Sibir - SKA. Match day

After playing a five match long home series, SKA have travelled to Siberia for three away games. The first will take place today against HC Sibir Novosibirsk.

Sibir have been one of the KHL's real star clubs during the past few seasons, most notably making the Eastern Conference final in 2015. Despite not having any stars among their ranks, Sibir have been able to make the best of their resources, and their team spirit combined with their high tempo approach has proved successful. However, this year, luck has suddenly turned against them. Five key players, included ex SKA goaltender Alexander Salak, are out with injuries, and the Siberians have not been able to string any consistency together. They are coming off the back of two straight defeats to HC Sochi (2:6) and Spartak (1:2 SO), and occupy fifth place of the conference.

Nevertheless, their leading forwards Sergei Shumakov and Maxim Shalunov have been more potent than ever before, with the pair boasting a combined 40 points. Young goalkeeper Alexei Krasikov has also shone, notching one shutout and holding a saves percentage of 93.2. He is expected to play today.

SKA finished off a perfect home run of matches with a 5:1 thrashing of Vityaz, and have broken clear at the top of the Western Conference on 54 points. Forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who has an impressive 29 points (13+16), is the KHL's current top scorer.

The Sibir - SKA match will begin at 15.30 Moscow time in Novosibirsk. Life78 and KHL TV will broadcast live, while you can follow events on our official Twitter account.