Vityaz - SKA. Introducing the opponents

CURRENT STANDINGS

13. Vityaz, 23 matches, 8 regulation victories, 2 overtime victories, 2 penalty shootout victories, 10 regulation defeats, 1 penalty shootout defeat, goal difference 67-62, 25 points

9. SKA, 23 matches, 13 regulation victories, 8 regulation defeats, 2 penalty shootout defeats, 1 overtime defeat, goal difference 69-57, 29 points

FORM

Vityaz, managed by former SKA coach Mikhail Kravets, are enjoying a solid campaign so far. At the moment, the Podolsk-based organisation occupy seventh position of the Western Conference, having only suffered 10 defeats in regulation time. Goalkeepers Ilya Ezhov (90.3%, 3.01) and Pyotr Kochetkov (90.9%, 2.69) and forwards Svyatoslav Grebenshchikov (5+5), Alexander Dergachyov (5+4), Ivan Larichev (3+6) and Evgeny Artyukhin (2+1) all used to represent SKA in the past.

The Knights have been strong in their most recent five matches in the 2020/2021 KHL regular season, defeating Dynamo Moscow (5:1), Severstal Cherepovets (3:0) and HC Sochi (4:3 OT) on the road while losing to Sochi (2:5) and Dynamo (1:2) in Podolsk. Vityaz do have a strong squad with the likes of Linus Hultstrom (defenseman, 4+9), Jakub Jerabek (defenseman, 1+1), Justin Danforth (forward, 9+13), Mattias Tedenby (forward, 7+11) and Alexander Syomin (forward, 6+5) on their books.

Our players got back to winning ways on Tuesday with a confident 4:1 triumph over Jokerit in Helsinki, Finland. However, SKA have struggled for consistency throughout the campaign to date, meaning that a victory today in Moscow Region would be hugely important in terms of gaining vital momentum. Sitting in second spot of the conference with 29 points, our team lost to Kunlun Red Star Beijing (1:2), beat Avangard Omsk (5:2), conceded a setback to Spartak Moscow (1:4) and defeated Vityaz (5:1) in the home series which was staged ahead of the international break.

POINTS LEADERS IN LAST FIVE MATCHES

VITYAZ

Justin Danforth: 5 (2+3) points

Linus Hultstrom: 5 (2+3) points

Mattias Tedenby: 4 (2+2) points

SKA

Emil Galimov: 5 (3+2) points

Kirill Marchenko: 5 (3+2) points

Linden Vey: 5 (0+5) points

In net, ex-SKA player Ezhov has been the starting goaltender for Vityaz in the majority of games, making 13 appearances and picking up one shutout along the way. Anton Todykov has competed in eight matches for Kravets' troops, registering a save percentage of 93.7%, a goals against average of 2.24 and one shutout.

18-year-old Yaroslav Askarov, a winner of the first stage of the 2020/2021 Euro Hockey Tour with the senior Russian national team, has earned a 96.0% save percentage, a goals against average of 1.10 and one shutout in four KHL games in the current season. Mikhail Berdin has tallied a save percentage of 91.9% and a 2.39 goals against average in 12 matches.

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck drop at the Vityaz 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 from the KHL's official website worldwide. Text updates can be found on our Twitter account.

*This match will take place behind closed doors as a consequence of restrictions imposed by the Moscow Region authorities