Magnitka visits Khabarovsk again trying to stretch its winning streak!

The KHL matchday starts early on the Far East, with two revenge matches after Admiral and Amur have already hosted Salavat Yulaev and Metallurg, respectively, on Thursday. Two days ago, Admiral defeated the Ufa side, while Magnitka prevailed over the Tigers. What will happen today? Will Salavat Yulaev disrupt Admiral’s winning streak or, once again, will fail to produce enough in the offensive zone?

Magnitka had an excellent showing in Khabarovsk, including a shutout by Eddie Pasquale coronated by a fantastic save on Belarus’ Evgeny Oksentyuk – it won’t be easy for Amur to break the opposition defense and find the back of the net.

An evening showdown between Lokomotiv and Vityaz closes the day – the Moscow Region franchise has already defeated Loko early this season, will they defeat the Railwaymen again and return to taste the victory’s flavor?

10:00: Admiral (3-2-1, 4^th E) vs Salavat Yulaev (2-3-1, 7^th E)

About the game

Admiral is in the middle of a five-game home series and is on a two-match winning streak, including defeating Salavat Yulaev on Thursday (2:0).

Salavat Yulaev enters the second of a two-match road trip on a two-game losing streak.

Admiral’s goalie Nikita Serebryakov is on a 60:55 shutout streak.

Admiral’s captain, defenseman Libor Sulak, is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that span.

Admiral’s forward Alexander Gorshkov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.

Injury list

Admiral: Yury Pautov, Yegor Rykov, Gleb Zyryanov.

Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang.

Milestone alert

Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sergei Shmelyov lines up for his 500^th KHL game, and may celebrate with his 100^th goal (currently at 98).

Salavat Yulaev’s forward Stepan Sannikov may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).

Salavat Yulaev’s forward Stanislav Bocharov may score his 100^th goal (currently at 99). 

10:00: Amur (3-3-0, 6^th E) vs Metallurg (3-1-2, 3^rd E) 

About the game

Amur is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to Metallurg on Thursday (0:3).

Metallurg enters the second of a four-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.

The teams have already faced each other this season twice, with each side getting one win (5:4 OT, 0:3).

Metallurg’s goalie Eddie Pasquale is on an 88:22 shutout series.

Injury list

Amur: Artyom Alyayev, Cameron Lee, Vadim Pereskokov, Sergei Tereshchenko.

Metallurg: Arkhip Nekolenko, Anatoly Nikontsev.

17:00: Lokomotiv (2-3-1, 9^th W) vs Vityaz (4-2-0, 5^th W) 

About the game

Lokomotiv ends a three-game home series and is on a three-match losing streak.

Vityaz, who has already defeated the Railwaymen this season (4:3 OT), is in the middle of a three-match road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.

Injury list

Lokomotiv: Alexei Marchenko.

Milestone alert

Lokomotiv’s forward Ivan Chekhovich lines up for his 100^th KHL game.

His teammate, forward Yegor Averin, may score his 200^th point (currently at 198).

Source: en.khl.ru

Dynamo Moscow and SKA collide on an eventful KHL matchday!

The most important match is likely to be the clash between the Western giants – the Blue-and-Whites and SKA have already faced each other this year and Dynamo will want to try and get its revenge. The St. Petersburg side must be aware, thus – both Dynamo goalies are in excellent shape, and it won’t be easy for the Rotenberg men to solve the key to find the opponent crease.

The matchday, however, starts earlier in the East, with Barys and Avangard going at it again after yesterday’s clash. The Kazakhs had the upper hand on Thursday, while the Hawks are sensationally yet to win a single game.

Another exciting matchup sees Avtomobilist hosting Sibir. The two teams are leading the Eastern Conference with nine points, and are playing opposite-style hockey. Avto has the best offence in the league (tied with Dinamo Minsk), while Sibir shares with Dynamo Moscow the best defensive numbers. 

The Belarusian franchise is facing Ak Bars tonight. Due to other events at the Minsk Arena, the game will be held in Kazan. It’ll be an exciting matchup – both teams have been excellent this season, and their leaders are in good shape.

Another high-octane game will be between Spartak and Torpedo. The Muscovites had a good start of the season, but suffered from a loss to Avtomobilist in their latest match. More or less the same can be said for Torpedo – and with Igor Larionov on the bench, they are starting to get interesting and exciting results.

