SKA - Admiral. Introducing the opponents

CURRENT STANDINGS

8. SKA, 2 matches, 1 regulation victory, 1 penalty shootout victory, goal difference 7-5, 4 points

17. Admiral, 2 matches, 1 regulation defeat, 1 penalty shootout defeat, goal difference 4-8, 1 point

FORM

Admiral Vladivostok are indeed competing in the KHL again after missing the 2020/2021 campaign. With a somewhat limited squad at their disposal, not many experts are expecting Admiral to challenge for the Gagarin Cup playoffs this year, but their solid performance against reigning champions Avangard Omsk in Balashikha on Saturday has suggested that they’re a dangerous side. With Josh Kestner, Vladislav Kaletnik and Dmitry Sayustov scoring goals, and impressive goaltender Nikita Serebryakov stopping 37 of the 40 Avangard shots he faced during the 65 minutes, Admiral registered a precious point with a narrow 3:4 defeat in a penalty shootout.

The Far East-based organisation, currently coached by Alexander Andrievsky, had initially lost 1:4 to Spartak in Moscow in their opening game of the season.

27-year-old American forward Kestner is one to particularly watch out for. Last season, Kestner was in superb form with TPS Turku, picking up 59 (30+29) points in the Finnish championship across both the regular season and playoffs. Identical twins Vyacheslav and Vladislav Ushenin boast plenty of KHL experience, as do the likes of defenseman Vitaly Menshikov and forwards Rihards Bukarts and Kalentik. Goalkeeper Ivan Nalimov and defenseman Maxim Matushkin are familiar faces having previously represented the SKA system.

In the past, SKA and Admiral have competed against each other in the KHL on 13 occasions, with our club earning 10 victories: seven in regulation, two in overtime and one in a penalty shootout.

SKA have started the 2021/2022 regular season in excellent fashion. In the first game, our players saw off the challenge of Severstal in Cherepovets in regulation time 3:2, with Kirill Marchenko, Fredrik Handemark and Linden Vey hitting the jackpot. Subsequently, in Yaroslavl, SKA weathered the storm to beat Lokomotiv by a score of 4:3 after a dramatic shootout. Vasily Tokranov, Joonas Kemppainen and Marat Khusnutdinov tallied our markers in the 60 minutes, before Vey, Marchenko and Andrei Kuzmenko converted their shootout attempts. Andre Petersson was the only Lokomotiv player to score in the sshootout.

Solid goalkeeper Alexander Samonov stopped 61 of the 66 shots he faced in those two matches in question.

GOALKEEPING STATISTICS

SKA

Alexander Samonov: 2 matches, 1 regulation victory, 1 penalty shootout victory, 61 saves made, save percentage 92.4%, goals against average 2.40

ADMIRAL

Nikita Serebryakov: 1 match, 1 penalty shootout defeat, 37 saves made, save percentage 92.5%, goals against average 2.77

Ivan Nalimov: 1 match, 1 regulation defeat, 19 saves made, save percentage 82.6%, goals against average 4.00

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 at the Saint Petersburg Ice Palace. Channel 78 will provide a television broadcast in Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region, whereas you can watch a live video on the KHL’s website worldwide. Text updates will be provided on our official Twitter account.