SKA - Barys. Introducing the opponents

CURRENT STANDINGS

8. SKA, 28 matches, 16 regulation victories, 8 regulation defeats, 1 overtime victory, 2 penalty shootout defeats, 1 overtime defeat, goal difference 87-64, 37 points

18. Barys, 25 matches, 6 regulation victories, 3 overtime victories, 1 penalty shootout victory, 10 regulation defeats, 2 penalty shootout defeats, 3 overtime defeats, goal difference 53-70, 25 points

FORM

Interestingly, this is the second time in the 2020/2021 KHL regular season when these two teams will meet, with Barys having defeated SKA 3:2 in a penalty shootout in Kazakhstan on October 4 as Ivan Morozov and Evgeny Timkin tallied our goals.

In truth, the season hasn't gone to plan for Barys, with the Kazakhs currently languishing in ninth place of the Eastern Conference with 25 points on the board. Struggling for consistency, Barys haven't been able to generate good form on a regular basis, notably losing their past four successive matches against Dinamo Minsk (1:4), Metallurg Magnitogorsk (1:2 OT), Avanard Omsk (2:5) and Salavat Yulaev Ufa (1:4). The first three of those defeats were recorded at home.

Since the international break, SKA have been solid in the league, beating Jokerit Helsinki), Vityaz Podolsk (8:1) and Severstal Cherepovets (2:0) on the road. Our team, ranked second in the Western Conference with 37 points, have defeated Salavat Yulaev (3:2 OT) and Amur Khabarovsk (5:3) in this home series in Saint Petersburg while losing to Traktor Chelyabinsk (0:1).

POINTS LEADERS IN LAST FIVE MATCHES

SKA

Miro Aaltonen: 5 (2+3) points

Igor Ozhiganov: 5 (1+4) points

Anton Burdasov: 4 (2+2) points

BARYS

Jakob Lilja: 3 (3+0) points

Linus Videll: 3 (1+2) points

Roman Starchenko: 2 (1+1) points

In goal, Joni Ortio has competed in 22 of Barys' 25 matches, tallying a 91.2% save percentage, a goals against average of 2.54 and two shutouts. Back-up goaltender Henrik Karlsson has registered a save percentage of 90.8% and a 2.95 goals against average in his four games to date.

As for SKA, Alexander Samonov has only participated in four matches to date, earning a 90.4% save percentage and a goals against average of 2.77. His most recent appearance was on September 15 in Balashikha when he was pulled in the first period of a 3:4 defeat to Avangard Omsk.

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time at the Ice Palace. KHL TV and Channel 78 will show the match on television in Russia, whereas you can purchase a live video from the KHL's official website worldwide. Text updates will be available on our Twitter account.