Attack-minded Belarusians visit the Ice Palace!

SKA, on the back of two confidence-boosting victories on the bounce, return to KHL action this evening against Belarusian powerhouse Dinamo Minsk following a five-day break.

NORTH AMERICANS KEY TO SUCCESS

Having invested heavily in their squad over the summer, it should come as no surprise to see Minsk at the top end of the table.

Coached by the vastly experienced Dmitry Kvartlanov, Dinamo are catching the eye with their potent attacking play and goal-filled matches. Following an impressive 3:0 triumph at Spartak in their season-opener, the Belarusians did then let a three-goal lead slip to surprisingly lose in Nizhnekamsk, but they recovered well to edge past Barys 3:1 in Astana and tally a point in a thrilling 4:5 shootout setback in Omsk.

Former Hershey Bears star Alex Limoges has emerged as an early candidate for signing of the summer. In simply unstoppable form, the 28-year-old American has made a blistering start to the campaign, recording seven (2+5) points across just four appearances in his line alongside fellow dangerous forwards Sam Anas and Vitaly Pinchuk. Incidentally, the trio make up Dinamo’s leading three scorers of the season so far.

Stopping Dinamo’s top line will predictably be SKA’s main task this evening, but the Minsk-based organisation boast strength in depth with the likes of KHL legend Vadim Shipachyov, ex-Ak Bars forward Stanislav Galiyev and the promising Vadim Moroz on their books. Interestingly, not a single defenseman has scored yet for Dinamo, but North American brigade Xavier Ouellet, Robert Hamilton, Brady Lyle and Darren Dietz offer plenty of attacking threat from the blue line.

Another Canadian formed one of Dinamo’s marquee off-season signings.

Zach Fucale, who rightfully earned a reputation as an elite KHL goalkeeper across his two preceding seasons with Traktor Chelyabinsk, made the move to the Belarusian capital and is expected to fill one of the missing pieces in Dinamo’s Gagarin Cup jigsaw. The gifted 30-year-old has indeed been at his best since the campaign begun, tallying one shutout and an excellent save percentage of 94.0%.

LEADERS

GOALKEEPERS

Zach Fucale: 3 games, 2 wins, 94.0% save percentage, 1.62 GAA, 1 shutout

Vasily Demchenko: 1 game, 1 defeat, 85.2% save percentage, 4.13 GAA

DEFENSEMEN

Xavier Ouellet: 3 (0+3) points, +1

Robert Hamilton: 2 (0+2) points, -1

Brady Lyle: 1 (0+1) point, 0

FORWARDS

Alex Limoges: 7 (5+2) points, +1

Sam Anas: 7 (3+4) points, +4

Vitaly Pinchuk: 4 (0+4) points, +2

SPECIAL TEAMS

PP

19 attempts, 4 goals, 21.1% success rate, 9^th place

PK

18 penalties, 2 conceded goals, 88.9% success rate, 3^rd place

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time in Saint Petersburg. You can purchase a live video broadcast on the KHL’s official website, whereas text updates are available on our official X account.