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Far East doubleheader opens play on an exciting six-game KHL Friday
Lokomotiv gets an immediate rematch in Togliatti after Lada beat the Railwaymen on Monday for the first time since 2017. Friday’s six-game slate opens with a Far East doubleheader, as Amur hosts SKA, and Admiral, whose goalie Nikita Boyarkin scored on Wednesday, welcomes Barys. In an East where four points separate third and 11th, Traktor entertains Ak Bars and Salavat Yulaev faces Avtomobilist. Also on the schedule, Spartak meets Dinamo Minsk, eighth in the West.
The matchday starts in Khabarovsk, where Amur and SKA meet for the first time this season, and on the scoreboard the two could hardly be further apart. Amur’s games have produced 77 goals, the fewest in the league, and its 35 goals allowed are also the lowest total, while SKA’s games have averaged just over six goals, more than any other team’s. The club from St. Petersburg has scored 62 and conceded 65, and it has won two of six games since Andrei Razin, who led Metallurg to the 2024 Gagarin Cup, took over as head coach on Oct. 18, losing three of the first four, all at home. Amur, on 23 points, has six shutouts this season, the latest a 3–0 home win over Admiral in the first Far East Derby on Oct. 25. The Tigers also won the second, 5–2 in Vladivostok on Sunday, when goalie Alexander Trushkov’s shutout run of more than 130 minutes ended only in the third period.
Thirty minutes later in Vladivostok, Admiral hosts Barys two days after Nikita Boyarkin became only the sixth goalie in KHL history to score. Boyarkin, who has not conceded for 84:38, made 39 saves in a 4–0 win over SKA on Wednesday. It was the third win in four games for the Sailors, whose 23 points leave them two behind third-placed Barys. The Kazakhs were beaten in Chelyabinsk on Wednesday, when American forward Mason Morelli scored their only goal on a five-on-three. Before that, they had won 1–0 at Dinamo Minsk and 4–2 at the Shanghai Dragons, with his compatriot Tyce Thompson scoring his first KHL hat-trick in the latter. Admiral won the teams’ only meeting so far 5–4 OT in Vladivostok on Oct. 21, and the teams meet again in Astana on Nov. 12.
Next up is the fourth meeting of the season between Traktor and Ak Bars, and the second in Chelyabinsk in two weeks. Ak Bars won the first 2–1 at home on Sept. 9, before Traktor took the next two, 3–2 in Kazan on Oct. 2 and 3–1 at home on Oct. 23. The Black-and-Whites are last in the East with 21 points and the Kazan side has 24, yet only four points cover the nine teams from third to eleventh. Traktor ended a three-game losing streak with a 2–1 win over Barys on Wednesday, scoring twice early in the third period through Canadian forward Nathan Legare and Andrei Svetlakov, who is one point away from a milestone. Ak Bars has lost its last two games, 3–4 at home to SKA on Monday and 1–3 at Sibir on Wednesday, its first defeat in three meetings with Sibir this season. With three points between the teams, a regulation win for Traktor would cut the gap to one, while one for Ak Bars would stretch it to five.
Salavat Yulaev and Avtomobilist face off in Ufa at the same hour, one point apart and in their first meeting since last spring, when Salavat Yulaev knocked Avtomobilist out of the first round in six games. Dutch forward Daniel Sprong scored both goals in the Motormen’s 2–0 win in the opener, but Sheldon Rempal ended the series 43 seconds into the second OT period of Game 6 in Ufa. The Canadian forward scored twice, short-handed and on the power play, in Wednesday’s 5–0 win over Lada, which ended a three-game losing streak, and Ivan Bocharov, who joined from HC Sochi last month, made 20 saves for a shutout in his second game for the club. Salavat Yulaev now has 23 points. Avtomobilist, on 22, has not played since Oct. 31, when a 3–4 home loss to Metallurg ended a four-game winning streak, and a regulation win today would take it above its hosts.
Lada and Lokomotiv meet again today, this time in Togliatti, four days after Lada’s sensational 1–0 win in Yaroslavl. It was Lada’s first win over Lokomotiv since 2017, and it came on the day Igor Gorbenko, interim head coach since Pavel Zubov’s departure, was confirmed in the job. The Togliatti side, whose 34 goals are fewer than any other team’s, was beaten in Ufa on Wednesday and remains last in the West with 13 points. Lokomotiv, still without injured forward Alexander Radulov, responded with a 4–1 win at Spartak, scoring four times on 19 shots. The Railwaymen have answered each of their six defeats this season with a win, so they have yet to lose two in a row, and their 32 points put them second in the West after CSKA.
