SKA - Avangard. Presenting the opponents

CURRENT STANDINGS

8. SKA, 20 matches, 11 regulation victories, 6 regulation defeats, 2 penalty shootout defeats, 1 overtime defeat, goal difference 59-52, 25 points

4. Avangard, 19 matches, 11 regulation victories, 3 regulation defeats, 3 penalty shootout defeats, 1 overtime defeat, goal difference 58-37, 28 points

FORM

Avangard, coached by the experienced Bob Hartley, have been one of the most impressive teams in the opening stages of the 2020/2021 KHL regular season. Boasting a strong squad with the likes of Alexei Emelin, Oliwer Kaski, Ville Pokka, Sergei Tolchinsky, Alexander Khokhlachyov and Corban Knight on their books, the Balashikha-based organisation have been difficult to stop, conceding only three defeats in regulation time. In truth, it has been a challenging October for Avangard with the team suffering four losses to Vityaz Podolsk at home (1:2 SO), CSKA in Moscow (2:4), Metallurg in Magnitogorsk (0:3) and Salavat Yulaev in Balashikha (3:4 SO), but they gained a confidence-boosting 6:3 triumph over Avtomobilist on home ice on Saturday. Avangard currently occupy second spot of the Eastern Conference with 25 points on the board.

It's worth noting that Nail Yakupov, who previously represented SKA, recently made the move to Avangard from Amur Khabarovsk. The 27-year-old forward scored on his debut against Avtomobilist at the weekend.

Avangard are playing their home matches in Balashikha as a consequence of the Arena Omsk undergoing reconstruction in Siberia.

SKA are enduring a somewhat inconsistent campaign. As it stands, our players are still second in the Western Conference with 25 points to their name, but third-placed Lokomotiv have two games in hand while Jokerit - with 21 points in the standings - have played four matches less than SKA. Last week, SKA contrived to produce a poor performance against Spartak in a heavy 1:4 setback, only registering 15 shots on target throughout the 60 minutes. Nevertheless, a reaction to that disappointment can be expected today, with the team eager to get back on track. In their most recent five matches, SKA have beaten HC Sochi away from home (4:1) and Vityaz Podolsk at the Ice Palace (5:1), while losing to Dynamo Moscow (3:4 home), CSKA (1:3 away) and Spartak (1:4 home).

Both SKA and Avangard have already competed in a thriller against each other this season. On September 13, our team incredibly recovered from a three-goal deficit in Moscow Region with Igor Ozhiganov, Linden Vey and Anton Burdasov hitting the target, only to subsequently concede the Avangard winner when on the powerplay in the third period.

POINTS LEADERS IN LAST FIVE MATCHES

SKA

Andrei Kuzmenko: 5 (1+4) points

Kirill Marchenko: 4 (3+1) points

Vladislav Kamenev: 4 (2+2) points

AVANGARD

Reid Boucher: 6 (3+3) points

Sergei Tolchinsky: 6 (2+4) points

Denis Zernov: 6 (0+6) points

Between the pipes, Emil Galimov has largely been considered the starting Avangard goalkeeper in the current season, making 12 appearances and registering a 93.5% save percentage, a goals against average of 1.93 and three shutouts. Igor Bobkov has tallied a save percentage of 96.0%, a 1.09 goals against average and one shutout.

Mikhail Berdin stood out for SKA against Spartak after replacing Magnus Hellberg in the second period. Since joining in September, Berdin has participated in 10 games for SKA, earning a 91.4% save percentage and a goals against average of 2.57. Hellberg, for his part, has picked up a save percentage of 91.3% and a goals against average of 3.03.

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck drop in Saint Petersburg is scheduled for 19:30 local time. Match TV, KHL TV HD and Channel 78 will provide a broadcast in Russia, whereas you can purchase a live video from the KHL's website worldwide. Live text updates can be found on our official Twitter account.