KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Metallurg and CSKA square off on a three-game KHL Tuesday
Three games feature on Tuesday’s KHL schedule, headlined by Metallurg against CSKA in Magnitogorsk, where the Eastern Conference leader meets visitors playing their 1,300th KHL game on a three-game winning streak. The Shanghai Dragons host Severstal, two points behind them in the West, with the season series level at one win apiece. Also on the schedule, HC Sochi, winner of four of its last five games, welcomes Neftekhimik, second in the East.
Metallurg and CSKA open the matchday in Magnitogorsk with identical goal differences of +27, the best in the league. The teams, who contested the 2022 Gagarin Cup Final won by CSKA in seven games, meet for the first time this season. Metallurg leads the Eastern Conference by nine points and has taken 17 points from its last 10 games, the most in the league over that span. It has also scored a league-high 76 goals and is one of two teams, along with the Shanghai Dragons, yet to be shut out. Saturday’s 4–3 win at Avtomobilist came two days after a 2–5 loss at Sibir. CSKA tops the West with 32 points and has won three in a row, capped by a 3–2 OT win at Traktor on Sunday, when Canadian defenseman Robert Hamilton scored the winner against his former club. The Muscovites have won 15 of their last 17 games and have yet to lose beyond regulation, winning all three of their games that went to overtime or a shootout.
In Saint Petersburg, the Shanghai Dragons and Severstal meet for the third time this season, and for the first time on the Dragons’ home ice. Both earlier games were played in Cherepovets, where Severstal won 2–1 in overtime on Oct. 3, starting a seven-game winning streak that the Dragons ended with a 5–1 victory on Oct. 21. That loss was the first of four in five games for the Steelers, whose only win in that stretch came in a shootout against Spartak on Thursday, before a 1–5 home defeat to the Red-and-Whites the next day. The Shanghai Dragons have won four of their last five games and beat Salavat Yulaev 3–2 on Sunday. They sit fifth in the West and Severstal sixth, with only three points between third and sixth place. With two points between the teams, a regulation win for Severstal would pull it level on 28, while one for the Dragons would stretch the gap to four.
Finally, HC Sochi welcomes Neftekhimik after winning four of its last five games, one more than in its first 16 of the season. The only defeat in that run was 2–6 at Lokomotiv on Thursday. Six of HC Sochi’s seven victories this season have come by a single goal, including Sunday’s 2–1 OT win against Avangard, when Nikita Gusev and goalie Alexei Shchetilin assisted on the power-play winner. HC Sochi is 10th in the West with 14 points, while Dinamo Minsk holds the eighth and last playoff place with 22. Neftekhimik is second in the East, yet only eight points separate it from Sibir and Traktor at the bottom of the conference. The Wolves bounced back from two home defeats, 2–3 in overtime to Metallurg and 3–4 to Admiral, with a 3–1 win at Sibir on Sunday. The teams’ lone previous meeting this season was HC Sochi’s opener on Sept. 8, a 5–1 win for Neftekhimik in Nizhnekamsk.
17:00: Metallurg (17-4-2, 1st E) vs CSKA (16-5-0, 1st W)
About the game
Metallurg starts a three-game home series following a win at Avtomobilist on Saturday (4–3).
CSKA enters the second game of a three-match road trip following three consecutive wins.
Metallurg’s forward Nathan Todd is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points over that stretch.
Metallurg’s forward Sergei Tolchinsky is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points.
Metallurg’s forward Daniil Vovchenko is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Metallurg: Dmitry Silantyev.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s defenseman Nikita Nesterov may record his 300th KHL point (currently at 298).
CSKA’s forward Pavel Karnaukhov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
CSKA lines up for its 1,300th KHL game.
19:30: Shanghai Dragons (13-5-2, 5th W) vs Severstal (12-8-2, 6th W)
About the game
Shanghai Dragons, who defeated Severstal earlier in the season (5–1), enter the third game of a four-match home series following a win over Salavat Yulaev on Sunday (3–2).
Severstal, who defeated Shanghai Dragons earlier in the season (2–1 OT), starts a two-game road trip following a loss to Spartak on Friday (1–5).
Shanghai Dragons’ forward Riley Sutter is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points over that span.
Shanghai Dragons’ defenseman Brennan Menell is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Shanghai Dragons: Nic Petan, Martin Frk.
Severstal: Nikolai Burenov, Yegor Graf, Timofei Davydov, Gennady Chaly.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s forward Nikita Popugayev may record his 100th KHL point (currently at 98).
19:30: HC Sochi (7-14-0, 10th W) vs Neftekhimik (12-7-3, 2nd E)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the second game of a six-match home series following a win over Avangard on Sunday (2–1 OT).
Neftekhimik, who defeated HC Sochi earlier in the season (5–1), enters the second game of a three-match road trip following a win at Sibir on Sunday (3–1).
HC Sochi’s forward Nikita Gusev had at least one assist in each of his previous eight games, totaling ten helpers.
HC Sochi’s forward Denis Vengryzhanovsky is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that stretch.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Pavel Akolzin, Pyotr Andreyanov, Artyom Guryev, Cameron Lee.
Suspensions
HC Sochi’s defenseman Viktor Baldayev serves the second of a two-game ban.
