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Kvartalnov returns to Minsk as Lokomotiv visit Dinamo in five-game Western matchday
Dmitry Kvartalnov returns to Minsk Arena for the first time as Lokomotiv head coach, while SKA and Admiral clash in St. Petersburg and CSKA faces Dynamo Moscow in a First Teams’ Cup derby. Severstal hosts the Shanghai Dragons before HC Sochi welcomes Torpedo, with Nikita Gusev set to make his debut for the Black Sea club in a five-game matchday.
The all-Western matchday starts with a showdown between SKA and Admiral. The hosts had four straight wins before falling to CSKA on Tuesday on a very exciting game (5-6). SKA is thus the fourth seed in the Western Conference for now, and will try to bounce back to return accumulating points. The Sailors, however, will need points as well. Admiral just celebrated a hard-fought win in Cherepovets (4-3 SO), but remained outside of the playoff places in the East, being now at eight points, tied with Traktor and Avangard. To add an extra layer of anticipation, this will be the 300th match for SKA’s head coach Igor Larionov.
In the meantime, CSKA and Dynamo Moscow face in a Moscow Derby that will count against the First Teams’ Cup’s standings. CSKA keeps on rolling, with the team being now on a six-game winning streak after defeating Dinamo Minsk in Belarus on Thursday (4-1). Their last loss is dated Sept. 13, when CSKA suffered a 2-3 home defeat by the hand of Lokomotiv. The Blue-and-Whites are in the opposite situation, with three straight defeats, to Salavat Yulaev (1-3), Traktor (1-2), and Torpedo (1-3). Maybe today’s game will be a good chance for Dynamo to revert the trend and return to victories as the team tries to climb up a tight Eastern Conference table.
After losing to Admiral, Severstal is facing the Shanghai Dragons today. The Steelers lacked consistency in the current season, while the Dragons are currently on a four-wins run. Before losing to the Sailors, Severstal won twice in a row, over Avtomobilist (5-2) and HC Sochi (3-1), respectively. For now, the team is right above the playoffs line in the West’s table, but now the pressure is on Severstal to increase its record after a few good seasons. The Dragons had a good first month of competition and they will want to stretch its winning streak to five. In today’s game in Cherepovets, uncertainty will be key.
In Belarus Dinamo Minsk and Lokomotiv will meet for the first time this season. For Lokomotiv’s head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov, the game will be his first at Minsk Arena since leaving the helm of Dinamo Minsk, which achieved the best result in its history in the League under his guidance. Can Kvartalnov win in Minsk again, this time as the visiting coach? His team is in much better form, with Lokomotiv leading the Western Conference and currently having won twice in a row, both times over Sibir (2-1 on the road, 3-1 at home). Dinamo Minsk lacked consistency, and just lost at home to CSKA on Wednesday (1-4). The Bison have currently only three wins so far.
Closing out an exciting matchday is HC Sochi facing Torpedo for the second time in a short span, with the Nizhny Novgorod franchise claiming a 3-0 win last week. The Black Sea franchise has just made a splash on free agency, inking former Olympic Gold Medal winner Nikita Gusev to a one-year contract. Gusev spent the last three seasons with Dynamo Moscow and is the fourth all-time KHL scorer, trailing only Alex Radulov among active players. He is also a Gagarin Cup champion with SKA, a two-time MVP, and a two-time league’s top scorer. HC Sochi will try to build on its recent home win over Salavat Yulaev (6-3), but returning to the playoff places will be hard, even with Gusev. Torpedo will try to defend its place in the Western top four, and to defeat HC Sochi again to improve its record after a recent road win over Dynamo Moscow on Wednesday (3-1).
17:00: SKA (7-2-0, 4th W) vs Admiral (3-5-2, 8th E)
About the game
SKA starts a two-game home series following a loss to CSKA on Tuesday (5-6).
Admiral enters the second game of a four-match road trip after defeating Severstal on Wednesday (4-3 SO).
SKA’s forward Daniil Miromanov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points over that stretch.
SKA’s forward Matvei Korotky is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
SKA’s forward Vasily Atanasov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
SKA’s forward Vladislav Romanov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Admiral’s forward Yegor Chezganov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Admiral’s forward Daniil Usmanov had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
SKA: Trevor Murphy, Linus Weissbach.
Admiral: Ivan Kulbakov, Artyom Pimenov.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Daniil Aimurzin may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
SKA’s head coach Igor Larionov celebrates 300 games in the KHL.
17:00: CSKA (8-3-0, 2nd W) vs Dynamo Moscow (5-6-1, 7th W) (First Teams’ Cup)
About the game
CSKA starts a two-game home series on a six-match winning streak.
Dynamo Moscow plays the lone road game of the trip after three losses in a row.
CSKA’s defenseman Yegor Zamula had an assist in his last three matches.
CSKA’s forward Ivan Drozdov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Yegor Rimashevsky, Nikita Tertyshny.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Ivan Drozdov may reach 100 assists in the KHL (currently at 99).
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Maxim Motorygin may reach 10 career shutouts.
17:00: Severstal (4-4-2, 8th W) vs Shanghai Dragons (6-2-0, 5th W)
About the game
Severstal wraps up a four-game home series after a loss to Admiral on Wednesday (3-4 SO).
The Shanghai Dragons start a three-game road trip on a four-game winning streak.
Severstal’s forward Ruslan Abrosimov had at least an assist in each of his previous four matches, totaling six helpers.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Yegor Solovyov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Riley Sutter is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Severstal: Nikolai Burenov, Adam Liska.
Shanghai Dragons: Martin Frk.
17:10: Dinamo Minsk (3-3-4, 9th W) vs Lokomotiv (9-2-0, 1st W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk is in the middle of a five-game home series and lost to CSKA on Wednesday (1-4).
Lokomotiv starts a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Alex Limoges, Nicolas Meloche.
Lokomotiv: Denis Alexeyev, Maxim Beryozkin, Denis Romantsev.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Zach Fucale may celebrate his 100th league win.
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th career shutout.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev may reach 40 career shutouts, while Alexei Melnichuk may reach 10.
19:30: HC Sochi (2-8-0, 11th W) vs Torpedo (7-3-0)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the second game of a four-match home series following a win over Salavat Yulaev on Tuesday (6-3).
Torpedo, who defeated HC Sochi earlier in the season (3-0), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Dynamo Moscow on Wednesday (3-1).
Torpedo’s goalie Dmitry Shugayev is on a 60:43 shutout streak.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Kirill Slepets, Kirill Voronin.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s forward Amir Garayev may score his 100th KHL point (currently at 99).
