, goalie Semyon Vyazovoi recorded his third shutout in the season – the only goalie to have collected this many in the current campaign.
In Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv and Sibir will have a rematch after their recent encounter in Novosibirsk. The Railwaymen celebrated a 2-1 win on Sunday, with Giovanni Fiore scoring his second goal with the Lokomotiv jersey. The win helped Loko remain at the top of the Western Conference’s standings, with only two losses so far. Sibir enters today’s road game following two consecutive losses, with a further defeat to Ak Bars on Thursday (2-3 SO). The team is tied with Traktor and Admiral at six points and will want to climb up in the standings.
Closing out an exciting matchday is a clash in St. Petersburg between the Shanghai Dragons and Metallurg. Both teams are in good form. The Dragons won their previous three games, defeating Avtomobilist (3-2), Dinamo Minsk (2-1), and HC Sochi (4-1), and are currently in seventh place in the West. Magnitka comes to St. Petersburg on a five-win run, with their most recent victory in Omsk on Monday, powered by a double from productive forward Nikita Mikhailis (5-1). With this streak, Metallurg is currently leading the league’s standings with 17 points.
17:00: Avtomobilist (3-4-2, 7th E) vs Lada (1-6-3, 10th W)
About the game
Avtomobilist starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Spartak on Saturday (4-2).
Lada is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its previous five matches.
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Kadeikin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Nikita Shashkov.
Lada: Ivan Romanov.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Barabanov may reach 300 points in the KHL (currently at 297).
19:00: Ak Bars (6-3-1, 4th E) vs Barys (5-4-0, 5th E)
About the game
Ak Bars kicks off a five-game home series after a loss to Metallurg on Saturday (1-2).
Barys starts a three-game road trip following two consecutive defeats.
Barys’ forward Vsevolod Logvin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Artyom Galimov.
Barys: Madi Dikhanbek.
19:30: Spartak (5-3-1, 5th W) vs Traktor (3-5-0, 11th E)
About the game
Spartak, who defeated Traktor earlier in the season, is in the middle of a five-game home series and lost its previous three matches.
Traktor is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Dynamo Moscow on Monday (2-1).
Traktor’s forward Nathan Legare and defenseman Ivan Vydrenkov are on an identical four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Spartak: Maxime Comtois, Alex Galchenyuk, Nikita Kholodilin.
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Sergei Telegin.
19:30: HC Sochi (1-8-0, 11th W) vs Salavat Yulaev (6-2-1, 3rd E)
About the game
HC Sochi starts a four-game home series on a four-match losing streak.
Salavat Yulaev wraps up a three-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Semyon Vyazovoi is on a 97:03 shutout streak.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Timur Khafizov, Kirill Slepets.
Salavat Yulaev: Artyom Gorshkov, Gleb Kuzmin.
19:30: Lokomotiv (8-2-0, 1st W) vs Sibir (2-5-2, 10th E)
About the game
Lokomotiv plays the lone home game of the series following a win over Sibir on Sunday (2-1).
Sibir starts a three-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Denis Alexeyev, Maxim Beryozkin, Denis Romantsev.
Sibir: Maxim Osipov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Giovanni Fiore may reach 100 points in the KHL (currently at 99).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev may record his 40th league shutout, while Alexei Melnichuk may reach 10.
Sibir’s forward Stepan Nikulin may also reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
19:30: Shanghai Dragons (5-2-0, 7th W) vs Metallurg (8-1-1, 1st E)
About the game
The Shanghai Dragons wrap up a four-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Metallurg is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous five matches.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Yegor Solovyov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that stretch.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Riley Sutter is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Metallurg’s forward Nathan Todd is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points over that span.
Metallurg’s forward Daniil Vovchenko is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Metallurg’s defenseman Valery Orekhov had at least an assist in each of his previous four matches, totaling six helpers.
Injury list
Shanghai Dragons: Martin Frk.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Nikita Mikhailis may reach 200 KHL assists (currently at 199).
