SKA - Kunlun Red Star. Introducing the opponents

CURRENT STANDINGS

6. SKA, 21 matches, 12 regulation victories, 6 regulation defeats, 2 penalty shootout defeats, 1 overtime defeat, goal difference 64-54, 27 points

22. Kunlun Red Star, 18 matches, 4 regulation victories, 13 regulation defeats, 1 penalty shootout defeat, goal difference 41-64, 9 points

FORM

It really has been a strange season so far for Kunlun. Due to travel restrictions, barely any of Kunlun's foreigners could make it to Russia in time for the start of the 2020/2021 KHL regular season, consequently meaning that the Chinese club were forced to sign temporary contracts with young Russian players for the first half of September. Very few of those Russians were subsequently able to earn a spot in the squad following the arrival of the foreign players.

With the team also heavily affected by illness, Kunlun lost all of their matches on the ice until mid-October, with the exception being a technical victory against Lokomotiv on September 22 after the Yaroslavl team didn't turn up for the game in Mytishchi. However, in an incredible turnaround, Kunlun suddenly burst into life in their most recent home series, tallying impressive victories against Salavat Yulaev (5:3), Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (3:1) and Metallurg Magnitogorsk (6:4) and giving leaders CSKA Moscow a real scare in a narrow defeat (2:3). Kunlun are largely made up of North American players.

This season, as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, Kunlun are based at the Arena Mytishchi in Moscow Region instead of Beijing, China.

On Monday, SKA got back to winning ways after a forgettable loss to Spartak Moscow (1:4), confidently beating Avangard Omsk (5:2) in what was a pulsating battle at home. Ahead of those two matches, our players had tallied two wins against Sochi away (4:1) and Vityaz Podolsk at home (5:1) in their past four games, while also conceding setbacks to Dynamo Moscow in Saint Petersburg (3:4) and CSKA in Moscow (1:3). Searching for consistency, SKA will be eager to earn a second consecutive triumph today, especially given that this is the concluding match before the international break. SKA currently occupy second position of the Western Conference, trailing CSKA by seven points.

POINTS LEADERS IN LAST FIVE MATCHES

SKA

Kirill Marchenko: 7 (4+3) points

Linden Vey: 6 (0+6) points

Lukas Bengtsson: 5 (1+4) points

KUNLUN RED STAR

Sam Lofquist: 5 (2+3) points

Hunter Shinkaruk: 4 (3+1) points

Ethan Werek: 4 (2+2) points

29-year-old Dmitry Shikin, formerly of SKA, has been a strong figure between the pipes for Kunlun by picking up a 92.4% save percentage and a goals against average of 3.02 in his 11 appearances to date. The experienced Simon Hrubec, 29, has competed in seven games so far, earning a save percentage of 89.7% and a 3.96 goals against average. Hrubec stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced against CSKA on Sunday.

Mikhail Berdin, one of the standout SKA players this season, caught the eye against Avangard earlier this week, saving 32 of 34 shots to fire our team to victory. Berdin, 22, has recorded a save percentage of 91.7% and a goals against average of 2.52 since joining SKA in September. Gifted 18-year-old goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (97.4%, 0.74, 1 shutout) was on the bench for the match with Avangard.

WHERE TO WATCH

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