Closing out the matchday is Spartak against Dinamo Minsk in Moscow, and by the time it starts, the Belarusians will know whether they still hold the last playoff place in the West for now. They lead ninth-placed SKA by a point, but SKA has a game in hand and plays in Khabarovsk earlier in the day. Dinamo Minsk’s last game was a 0–4 home loss to Dynamo Moscow on Sunday, which dropped it below the Blue-and-Whites to eighth, and it has been shut out in two of its last three games, all in Minsk. Goals have been hard to come by for Spartak too. The Red-and-Whites have scored once in each of their last two games, losing 1–3 at Torpedo on Sunday before Wednesday’s home defeat to Lokomotiv, and have lost four of their last five, two of them in shootouts, with the only win 5–1 at Severstal on Oct. 30. Spartak is fifth in the West with 28 points, one behind Torpedo.
12:00: Amur (11-9-1, 6th E) vs SKA (10-10-1, 9th W)
About the game
Amur starts a two-game home series following a win at Admiral on Sunday (5–2).
SKA ends a three-match road trip following a loss at Admiral on Wednesday (0–4).
Injury list
Amur: Danila Galenyuk, Alexander Dergachyov, Dmitry Kostenko, Andrei Krutov, Ivan Chekhovich.
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Linus Weissbach, Valentin Zykov, Igor Larionov, Trevor Murphy.
Milestone alert
Amur’s goalie Maxim Dorozhko may record his 20th career shutout.
12:30: Admiral (10-9-3, 8th E) vs Barys (12-9-1, 3rd E)
About the game
Admiral, who defeated Barys earlier in the season (5–4 OT), ends a three-game home series following a win over SKA on Wednesday (4–0).
Barys enters the eighth game of a nine-match road trip following a loss at Traktor on Wednesday (1–2).
Admiral’s goalie Nikita Boyarkin is on an 84:38 shutout streak.
Barys’ forward Mason Morelli is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Admiral: Mario Grman, Kirill Zhukov, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Kyle Olson.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s goalie Nikita Boyarkin may record his 10th KHL shutout.
17:00: Traktor (9-10-3, 11th E) vs Ak Bars (11-11-2, 4th E)
About the game
Traktor enters the third game of a five-match home series following a win over Barys on Wednesday (2–1).
Ak Bars ends a two-match road trip on a two-game losing streak.
Traktor leads the season series between the two teams two games to one (1–2, 3–2, 3–1).
Traktor’s defenseman Grigory Dronov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that stretch.
Ak Bars’ forward Grigory Denisenko is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Traktor: Vitaly Kravtsov, Alexander Rykov.
Ak Bars: Artyom Galimov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s forward Andrei Svetlakov may reach 300 career points (currently at 299).
Ak Bars’ defenseman Nikita Lyamkin may record his 200th KHL point (currently at 198).
Ak Bars’ forward Alexei Byvaltsev may net his 100th KHL goal (currently at 99).
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (11-11-1, 7th E) vs Avtomobilist (10-9-2, 9th E)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev ends a two-game home series following a win over Lada on Wednesday (5–0).
Avtomobilist starts a two-match road trip following a loss to Metallurg on Oct. 31 (3–4).
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Ivan Bocharov is on a 66:03 shutout streak.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Matthew Maggio is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that stretch.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Maxim Zagrebin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Kadeikin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Avtomobilist’s forward Daniel Sprong is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Alexander Alexeyev, Nikita Bogdanov, Artyom Gorshkov, Dean Stewart, Nikita Shcherbakov.
Avtomobilist: Vladimir Galkin, Anton Slepyshev, Nikita Shashkov.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Zharovsky lines up for his 100th KHL game.
Avtomobilist’s forward Alexander Sharov may reach 200 career assists (currently at 199).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Evgeny Alikin may record his 30th KHL shutout.
18:00: Lada (4-14-5, 11th W) vs Lokomotiv (16-6-0, 2nd W)
About the game
Lada, who defeated Lokomotiv earlier in the season (1–0), plays a single home game following a loss at Salavat Yulaev on Wednesday (0–5).
Lokomotiv enters the second game of a three-match road trip following a win at Spartak on Wednesday (4–1).
Injury list
Lada: Artyom Volkov, Artyom Karpov, Nikita Mikhailov, Ivan Romanov, Doyle Somerby.
Lokomotiv: Alexander Radulov.
Milestone alert
Lada’s forward Vyacheslav Osnovin lines up for his 700th league appearance.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev may line up for his 300th KHL game.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his 10th KHL shutout.
19:30: Spartak (12-7-4, 5th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (8-8-6, 8th W)
About the game
Spartak ends a two-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
Dinamo Minsk starts a two-match road trip following a loss to Dynamo Moscow on Sunday (0–4).
Injury list
Spartak: Will Reilly.
Dinamo Minsk: Vasily Demchenko, Maxim Maltsev, Nicolas Meloche.
