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Lokomotiv hosts Dinamo Minsk in a five-game Saturday
Lokomotiv hosts Dinamo Minsk in the standout game of the day, with the Yaroslavl side looking to avenge last week’s 3-4 defeat to the Belarusians. In the East, Barys takes on Avangard in a battle for playoff positioning, while Ak Bars welcomes in-form Severstal. Admiral and Lada meet in Vladivostok, and Traktor faces Sibir in a clash between two teams near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
The matchday starts early in Vladivostok, with Admiral hosting Lada. Both sides will be seeking a win after recent misfortunes, but the situation is different. The Sailors did lose their last game, 2-5 to Metallurg, but they are just one point below the playoffs line in the Eastern Conference. Admiral needs a win today to avoid losing ground from its rivals in the standings. However, Lada needs a win too, perhaps even more. The Togliatti side, now under Igor Gorbenko, is still seeking its second win in the current campaign, and accumulated a concerning eight defeats in a row, most recently losing at home to the Shanghai Dragons (0-5). With much on stake for both teams, it’s easy to think that both sides will play to win.
Then, Traktor hosts Sibir as both teams are in a bad position, sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference’s standings. The Chelyabinsk side has the upper hand for now, with ten points against nine. Both teams enter into todays’ game on a two-match losing streak. Traktor lost a double-header with Amur (1-2, 0-2), while Sibir suffered defeats in games against Neftekhimik (2-3) and Salavat Yulaev (4-5). This means that both Traktor and Sibir will try to get a win and play an open game, with Scott Gordon’s men trying to please the home crowd for a return to victory.
In Astana, Barys hosts Avangard. The Kazakhs played their latest game on Sunday as they celebrated a 4-3 SO victory in Moscow over Spartak. It was Barys’ second straight win, following another extra-time celebration as the Astana franchise defeated Neftekhimik two days before (4-3 OT). Barys is currently the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference’s table, with a two-point advantage over Avangard. After a 0-4 loss in Yekaterinburg, Avangard bounced back with a shutout victory over Neftekhimik on Thursday, with Nikita Serebryakov posting 42 saves for his first blanking of the season. Both teams will be hunting for points and the crowd at the Barys Arena will be treated to an exciting game. After today’s match, the Hawks will fly back to Omsk, where Avangard will play the next three matches.
In the last game in the East, Ak Bars hosts Severstal. After a home win over Barys on Sept. 30 (4-1), the Kazan side lost some rhythm with home defeats to Traktor (2-3) and Lokomotiv (0-2), respectively. Those setbacks had Ak Bars slipping down to fifth place in the East’s table. The Kazan franchise just acquired Denis Zernov from CSKA in exchange for monetary compensation, and maybe the forward will have his debut today. Severstal is instead in an opposite direction, with four wins in the last five matches. Moreover, The Steelers’ most recent win was in Nizhny Novgorod, on Thursday (3-2). Just like Ak Bars, Severstal is also battling out for a spot in its conference’s top four.
Closing out an exciting matchday is a Western showdown between Lokomotiv and Dinamo Minsk. It’s the second meeting between the two sides in the current season, with the Belarusians claiming a 4-3 win last week. After that game, Dinamo lost to Torpedo at home (1-2 SO) and defeated SKA (4-2), while Lokomotiv blanked Ak Bars on Monday (2-0). Lokomotiv remains high in the West’s table with 20 points, while Dinamo Minsk is lower in the standings, with a five-point gap. Today’s game can easily go either way and will be an exciting test for both sides in Yaroslavl.
10:00: Admiral (4-6-3, 9th E) vs Lada (1-9-3, 10th W)
About the game
Admiral starts a four-game home series after a loss to Metallurg on Wednesday (0-3).
Lada starts a two-game road trip on an eight-match losing streak.
Injury list
Admiral: Ivan Kulbakov, Artyom Pimenov, Daniel Usmanov.
Lada: Ivan Romanov.
Milestone alert
Lada’s forward Mikhail Belyayev lines up for his 200th league appearance.
14:00: Traktor (5-7-0, 10th E) vs Sibir (3-7-3, 11th E)
About the game
Traktor wraps up a three-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Sibir starts a three-game road trip also after two consecutive defeats.
Sibir’s forward Arkhip Nekolenko is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Sergei Telegin.
Sibir: Mikhail Abramov, Maxim Osipov, Daniil Valitov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s defenseman Darren Dietz may net his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
14:30: Barys (7-5-0, 7th E) vs Avangard (6-6-0, 8th E)
About the game
Barys starts a three-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Avangard wraps up a three-game road trip following a win over Neftekhimik on Thursday (1-0).
Barys’ defenseman Logan Day had at least an assist in each of his previous four matches, totaling seven helpers.
Avangard’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov is on a 73:42 shutout streak.
Injury list
Barys: Madi Dikhanbek.
Avangard: Yegor Afanasyev, Maxime Lajoie, Pavel Leuka, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Semyon Simonov lines up for his 100th league appearance.
17:00: Ak Bars (7-5-1, 5th E) vs Severstal (7-4-2, 7th W)
About the game
Ak Bars enters the fourth game of a five-match home series on a two-game losing streak.
Severstal ends a three-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
Severstal’s defenseman Ioannis Kaldis is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Artyom Galimov.
Severstal: Nikolai Burenov.
17:00: Lokomotiv (10-3-0, 2nd W) vs Dinamo Minsk (5-3-5, 8th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv plays the lone home game of the series after a win in Kazan on Monday (2-0).
Dinamo Minsk, who defeated Lokomotiv earlier in the season (4-3), starts a two-game road trip and defeated SKA on Thursday (4-2).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev is on a 71:24 shutout streak.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Sergei Kuznetsov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Denis Alexeyev, Maxim Beryozkin, Denis Romantsev.
Dinamo Minsk: Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Sergei Kalinin, Nicolas Meloche.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Zach Fucale may celebrate his 100th win in the league.
Dinamo Minsk’s goalie Vasily Demchenko may record his 30th career shutout.
