SKA - Sibir. Introducing the opponents

CURRENT STANDINGS

6. SKA, 28 matches, 13 regulation victories, 1 overtime victory, 2 penalty shootout victories, 6 regulation defeats, 2 overtime defeats, 3 penalty shootout defeats, goal difference 88-63, 39 points

14. Sibir, 29 matches, 11 regulation victories, 2 penalty shootout victories, 12 regulation defeats, 3 overtime defeats, 1 penalty shootout defeat, goal difference 56-63, 30 points

FORM

The Siberian outfit certainly cannot be underestimated under any circumstances. Coached by Andrei Martemyanov, Sibir Novosibirsk have already earned a number of impressive results so far in the 2021/2022 KHL regular season, notably defeating Ak Bars (away, 2:0), Spartak Moscow (away, 3:0), CSKA Moscow (home, 1:0) and Traktor Chelyabinsk (home, 2:0) without conceding a single goal. Always competing in an organised, compact fashion, Martemyanov’s players are experts at keeping games close and boast a proven track record of upsetting their so-called ‘bigger’ opponents.

Interestingly, only Admiral (51) have scored less goals than Sibir (56) this season. However, on the other hand, Sibir have indeed only conceded 63, the same amount as SKA. Only Severstal Cherepovets (62), CSKA (60) and Salavat Yulaev (59) have let in less goals than SKA and Sibir.

Sibir have earned at least one point in their past five matches having lost to Traktor in Chelyabinsk (2:3 SO) on Wednesday after beating Ak Bars in Kazan, Kunlun Red Star Beijing (away, 3:1), Spartak in Moscow and Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (home, 3:2 SO). Nick Shore (4+12) is the only Sibir player to have reached double figures in terms of points, but fellow forwards Alexander Sharov (8+1), Denis Golubev (5+4), Oleg Li (4+5), Alexei Kruchinin (3+6) and Valentin Pyanov (3+6) do all have nine points each. Trevor Murphy is Sibir’s most productive defenseman with eight (3+5) points to his name.

A major reason behind Sibir’s success is their reliable goaltending pair which consists of Harri Sateri and Anton Krasotkin.

As it stands, Sibir are occupying sixth spot of the Eastern Conference, five points behind reigning champions Avangard Omsk in fifth.

Following four defeats on the bounce against Metallurg Magnitogorsk (home, 2:3 SO), Spartak (home, 1:2 OT), CSKA (away, 0:4) and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (home, 1:3), SKA are in serious need of a victory this evening. Nevertheless, despite those disappointing results, our players are still only trailing conference leaders Jokerit Helsinki by three points in second position. Defensemen Vasily Tokranov (1+0) and Mikko Lehtonen (1+2) can be found on SKA’s injury list.

Last season, Sibir managed to beat our team 4:1 in Saint Petersburg, before SKA subsequently gained revenge with a 6:4 triumph in Novosibirsk.

GOALKEEPING STATISTICS

SKA

Lars Johansson: 21 matches, 12 wins, 6 defeats, 438 saves made, 32 goals conceded, save percentage 93.2%, goals against average 1.61, 7 shutouts

Alexander Samonov: 7 matches, 3 wins, 3 defeats, 105 saves made, 18 goals conceded, save percentage 85.4%, goals against average 3.87

Yaroslav Askarov: 5 matches, 2 wins, 2 defeats, 75 saves made, 8 goals conceded, save percentage 90.4%, goals against average 2.01

SIBIR

Harri Sateri: 23 matches, 9 wins, 11 defeats, 537 saves made, 43 conceded goals, save percentage 92.6%, goals against average 2.04, 4 shutouts

Anton Krasotkin: 10 matches, 4 wins, 5 defeats, 230 saves made, 16 goals conceded, save percentage 93.5%, goals against average 1.96, 2 shutouts

WHERE TO WATCH

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