Metallurg hosts Sibir with a new head coach; Torpedo faces Dinamo Minsk

It’s a light KHL Saturday, with just two scheduled games. In Magnitogorsk, Metallurg tries to bounce back after a though-to-swallow home loss to Salavat Yulaev in a home game against Sibir, who has also lost its last game. It will be the first game under Konstantin Shafranov. In the West, Torpedo hosts Dinamo Minsk as the Belarusians try to reverse their fortunes as they lost three straight matches.

Metallurg is having a strong season as still holds a tight grip on the Eastern Conference standings, but has just suffered its first loss since Andrei Razin left the team. On the morning of the game against Salavat Yulaev (4–5 SO), it emerged that Vladimir Vorobyov and Evgeny Mikhalkevich had followed Razin to St. Petersburg, leaving Yury Trubachyov in interim charge probably for Wednesday’s game. However, Konstantin Shafranov, 58, became Metallurg’s head coach yesterday, his first KHL head-coaching job. A coach since 2014, he has been an assistant at Fort Wayne (ECHL), Amur, Avtomobilist, Avangard (Gagarin Cup, 2021), SKA and, last season, Ak Bars, plus Russia’s national team. Known as a power-play specialist, he also played for Metallurg in the 1990s. Today’s opponent, Sibir, slipped down to seventh place in the Eastern table after a 3–6 loss to SKA on Thursday. The Novosibirsk side remains in good form, with three wins in the last five games. It will be an exciting game, with Metallurg trying to find back its form after passing through all these changes behind the bench.

In the Western Conference, Torpedo welcomes Dinamo Minsk. It will be the third meeting between the two teams in the current season, with the Nizhny Novgorod side swapping the series so far with two SO wins. The Belarusians are struggling. The Bison are now on a three-game losing streak, after defeats to Metallurg (1–3), Ak Bars (1–4), and HC Sochi (2–3 OT). Torpedo has instead bounced back quickly after a home loss to Severstal on Monday (1–4), collecting a 2–1 SO win at Ak Bars. It will be an interesting game for the standings, with the hosts fighting for a spot in the top four and Dinamo Minsk battling out with Dynamo Moscow for the eighth place in the Western Conference standings.

14:30: Metallurg (14-3-2, 1^st E) vs Sibir (7-9-3, 7^th E)
About the game

Metallurg ends its three-game homestand following a loss to Salavat Yulaev on Wednesday (4–5 SO).

Sibir enters the third game of its four-match road trip after losing to SKA on Thursday (3–6).

Metallurg’s defenseman Valery Orekhov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (2+6) points over that stretch.

Metallurg’s forward Ruslan Iskhakov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.

Injury list

Sibir: Mikhail Abramov, Maxim Osipov, Daniil Valitov, Ivan Vorobyov.

Milestone alert

Sibir’s defenseman Darren Dietz may reach 100 goals in the KHL (currently at 99).

Sibir’s defenseman Ivan Mishchenko may deliver his 100^th career assist (currently at 99).

17:00: Torpedo (11-5-1, 4^th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (6-6-6, 8^th W)
About the game

Torpedo, who defeated Dinamo Minsk twice earlier in the season (4–3 SO, 2–1 SO), plays the lone home game of the series fresh off a win over Ak Bars on Wednesday (2–1 SO).

Dinamo Minsk wraps up its two-game road trip on a three-match losing streak.

Dinamo Minsk’s forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points over that stretch.

Injury list

Dinamo Minsk: Vasily Demchenko, Sergei Kalinin, Nicolas Meloche.