KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Spartak and Severstal headline an action-packed Friday
Five games headline Friday's KHL schedule, capped by Spartak–Severstal, a rematch of Spartak's emphatic 8–0 win earlier this season. Spartak enters on a five-game winning streak, while Severstal looks to recover from a heavy loss that ended its seven-game run. CSKA seeks to start another streak after Wednesday's loss to Spartak, visiting Avtomobilist, while Traktor hosts Ak Bars, Lada welcomes the Shanghai Dragons, and Lokomotiv meets Dynamo Moscow in a Western classic.
In the first game of the matchday, Traktor hosts Ak Bars. It will be the third meeting between the two Eastern sides in the current season, with the teams trading wins so far. Both Traktor and Ak Bars enter today’s game not in their best form. The Chelyabinsk side won only once in the last five matches, a 6–2 win in St. Petersburg over the Shanghai Dragons on Oct. 14, with losses to Amur (0–2), Sibir (1–2), Neftekhimik (2–3 OT), and Avangard (1–2 SO). Traktor is at the bottom of the conference’s table, with 14 points, but the standings are very tight. Ak Bars is currently the fifth seed, but has just won twice in the last five games, over the Shanghai Dragons (3–2 OT) and Dinamo Minsk (4–1), both on the road. With both teams looking to reverse their recent fortunes, the crowd at the Valery Belousov Arena are expected to be treated to an intriguing game.
In the meantime, Avtomobilist hosts CSKA in a game that counts towards the First Teams’ Cup standings. It will be the first meeting between the two teams in the current campaign. After twelve straight victories, CSKA saw its march stopped by Spartak on Wednesday, as the Red-and-Whites halted their visitor’s 12-game winning streak. Despite the setback, CSKA still holds a firm grip on the Western Conference standings, two points clear of Lokomotiv and Severstal, who will be busy later. The Motormen are having a much more modest season so far, but returned to win in their last outing when they deprived Andrei Razin of his first win as SKA’s head coach on Monday (3–1). Avto continues to chase a playoff spot, trailing eighth-placed Admiral.
The action then shifts to the West, starting with Lada welcoming the Shanghai Dragons as the teams meet for the second time this season, with the guests claiming an early 5–0 win. After a win over SKA last week (1–0), Lada failed to build on that win, losing 2–1 to Dynamo Moscow in a shootout on Monday. The Togliatti side picked up another point but remained second from bottom in the Western Conference standings, and it will be hard to do so, considering the gap between the higher-placed teams. The Dragons are lacking some consistency, but they have won the last couple of matches, against HC Sochi (5–2) and Severstal (5–1), respectively. The Chinese franchise is now sixth in the West, tied with Spartak at 22 points.
In Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv hosts Dynamo Moscow for a classic Western matchup. The reigning Gagarin Cup champion failed to solve Filipp Dolganov on Tuesday as Neftekhimik stunned Loko on home ice with just one goal being enough to claim the game. The Yaroslavl side has now lost twice in three games for the first time this season, and is now tied with Severstal two points behind CSKA in the Western table. The Blue-and-Whites are in a much worse position, having won only once in their last five games, at Lada. On Tuesday, the Blue-and-Whites blew a 2-0 lead in the third period over Sibir and missed the chance to move into the top eight at SKA’s expense, after the St. Petersburg team lost to Avtomobilist. Thus, they remain outside of playoff places, at least for now.
Closing out an action-packed KHL Friday is a showdown between Spartak and Severstal. Earlier in the season, the Red-and-Whites handed the Steelers a sensational 8–0 defeat, who are unlikely to give up the game as much as they did that night. Both sides are doing well. Spartak won its last five games, including Wednesday’s blanking of CSKA (2–0) with Ivan Fedotov making 30 stops for his second shutout of the season. The Red-and-Whites are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference standings. Severstal is a bit higher, in third place. However, after seven straight victories, the Steelers lost to the Shanghai Dragons on Wednesday (1–5). Severstal will hope Wednesday’s loss was just a hiccup, while Spartak will look to extend its winning streak in what promises to be an exciting game in Moscow.
17:00: Traktor (6-8-2, 11th E) vs Ak Bars (9-7-2, 5th E)
About the game
Traktor starts a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Ak Bars starts a two-game road trip following a loss to Torpedo on Wednesday (1–2 SO).
The teams traded wins earlier in the season (1–2, 3–2).
Traktor’s defenseman Grigory Dronov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Traktor’s forward Andrei Svetlakov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Alexander Rykov.
Ak Bars: Artyom Galimov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ defenseman Nikita Lyamkin may reach 200 career points (currently at 198).
Ak Bars’ forward Alexei Byvaltsev may net his 100th goal in the KHL (currently at 99).
17:00: Avtomobilist (7-8-2, 9th E) vs CSKA (13-4-0, 1st W)
About the game
Avtomobilist starts a four-game home series fresh off a win over Spartak on Tuesday (3–1).
CSKA is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Spartak on Wednesday (0–2).
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Vladimir Galkin, Nikita Shashkov.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Sharov may reach 200 career assists (currently at 198).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Alikin may record his 30th shutout in the KHL.
CSKA’s forward Ivan Drozdov may deliver his 100th assist in the KHL (currently at 199).
CSKA’s goalie Dmitry Gamzin may line up for his 100th league appearance.
18:00: Lada (2-10-5, 10th W) vs Shanghai Dragons (10-4-2, 5th W)
About the game
Lada enters the third game of its six-match homestand after a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Sunday (1–2 SO).
The Shanghai Dragons, who defeated Lada earlier in the season (5–0), enters the third game of their four-match road trip on a two-game winning streak.
Shanghai Dragons’ defenseman Calen Addison is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that stretch.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward David Chen tallied a goal in each of his previous five matches.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Brett Murray is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Riley Sutter had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Lada: Nikita Mikhailov, Ivan Romanov, Dylan Somerby.
Shanghai Dragons: Martin Frk.
Milestone alert
Shanghai Dragons’ defenseman Daniil Malorosiyanov may line up for his 100th league appearance.
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Vladimir Barulin may record his 100th career point (currently at 99).
19:00: Lokomotiv (12-5-0, 2nd W) vs Dynamo Moscow (7-10-3, 9th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv enters the second game of its five-match homestand after a loss to Neftekhimik on Tuesday (0–1).
Dynamo Moscow plays the lone road game of the series following a loss to Sibir also on Tuesday (2–3 SO).
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Daniil Pylenkov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that streak.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Maxim Beryozkin, Danil Romantsev.
Dynamo Moscow: Yegor Rimashevsky.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s forward Georgy Ivanov may record his 200th career point (currently at 199).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk and Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Maxim Motogyrin may each reach 10 shutouts in the KHL.
Dynamo Moscow’s forwards Nikita Korostelyov and Bulat Shafigullin, and defenseman Sergei Zborovsky may all line up for their respective 400th league appearance.
19:30: Spartak (10-5-2, 5th W) vs Severstal (11-5-2, 3rd W)
About the game
Spartak, who defeated Severstal earlier in the season (8–0), is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous five matches.
Severstal starts a two-game road trip after a loss to the Shanghai Dragons on Wednesday (1–5).
Spartak’s goalie Ivan Fedotov is on a 117:49 shutout streak.
Spartak’s forward Maxime Comtois is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Spartak: Alexander Bryntsev, Demid Mansurov, German Rubtsov.
Severstal: Nikolai Burenov, Andrei Churkin.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s defenseman Ioannis Kaldis and forward Nikita Popugayev may reach their respective 100th point in the league (both currently at 98).
