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Four games highlight Thursday's KHL action
Amur and Traktor meet again in Chelyabinsk in an Eastern Conference rematch, while Neftekhimik hosts struggling Avangard in Nizhnekamsk. In the West, Dinamo Minsk welcomes SKA in a highly anticipated showdown, and Torpedo aims to extend its three-game winning streak against in-form Severstal. Four teams will be looking to build on recent success, while others seek a much-needed turnaround.
The matchday starts with a revenge game between Amur and Traktor in Chelyabinsk. Two days ago, a last-gasp goal by Yaroslav Likhachyov gifted the Tigers a road win, allowing the team climbing up to seventh place in the Eastern Conference’s standings. It was the second straight road victory for Amur, who also triumphed in Yekaterinburg on Sunday (3-0). Traktor is instead in ninth place, with a three-point deficit from the Tigers. The team showed some good hockey in the last few matches, but lacked consistency, alternating losses and wins.
Then, in Belarus, Dinamo Minsk hosts SKA. It will be the first meeting between the two Western rivals in the current season. After a strong showing and a 4-3 home win over Lokomotiv, the Bison fell at home to Torpedo in extra-time on Monday (1-2 SO). The Belarusians still got a point from the game, and they remained well above the playoffs line, in seventh place in the West’s table. SKA enters today’s game not in the best form, with two losses in the last three games. The St. Petersburg franchise celebrated a win over Admiral on Saturday (6-5 SO), but lost to CSKA (5-6) and Severstal (2-5). Despite the setback, SKA is in the conference’s top four. A capacity crowd is to be expected at the Minsk Arena for such a highly-anticipated showdown.
In Nizhny Novgorod, Torpedo tries to keep the ball rolling in a home game against Severstal. After a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Sept. 28 (0-3), the Nizhny Novgorod side bounced back with three straight wins, over Dynamo Moscow (3-1), HC Sochi (6-0), and Dinamo Minsk (2-1 SO), respectively. At 18 points, Torpedo is the third seed in the Western Conference’s standings, trailing by just two points leaders Lokomotiv and CSKA, with one game in hand. Coming to town is Severstal, who has just celebrated a huge win in St. Petersburg against SKA (5-2). The Steelers have four wins in the last five matches, and will be willing to keep winning games to climb up in the West’s table.
Closing out an exciting matchday is Neftekhimik hosting Avangard. On Sunday, Neftekhimik returned to victory in a home game against Sibir (3-2) after suffering two straight losses, to Amur (0-1) and Barys (4-5 OT). The Wolves are the second team in the East, with a three-point deficit from table-topping Metallurg, who shut out Admiral yesterday. Coming to Tatarstan is Avangard. The Hawks aren’t flying high so far in the 2026-2027 season, being merely the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference’s standings. After losing to Avtomobilist on Monday (0-4), Avangard has only two wins in the last five matches. Today, the team will try to bounce back after a difficult start to the season, as the Hawks are also slowly getting players back from injuries, but the game in Nizhnekamsk will be a real challenge for Guy Boucher’s men.
17:00: Traktor (5-6-0, 9th E) vs Amur (6-5-1, 7th E)
About the game
Traktor is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to Amur on Tuesday (1-2).
Amur wraps up a four-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Amur’s goalie Alexander Trushkov is on a 62:52 shutout streak.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Sergei Telegin.
Amur: Alexander Dergachyov, Danila Galenyuk, Alexei Krutov, Yegor Rykov.
Milestone alert
Amur’s forward Kirill Urakov lines up for his 500th league appearance.
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (4-3-5, 7th W) vs SKA (8-3-0, 4th W)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk wraps up a five-game home series following a home loss to Torpedo on Monday (1-2 SO).
SKA kicks off a four-game road trip after a home loss to Severstal on Tuesday (2-5).
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Sergei Kalinin, Nicolas Meloche.
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Trevor Murphy, Linus Weissbach.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Zach Fucale may celebrate his 100th league victory.
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th career shutout.
SKA’s forward Daniil Aimurzin may record his 100th assist in the KHL (currently at 99).
19:30: Torpedo (9-3-0, 3rd W) vs Severstal (6-4-2, 7th W)
About the game
Torpedo starts a three-game home series on a three-match road trip.
Severstal is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Torpedo’s goalie Dmitry Shugayev is on a 120:43 shutout streak.
Injury list
Severstal: Nikolai Burenov.
19:30: Neftekhimik (8-3-2, 2nd E) vs Avangard (5-6-0, 10th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik wraps up a three-game home series after a win over Sibir on Sunday (3-2).
Avangard is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Avtomobilist on Tuesday (0-4).
Injury list
Avangard: Maxime Lajoie, Pavel Leuka, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s forward Andrei Belozyorov and Ivan Nikolishin may reach 100 KHL assists (currently both at 99).
