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Eastern rivals seek a response in six-game KHL Friday
Avangard looks to bounce back against Lada, while Salavat Yulaev welcomes Sibir in Ufa and Avtomobilist hosts Amur in Yekaterinburg. Ak Bars and Traktor clash again in Kazan, Neftekhimik welcomes Barys in Nizhnekamsk, and Spartak faces Eastern Conference leaders Metallurg in Moscow, with six games promising plenty of intriguing battles and uncertain outcomes.
The intense matchday starts in the East, with Avangard taking on Lada. It will be the first meeting between these two sides in the current campaign. The Hawks closed September on a negative record, with four wins and five losses, including two defeats in the last three matches, to Torpedo and Metallurg (both 1-5), with a win in Moscow over Spartak (2-1). Avangard is currently outside of the playoff places in the Eastern Conference, and Guy Boucher’s men will want to bounce back, recover, and start climbing the standings, despite the injury problems. Lada has currently five losses in a row and the worst defense in the league by a wide margin, having allowed 45 goals so far. Avangard may look like the favorites on paper, but the game is far from a foregone conclusion.
Then, in Ufa, Salavat Yulaev meets Sibir. The Bashkortostan club enjoyed an excellent spell, winning three of its four games. Goalie Semyon Vyazovoi was also named the league’s best in his position for September. However, Salavat Yulaev surprisingly fell to HC Sochi in its latest road game, losing 3-6. The team’s lack of discipline proved costly, with the visitors taking 11 minor penalties on Wednesday as Sochi scored four tallies with the man advantage. Sibir is instead at the bottom of the Eastern Conference’s standings, with three consecutive losses, to Ak Bars (2-3 SO) and Lokomotiv twice (1-2 at home, 1-3 on the road). With both teams looking to bounce back after recent setbacks, uncertainty will be key in Ufa.
In the meantime, Avtomobilist faces Amur. The Tigers start a road trip today after closing a homestand with two consecutive wins, over in-form Lokomotiv (2-1) and Neftekhimik (1-0), showing an excellent defensive game and strong goaltending from Maxim Dorozhko. Amur has thus climbed up to seventh place in the East’s table. The Motormen are just one spot above, and have equally won their latest couple of matches, against Spartak (4-2 on the road) and Lada (3-1 at home), respectively. Everything points to another intriguing game in Yekaterinburg.
The action then moves to Tatarstan for two matches. In Kazan, Ak Bars tries to build on a recent win over Barys (4-1) as Traktor comes to town. It’s the second meeting between the two Eastern sides in the current campaign. On Sept. 9, Kirill Semyonov and Semyon Terekhov led Ak Bars to a 2-1 win on home ice. However, today’s game will be a different story. The Chelyabinsk side achieved two straight wins in Moscow, over Dynamo Moscow (2-1 OT) and Spartak (4-2), respectively, and returned to the playoff places. Ak Bars is however much higher in the Eastern Conference’s standings, sitting in the third spot.
In Nizhnekamsk, Neftekhimik hosts Barys as the teams clash for the second time in the season. On Sept. 26, in Astana, the Wolves came out on top 6-3. It was the second straight win for Neftekhimik, who then marched on defeating Admiral on the very next day (5-3), but consequently lost to Amur on Tuesday (0-1). Despite the setback in Khabarovsk, the Wolves are currently the second team in the Eastern Conference, trailing only Metallurg. The Kazakhs are in fifth place, but after the loss against Neftekhimik they accumulated another two defeats, to SKA (3-5) and Ak Bars (1-4) as the team will now want to take revenge and return to wins.
In the closing game of an exciting matchday, Spartak hosts Metallurg. Magnitka was on a winning streak after the Shanghai Dragons halted its march on Wednesday with a 4-1 imposing win in St. Petersburg. After a strong start to the season, Spartak has now four straight losses. The Red-and-Whites lost to Salavat Yulaev (1-3), Avangard (1-2 OT), Avtomobilist (2-4), and Traktor (2-4), and slipped down to the sixth spot in the Western Conference. With both teams looking for a return to win, it will be an exciting showdown at the Megasport Arena.
16:30: Avangard (4-5-0, 10th E) vs Lada (1-7-3, 10th W)
About the game
Avangard ends a two-game home series after a loss to Metallurg on Monday (1-5).
Lada wraps up a three-game road trip on a six-game losing streak.
Injury list
Avangard: Maxime Lajoie, Pavel Leuka, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Damir Sharipzyanov, Alexander Volkov.
Lada: Ivan Romanov.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (6-3-1, 4th E) vs Sibir (2-6-2, 11th E)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev plays the lone home game of the series after a road loss to HC Sochi on Wednesday (3-6).
Sibir is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its last three games.
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Semyon Vyazovoi is on a 97:03 shutout streak.
Sibir’s forward Alexander Yaremchuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Artyom Gorshkov, Gleb Kuzmin.
Sibir: Fyodor Gordeyev, Maxim Osipov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Stepan Nikulin may reach 100 career points (currently at 99).
17:00: Avtomobilist (4-2-4, 6th E) vs Amur (4-4-1, 7th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist enters the second game of a four-match home series on a two-game winning streak.
Amur kicks off a four-game road trip also following two straight wins.
Avtomobilist’s forward Maxim Denezhkin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Amur’s goalie Maxim Dorozhko is on a 108:50 shutout streak.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Nikita Shashkov.
Amur: Alexander Dergachyov, Danila Galenyuk, Alexei Krutov, Yegor Rykov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s defenseman Vyacheslav Voinov may reach 250 points in the KHL (currently at 249).
19:00: Ak Bars (7-3-1, 3rd E) vs Traktor (4-5-0, 8th E)
About the game
Ak Bars, who defeated Traktor earlier in the season (2-1), enters the second game of a five-match home series following a win over Barys on Wednesday (4-1).
Traktor wraps up a three-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Traktor’s forward Andrei Svetlakov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Artyom Galimov.
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Sergei Telegin.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s defenseman Nikita Yevseyev lines up for his 200th league appearance.
19:00: Neftekhimik (7-3-1, 2nd E) vs Barys (5-5-0, 5th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik, who defeated Barys earlier in the season (6-3), kicks off a three-game home series after a loss to Amur on Tuesday (0-1).
Barys is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its previous three matches.
Barys’ forward Vsevolod Logvin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that stretch.
Barys’ forward Semyon Simonov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Injury list
Barys: Madi Dikhanbek.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s forwards Ivan Nikolishin and Andrei Belozyorov may reach 100 assists in the KHL, with the former being at 99 and the latter at 98.
Neftekhimik’s forward Rafael Bikmullin may record his 100th career point (currently at 99).
19:30: Spartak (5-4-1, 6th W) vs Metallurg (8-2-1, 1st E)
About the game
Spartak, who defeated Metallurg earlier in the season (3-2), enters the fourth game of a five-match home series on a four-game losing streak.
Metallurg wraps up a five-game road trip following a loss to the Shanghai Dragons on Wednesday (1-4).
Injury list
Spartak: Alex Galchenyuk, Maxime Comtois.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Nikita Mikhailis may reach 200 KHL assists (currently at 199).
