SKA - Kunlun Red Star. Introducing the opponents

CURRENT STANDINGS

4. SKA, 20 matches, 10 regulation victories, 1 overtime victory, 2 penalty shootout victories, 4 regulation defeats, 1 overtime defeat, 2 penalty shootout defeats, goal difference 64-44, 29 points

24. Kunlun Red Star, 19 matches, 4 regulation victories, 1 penalty shootout victory, 12 regulation defeats, 1 overtime defeat, 1 penalty shootout defeat, goal difference 44-66, 12 points

FORM

It certainly hasn’t been the easiest of starts to the 2021/2022 KHL regular season for Kunlun Red Star Beijing. Currently based in Mytishchi, Moscow Region, the Chinese outfit have failed to gain any kind of positive momentum, conceding a grand total of 14 defeats in 20 games. At the moment, Kunlun do predictably find themselves languishing in last place of the Eastern Conference with a mere 12 points on the board.

Nevertheless, while Kunlun haven’t enjoyed many successful evenings in the campaign so far, they always keep games close. Kunlun have lost their last four successive matches by just the one goal to Dinamo Minsk (away, 5:6 OT), Barys Nur-Sultan (home, 1:2 SO), Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (away, 3:4) and Severstal Cherepovets (away, 1:2), and before that they had shocked CSKA Moscow in Mytishchi by claiming an unexpected 2:1 victory. Furthermore, in September, Kunlun had completed a dramatic comeback against Ak Bars in Kazan, recovering from a three-goal deficit to eventually emerge victorious 4:3. These results do indeed prove that Kunlun are more than capable of causing upsets if opposing teams take their foot off the gas.

Coached by Ivano Zanatta, Kunlun like to play a fast, aggressive brand of ice hockey, with the vast majority of their players originating from North America. Spencer Foo is their top scorer after 19 games with 14 (6+8) points to his name, and fellow forwards Josh Nicholls (2+8), Brandon Yip (5+4), Tyler Wong (5+4), Lucas Lockhart (6+2) and Cory Kane (4+3) have also been in promising form. Jason Fram is Kunlun’s most productive defenseman with nine (2+7) points to date.

Defenseman Colin Joe (0+0) is ruled out of this game due to an injury.

In stark contrast, SKA are leading the Western Conference with 29 points after seeing off the challenge of Jokerit Helsinki 2:0 at home on Tuesday. However, it is worth noting that second-placed Dinamo Minsk do have a game in hand with 28 points from 19 matches. Forwards Anton Burdasov (10+10), Andrei Kuzmenko (4+15), Joonas Kemppainen (10+5) and Kirill Marchenko (8+5) are continuing to lead the line in terms of points, while defenseman Igor Ozhiganov (3+7) has been dangerous at the blue line. This is the concluding match of this particular home series.

Last season, our players suffered a disappointing 1:2 home setback to Kunlun, before subsequently gaining revenge with a drama-filled 4:3 triumph in Mytishchi. That game saw SKA come back from three goals down after 40 minutes to emerge victorious.

GOALKEEPING STATISTICS

SKA

Lars Johansson: 14 matches, 9 wins, 2 defeats, 295 saves made, save percentage 94.2%, goals against average 1.41, 6 shutouts

Alexander Samonov: 6 matches, 2 wins, 3 defeats, 103 saves made, save percentage 85.8%, goals against average 3.97

Yaroslav Askarov: 4 matches, 2 wins, 2 defeats, 62 saves made, save percentage 92.5%, goals against average 1.53

KUNLUN RED STAR

Alexander Lazushin: 11 matches, 3 wins, 8 defeats, 369 saves made, save percentage 92.0%, goals against average 3.13

Jeremy Smith: 9 matches, 2 wins, 6 defeats, 279 saves made, save percentage 90.9%, goals against average 3.22

WHERE TO WATCH

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