Traktor hosting Neftekhimik and Kunlun Red Star welcoming HC Sochi close an action-packed KHL Friday.

16:30: Barys (2-3-1, 8^th E) vs Avangard (0-5-1, 10^th E)

About the game

Barys is in the middle of a five-game home series and won its previous couple of matches, including defeating Avangard yesterday (5:3).

Avangard plays the seventh of a twelve-match road trip and lost all of its games.

Avangard’s defenseman Alexei Bereglazov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.

17:00: Avtomobilist (4-1-1, 1^st E) vs Sibir (4-1-1, 2^nd E)

About the game

Avtomobilist plays the third of a four-game home series and is on a two-match winning streak.

Sibir starts a two-game road trip and defeated Avangard on Tuesday (3:2 SO).

Avtomobilist’s captain Sergei Shirokov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (5+3) points.

Sibir’s defenseman Trevor Murphy is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.

Injury list

Avtomobilist: Alexei Makeyev.

Sibir: Vadim Kudako.

Milestone alert

Avtomobilist’s forward Sergei Shirokov may reach 450 KHL points (currently at 449) and 200 KHL goals (currently at 197).

His teammate, Pavel Kulikov, and Sibir’s forward Denis Golubev may score their 100^th career point (both are currently at 99).

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

17:00: Traktor (2-4-0, 9^th E) vs Neftekhimik (0-4-1, 11^th E)

About the game

Traktor starts a two-game home series and lost to Barys on Tuesday (1:3).

Neftekhimik starts a three-game road trip with a five-match losing streak.

Traktor’s forward Anton Burdasov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.

Neftekhimik’s forward Vladislav Leshchenko is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.

Injury list

Traktor: Sergei Telegin.

Milestone alert

Tkaktor’s defenseman Artyom Blazhiyevsky may reach 400 KHL games.

Traktor’s forward Sergei Kalinin may score his 100^th career assist (currently at 99).

19:00: Kunlun Red Star (1-4-1, 10^th W) vs HC Sochi (1-4-0, 11^th W) 

About the game

Kunlun Red Star starts a three-game home series on a five-match losing streak.

HC Sochi is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Dynamo Moscow (0:2) on Wednesday.

The Dragons have won their latest four home matches against HC Sochi, with the most recent defeat dated Nov 04, 2017 (3:4).

19:00: Dynamo Moscow (5-1-0, 2^nd W) vs SKA (6-0-0, 1^st W)

About the game

Dynamo Moscow is in the middle of a three-game home series and is on a two-match winning streak.

SKA, which has already defeated the Blue-and-Whites this season (4:1), ends a three-match road trip and won its previous six games.

Dynamo Moscow’s goalies Ilya Konovalov and Konstantin Volkov have shutout streaks alive – at 69:37 and 59:59, respectively.

Dynamo Moscow’s forward Eric O’Dell is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.

SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 9 (7+2) points.

19:00: Dinamo Minsk (4-2-0, 7^th W) vs Ak Bars (3-1-1, 5^th E) (The game will be held in Kazan) 

About the game

Dinamo starts a three-game home series and lost to Severstal on Wednesday (2:5).

Ak Bars starts a two-match road trip and defeated Torpedo also on Wednesday (2:1).

Dinamo Minsk has already defeated Ak Bars this season (3:2 SO). Its forward Ryan Spooner is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (5+3) points over that span.

Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.

Injury list

Ak Bars: Artyom Lukoyanov.

Disqualifications:

Dinamo Minsk’s Brandon Kozun serves a one-game ban.

19:30: Spartak (4-1-1, 3^rd W) vs Torpedo (3-2-0, 8^th W) 

About the game

Spartak starts a two-game home series and lost to Avtomobilist on Wednesday (1:4).

Torpedo ends a three-game road trip and lost to Ak Bars also on Wednesday (1:2).

Torpedo’s forward Alexei Kruchinin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points over that span.

His linemate, Nikolai Kovalenko, is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.

Injury list

Spartak: Roman Starchenko.

Milestone alert

Spartak’s forward Andrei Loktionov may score his 200^th KHL point (currently at 199).

Torpedo’s defenseman Mark Marin lines up for his 100^th KHL game.

Source: en.khl.ru