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Lada seeks a third straight win on a five-game KHL Wednesday
Five games feature on Wednesday’s KHL schedule, headlined by Spartak against Lokomotiv in Moscow, where the visitors, second in the West and two points ahead, have not lost two in a row all season. Salavat Yulaev entertains Lada, on its first winning streak of the campaign, Admiral welcomes SKA, and Sibir faces Ak Bars, as the East’s four teams from eighth to 11th all play at home. Also on the schedule, Traktor, the last of them, hosts third-placed Barys.
The matchday starts in Vladivostok, where Admiral hosts SKA, ninth in the West and chasing a playoff place with games in hand. The St. Petersburg side has 21 points, one behind Dinamo Minsk in eighth, and has played 20 games, two fewer than the Belarusians and four fewer than Dynamo Moscow, seventh with 23. SKA won 4–3 at Ak Bars on Monday with two goals in the third period, only its second victory in 10 games since beating Admiral 6–5 in a shootout on Oct. 3. That game in St. Petersburg produced 10 goals before the shootout, with Admiral going ahead three times and Canadian forward Anthony Camara forcing OT with less than four minutes left. Admiral is also ninth in its conference, with 21 points, and lost the second Far East Derby of the season 2–5 at home to Amur on Sunday, only a week after a 0–3 defeat in Khabarovsk. Before that, the Sailors had won at Lada and Neftekhimik. A win of any kind today would lift them as high as sixth in the East.
Next up is Sibir against Ak Bars, a pairing that has needed a shootout in both of its meetings this season. Sibir led after two periods both times, 3–1 in Kazan on the opening day, Sept. 5, and 2–1 in Novosibirsk on Sept. 24. Ak Bars won both shootouts, which remain its only shootout wins and Sibir’s only shootout defeats so far. The pattern goes back further, as four of the last five meetings have been decided in a shootout, with Sibir winning both last term. The Novosibirsk side has won two of its nine home games, 2–0 over Amur on Sept. 10 and 5–2 over Metallurg on Oct. 29, and lost 1–3 to Neftekhimik on Sunday. Ak Bars is fourth in the East with 24 points, five more than Sibir but only three clear of ninth place, and has alternated wins and losses over its last five games.
Traktor, last in the East, hosts third-placed Barys in the teams’ first meeting of the season, though the recent head-to-head points the other way. The Black-and-Whites have won seven of the last eight, most recently 2–0 in Astana on Dec. 23, 2025, and Barys has lost on each of its last five visits to Chelyabinsk, including a 0–8 defeat on March 2, 2025. Six points now divide the teams, with Traktor on 19, two below the playoff places, after three straight defeats, two of them against CSKA within four days. Its last two wins came at home, 3–1 over Ak Bars and 2–1 over Sibir. Barys has not played since Oct. 30 and comes off two road wins. October’s Goalie of the Month Andrei Shutov made 28 saves in a 1–0 win at Dinamo Minsk on Oct. 28. Two days later, American forward Tyce Thompson scored a hat trick in a 4–2 victory at the Shanghai Dragons as the Kazakhs enter today’s game in great form.
In the last Eastern game of the matchday, Lada visits Salavat Yulaev with something it had not managed before this week: a winning streak. The Togliatti side followed a 3–2 overtime win over Avangard with a 1–0 victory at Lokomotiv on Monday, its first road win of the season after ten games away without one. Lada is still last in the West, with 13 points. Salavat Yulaev, meanwhile, has lost three in a row since a 5–4 SO win at Metallurg on Oct. 21: 1–2 at home to Ak Bars and HC Sochi, then 2–3 at the Shanghai Dragons on Sunday. It still holds eighth place in the East on regulation wins, level on 21 points with Admiral, whose game against SKA in Vladivostok will be over by the time the puck drops in Ufa. Lada won 5–3 on its last visit, on Nov. 10, 2025.
Closing out the matchday is a Western showdown, with Spartak against Lokomotiv. The Yaroslavl side has not lost back-to-back games all season. Monday’s 0–1 home loss to Lada was the Railwaymen’s sixth defeat, all in regulation, and they answered each of the previous five with a win. Lokomotiv is second in the West with 30 points, two more than Spartak, and has conceded 36 goals, the second-fewest in the league behind Amur. It has won three of four games without Alexander Radulov, who had 16 points in 17 games before the injury. Spartak had earned at least a point in ten straight games before Sunday’s 1–3 loss at Torpedo. It was the Red-and-Whites’ first regulation defeat since Oct. 2, 0–2 at home to Metallurg. Today’s game is the first between the teams since last spring’s first playoff round, which Lokomotiv won 4–1 on the way to its second straight Gagarin Cup, with usual suspect Radulov setting up the winning goal in the deciding fifth game.
10:00: Admiral (9-9-3, 9th E) vs SKA (10-9-1, 9th W)
About the game
Admiral enters the second game of a three-match home series following a loss to Amur on Sunday (2–5).
SKA, who defeated Admiral earlier in the season (6–5 SO), enters the second game of a three-match road trip following a win at Ak Bars on Monday (4–3).
Injury list
Admiral: Mario Grman, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Kyle Olson.
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Linus Weissbach, Igor Larionov, Trevor Murphy.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Matvei Korotky lines up for his 100th league appearance.
13:30: Sibir (8-12-3, 10th E) vs Ak Bars (11-10-2, 4th E)
About the game
Sibir ends a three-game home series following a loss to Neftekhimik on Sunday (1–3).
Ak Bars, who defeated Sibir twice earlier in the season (4–3 SO, 3–2 SO), starts a two-match road trip following a loss to SKA on Monday (3–4).
Injury list
Sibir: Mikhail Abramov, Daniil Valitov, Maxim Osipov.
Ak Bars: Artyom Galimov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s defenseman Darren Dietz may net his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
Ak Bars’ defenseman Nikita Lyamkin may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 198).
Ak Bars’ forward Alexei Byvaltsev may score his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
14:00: Traktor (8-10-3, 11th E) vs Barys (12-8-1, 3rd E)
About the game
Traktor enters the second game of a five-match home series following three consecutive defeats.
Barys enters the seventh game of a nine-match road trip following two straight wins.
Traktor’s defenseman Grigory Dronov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Alexander Rykov.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (10-11-1, 8th E) vs Lada (4-13-5, 11th W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev starts a two-game home series on a three-match losing streak.
Lada ends a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Matthew Maggio is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Lada’s goalie Andrei Mishurov is on a 92:26 shutout streak.
Lada’s defenseman Mason Millman had at least one assist in each of his previous four games, totaling five helpers.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Alexander Alexeyev, Nikita Bogdanov, Artyom Gorshkov, Dean Stewart, Nikita Shcherbakov.
Lada: Artyom Volkov, Artyom Karpov, Nikita Mikhailov, Ivan Romanov, Doyle Somerby.
17:00: Spartak (12-6-4, 4th W) vs Lokomotiv (15-6-0, 2nd W)
About the game
Spartak starts a two-game home series following a loss at Torpedo on Sunday (1–3).
Lokomotiv starts a three-match road trip following a loss to Lada on Monday (0–1).
Spartak’s forward Ivan Ryabov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that stretch.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev is on a 72:27 shutout streak.
Injury list
Spartak: Will Reilly.
Lokomotiv: Alexander Radulov.
Milestone alert
Spartak’s defenseman Andrei Mironov lines up for his 800th KHL game, while forward Alexander Pashin reaches 200.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th KHL shutout.
