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Razin seeks first win as SKA hosts Sibir, three games on tap today
SKA looks to bounce back under new head coach Andrei Razin as Sibir visits St. Petersburg on a three-game matchday. Avangard hosts Neftekhimik in Omsk, while HC Sochi takes on Dinamo Minsk as both teams seek to snap two-game losing streaks.
The matchday starts in Omsk, with Avangard taking on Neftekhimik on a jublee match for the home franchise. The Wolves just stunned Lokomotiv in Yaroslavl and will try to repeat the trick against the Hawks. It was a nice morale boost for Neftekhimik, who entered the game with only one win in its last four games. The win allowed the Wolves remain in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, also thanks to yesterday’s Barys loss in Vladivostok – Neftekhimik is now one point clear of the Kazakhs. It will be the second meeting between Avangard and Neftekhimik. The two sides met in Nizhnekamsk two weeks ago, on Oct. 08, with Mikhail Gulyayev winning the games for the Hawks in a tight 1-0 battle. After that confrontation, the Hawks lost to Barys (1-5), then won twice in a row, over Avtomobilist (4-2) and Traktor (2-1 SO). They remain in a disappointing tenth place in the East as the Hawks will look to fly higher, starting from today’s home game.
The action then shifts to the West for two more games. In St. Petersburg, Andrei Razin’s men will be looking for their first win under the new coach in a home game against Sibir. On Tuesday, SKA lost to Avtomobilist as the new era started with a loss. The St. Petersburg franchise remained in the West’s top eight, but that’s not enough for a team who is always meant to fight for the top places. Sibir’s latest game was much different. Down by two in Moscow against Dynamo, a double from Alexander Yaremchuk sent the game to OT with Stepan Nikulin finding the back of the net in the postgame shootouts. With four wins in five games, Sibir moved up to seventh place in the East.
In the last game of a light matchday, HC Sochi hosts Dinamo Minsk. The Black Sea franchise will look for a return to victory after two straight losses, to Lokomotiv (3-6) and the Shanghai Dragons (2-5), just as the Belarusians, equally losing twice in a row (1-3 to Metallurg and 1-4 to Ak Bars – both at home). With both sides looking to bounce back and a couple of HC Sochi’s forward on scoring streak, it’s likely to be an exciting matchup on the Black Sea shores this evening. Dinamo Minsk have struggled on the road this season, winning just twice in seven away games, although they did beat the Shanghai Dragons 3–2 in their latest trip. The Belarusians will now look to end their losing streak against a Sochi side also eager to get back to winning ways.
16:30: Avangard (8-7-0, 9th E) vs Neftekhimik (10-6-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Avangard, who defeated Neftekhimik earlier in the season (1-0), ends a three-game home series on a two-game winning streak.
Neftekhimik wraps up a three-game road trip following a win over Lokomotiv on Tuesday (1-0).
Neftekhimik’s goalie Filipp Dolganov is on a 78:36 shutout streak.
Neftekhimik’s forward Alexander Petunin had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
Avangard: Pavel Leuka, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Andrew Poturalski lines up for his 100th league appearance.
Avangard plays its 1,300th league game.
Neftekhimik’s forward Andrei Belozyorov may reach 100 career assists (currently at 99).
19:30: SKA (8-7-1, 8th W) vs Sibir (7-8-3, 7th E)
About the game
SKA enters the second game of its four-match homestand on a six-game losing streak.
Sibir enters the second game of its four-match road trip following a win over Dynamo Moscow on Tuesday (3-2 SO).
Injury list
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Trevor Murphy, Linus Weissbach.
Sibir: Mikhail Abramov, Maxim Osipov, Daniil Valitov, Ivan Vorobyov.
Milestone alert
SKA’s defenseman Sergei Sapego lines up for his 300th league appearance.
SKA’s forward Daniil Aimurzin and defenseman Alexei Maklyukov may deliver their 100th assist in the KHL (currently both at 99).
Sibir’s defenseman Darren Dietz may reach 100 KHL tallies (currently at 99).
19:30: HC Sochi (3-13-0, 11th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (6-6-5, 7th W)
About the game
HC Sochi ends a three-game homestand on a two-match losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk starts a two-game road trip after also losing its last couple of matches.
HC Sochi’s forward Denis Vengryzhanovsky tallied at least one goal in each of his last three games, totaling four goals.
HC Sochi’s forward Nikita Gusev had one assist in each of his previous three matches.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Cam Lee.
Dinamo Minsk: Vasily Demchenko, Sergei Kalinin, Nicolas Meloche.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Stanislav Galiyev lines up for his 600th league appearance. The 2018 Gagarin Cup champion has 166 career goals and 147 assists. His teammate, forward Sergei Kuznetsov reaches 200.
