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Tight race in the East on a light KHL Monday; three games on tap
Three games highlight KHL Monday action, two in the East – two rematches – and one in the West. Avtomobilist faces Barys while Traktor hosts Sibir. Then, in Moscow, Dynamo welcomes Avangard for a classic matchup.
In Yekaterinburg, Avtomobilist welcomes Barys. It will be the second such meeting in the current season, with the Kazakhs claiming a home win on Oct. 14 in Astana (4–1). After that game, Barys went on with a win in Novosibirsk against Sibir (1–0), but lost twice in the Far East, 2–5 to Amur, 4–5 OT to Admiral. The Motormen are now in a two-game winning streak. After losing to Avangard (2–4) and Metallurg (2–4), they defeated SKA on the road (3–1) and CSKA in Yektarinburg (5–1). While Barys is battling for a spot in the Eastern Conference top four, Avtomobilist is now seventh, trailing the Kazakhs by three points.
Just one point below Avtomobilist in the standings is Sibir. The Novosibirsk side today faces Traktor in Chelyabinsk. Earlier in the season, Sibir defeated Traktor, also in Chelyabinsk, on Oct. 10 (2–1). After a positive period, Sibir hit a wall and lost twice in a row, to SKA (3–6) and Metallurg (1–5), respectively. The team remained in eighth place in the East, but Traktor has now a chance to climb up. After two losses that saw the team go down in the standings, the Chelyabinsk side celebrated a win over Ak Bars on Friday (3–1), led by a two-goal performance from Nathan Legare and 19 saves by Henrik Haukeland. With much at stake, the fans at the Valery Belousov Arena can expect an exciting game with uncertainty being key.
Closing out a light KHL Monday is a the first meeting of the season between Dynamo Moscow and Avangard, scheduled in the Russian capital. The season has been underwhelming so far for both sides. The Muscovites are ninth in the Western Conference standings, thus being on the wrong side of the playoff lines. The team has only two regulation wins so far, and while the Blue-and-Whites added points through extra-time games, they are definitely not where they desired to be before the start of the season. The same can be said for Avangard, as the Hawks are now sitting at the bottom of the Eastern table, tied with Traktor at 16 points. However, with the Eastern standings being so tight, one win can have a strong impact on the positioning. Avangard had three wins in the last five matches, with victories coming against Neftekhimik (1–0), Avtomobilist (4–2), and Traktor (2–1), but lost the rematch against the Wolves on Thursday (2–3). Both teams will look for a win today, and the fans in Moscow will be treated to an exciting confrontation.
17:00: Avtomobilist (8-8-2, 7th E) vs Barys (10-7-1, 5th E)
About the game
Avtomobilist enters the second game of its four-match homestand on a two-game winning streak.
Barys, who defeated Avtomobilist earlier in the season (1–4), enters the fourth game of its nine-match road trip after a loss to Admiral on Wednesday (4–5 OT).
Avtomobilist’s defenseman Ilya Karpukhin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Vladimir Galkin, Anton Slepyshev, Nikita Shashkov.
Barys: Madi Dikhanbek.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Sharov may reach 200 career points (currently at 199).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Alikin may record his 30th shutout in the KHL.
17:00: Traktor (7-8-2, 10th E) vs Sibir (7-10-3, 8th E)
About the game
Traktor ends a two-game home series following a win over Ak Bars on Thursday (3–1).
Sibir, who defeated Traktor earlier in the season (2–1), wraps up its four-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Yegor Rykov.
Sibir: Mikhail Abramov, Maxim Osipov, Daniil Valitov, Ivan Vorobyov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s defenseman Grigory Dronov may record his 200th point in the KHL (currently at 198).
Sibir’s defenseman Darren Dietz may score his 100th league goal (currently at 99).
Sibir’s defenseman Ivan Mishchenko may record his 100th career assist (currently at 99).
19:30: Dynamo Moscow (7-10-4, 9th W) vs Avangard (8-8-0, 11th E)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow starts a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Avangard starts a four-game road trip following a loss to Neftekhimik on Thursday (3–2).
Avangard’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Yegor Rimashevsky.
Avangard: Pavel Leuka, Nikolai Prokhorkin, Alexander Volkov.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Jordan Weal can net his 100th goal in the league (currently at 99).
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Alexei Motorygin may record his 10th career shutout.
