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Ak Bars faces SKA; Lokomotiv hosts Lada
Two games are on schedule today for a light KHL Monday. In Kazan, Ak Bars welcomes SKA, while Lokomotiv entertains Lada in Yaroslavl.
In Kazan, Ak Bars will try to rehabilitate in front of its fans after a tough 4–0 home loss to Avangard on Oct. 28. Today, the opposition is SKA. The St. Petersburg side is also not in its best moment. After replacing Igor Larionov with Andrei Razin, SKA won only once, at home over Sibir in Razin’s second game (6–3). After a first loss to Avtomobilist (1–3), SKA also suffered a 1–3 defeat to CSKA on Oct. 25 and a 3–4 defeat to Torpedo two days later, allowing the game winner to Yegor Vinogradov only fourteen seconds to the final hooter. The St. Petersburg side is currently out of the playoff places in the Western Conference, being in ninth place at nineteen points. Ak Bars wraps up the East’s top four at 24 points.
In the meantime, in Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv welcomes Lada as the two sides face for the first time this season. The Togliatti side managed to snag its third time in the current season on Thursday, downing the Hawks 3–2 in overtime, but remain at the bottom of the Western Conference table with just eleven points in 21 games. The Yaroslavl side is instead in second place and has now three wins in a row. After a 1–0 loss to Neftekhimik on Oct. 20, the Railwaymen bounced back with a narrow, 2–1 victory over Dynamo Moscow, another one-goal win over Severstal (1–0), and a 6–2 thumping of HC Sochi, with 16-year-old Yakov Kazantsev becoming the youngest goalie ever to play a game in the KHL. The Yaroslavl side has now 30 points in the standings, one more than Torpedo and two more than Spartak and the Shanghai Dragons.
19:00: Ak Bars (11-9-2, 4th E) vs SKA (9-9-1, 9th W)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a three-game road trip following a loss to Avangard on Oct. 28 (0–4).
SKA starts a three-game road trip on a two-match losing streak.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Artyom Galimov.
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Igor Larionov, Trevor Murphy, Linus Weissbach.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ defenseman Nikita Lyamkin may score his 200th career point (currently at 198).
Ak Bars’ forward Alexei Byvaltsev may net his 100th KHL tally (currently at 99).
19:00: Lokomotiv (15-5-0, 2nd W) vs Lada (3-13-5, 11th W)
About the game
Lokomotiv wraps up a five-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Lada starts a two-game road trip fresh off a win over Avangard on Thursday (3–2 OT).
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev is on a 72:27 shutout streak.
Lada’s defenseman Mason Millman had at least one assist in each of his previous three games, totaling four helpers.
Lada’s forward Ben King is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Alexander Radulov.
Lada: Artyom Karpov, Nikita Mikhailov, Ivan Romanov, Doyle Somerby.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may reach 10 KHL shutouts.
