Avtomobilist and Ak Bars battling for Eastern leadership!

Avtomobilist and Ak Bars both started well the season, being the second and third seed of the Eastern Conference, respectively. Things can change in the standings tonight – Avtomobilist may surpass Metallurg should they get any win over Kazan as the two sides collide in Yekaterinburg. Moreover, the Motormen don’t win against Ak Bars at home since five years – they will likely want to break the tradition.

The action then moves to Moscow with the Russian capital hosting two games. Dynamo hosts Amur and CSKA welcomes Sibir. The Blue-and-Whites are on a three-game winning streak, and forward Maxim Sushko is on the hunt of more goals after his Monday hat-trick. CSKA, instead, had a slower start of the season, but it’s catching up in the standings and a home game against Sibir seems to be the perfect way to climb up further. Three games are on tap on a light KHL Thursday.

17:00: Avtomobilist (8-2-1, 2^nd E) vs Ak Bars (7-2-1, 3^rd E)

About the game

Avtomobilist is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.

Ak Bars ends a short two-game road trip and is also on a two-match winning streak.

The Motormen have lost their previous eight home games to Ak Bars, with the most recent win dated Sep 06, 2017 (3:2).

Injury list

Avtomobilist: Jesse Blacker, Arsen Khisamutdinov, Pavel Kulikov, Alexei Makeyev.

Milestone alert

Avto’s goalie Igor Bobkov may reach 30 KHL shutouts.

Avtomobilist’s forward Sergei Shirokov may become the sixth all-time KHL scorer, surpassing Matt Ellison and his 458 points (currently at 457).

Ak Bars’ forward Alexander Radulov may tally his 200^th goal in the KHL (currently at 198).

19:30: Dynamo Moscow (8-3-0, 2^nd W) vs Amur (4-6-1, 9^th E)

About the game

Dynamo is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous three matches.

Amur, whose forward Alexander Sharov had an assist in each of his previous three games, plays the third of a four-game road trip and lost to Vityaz on Tuesday (3:1).

Injury list

Dynamo Moscow: Bogdan Yakimov

Amur: Andrei Alexeyev, Vyacheslav Gretsky, Michal Jordan.

Milestone alert

Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Artyom Volkov lines up for his 200^th KHL game.

Amur’s forward Igor Rudenkov is on the lookout for his 100^th point in the KHL (currently at 99).

19:30: CSKA (6-3-1, 7^th W) vs Sibir (6-4-2, 4^th E)

About the game

CSKA ends a two-game home series and defeated Spartak on Monday (3:2 OT).

Sibir is at its third of a four-match road trip and lost to Neftekhimik also on Monday (1:2 OT).

Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (0+4) points over that span.

His teammate, defenseman Trevor Murphy, is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.