The Fonbet KHL Championship on October 17 features five exciting matches. On this day, Amur aims for its fourth consecutive victory, Admiral`s head coach Leonid Tambiev will lead his 250th League game, and CSKA`s mentor Igor Nikitin will mark his 700th match. The schedule also includes Torpedo against CSKA, Dinamo Minsk seeking revenge against Neftekhimik, and Avtomobilist battling HC Sochi on the Black Sea coast.
Can Amur Secure a Fourth Consecutive Victory? (Amur vs. Lada, 12:15 PM MSK)
Amur continues its three-game home series, while Lada plays the second of its three road matches. Recently, the Khabarovsk team clinched a spectacular 4-3 victory over Spartak, snatching the win in the final minute after losing a two-goal lead in the third period. With 14 points, Amur has temporarily moved up to seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The club also terminated the contract of defenseman Cameron Lee, who played eight matches this season. Lada arrived in Khabarovsk after a significant 1-6 defeat to Admiral in Vladivostok. The Togliatti team has ten points and holds the second-to-last spot in the Western Conference.
Team Leaders in the Last Five KHL Matches:
Amur:
- Matvei Zaseda: 3 points (3 goals + 0 assists)
- Ignat Korotkikh: 3 points (2 goals + 1 assist)
- Oleg Li: 3 points (2 goals + 1 assist)
Amur defenseman Viktor Baldaev has a three-game point streak (0+3). Goaltender Maxim Dorozhko is among the top-5 in the regular season for shutouts (two out of 13 games played).
Lada:
- Andrei Altybarmakyan: 5 points (3 goals + 2 assists)
- Nikita Mikhailov V.: 4 points (3 goals + 1 assist)
- Riley Savchuk: 3 points (2 goals + 1 assist)
Forward Andrei Altybarmakyan leads Lada in points over the last five games (3+2). Defenseman Vladislav Syomin is a league leader in hits (61 in 15 games).
Head-to-Head History:
Amur has won 14 of 22 head-to-head matches against Lada in KHL history.
Recent head-to-head results:
- Amur 3 – 5 Lada
- Amur 2 – 0 Lada
- Amur 3 – 0 Lada
- Lada 3 – 4 Amur
- Lada 2 – 3 Amur
- Lada 0 – 1 Amur
Will Admiral Win in Tambiev`s Milestone Match? (Admiral vs. Spartak, 12:30 PM MSK)
This upcoming game will be the 250th in Admiral head coach Leonid Tambiev`s KHL career. Symbolically, Admiral could also achieve its 300th victory in club history in this match. Meanwhile, for Spartak head coach Alexey Zhamnov, the next win will be his 100th in the League. Spartak is concluding its Far East road trip after a 3-4 defeat to Amur in Khabarovsk, which was their second loss in the last five games. With 17 points, the visitors are comfortably in the Western Conference playoff zone. Admiral boasts a three-game winning streak, including away victories against HC Sochi (5-4) and Lada (2-1 OT), followed by a dominant 6-1 home win against Lada. With 14 points, the “Sailors” continue their fight for a playoff spot in the East. Earlier, the Far Eastern club placed forward Ostap Safin on waivers.
Team Leaders in the Last Five KHL Matches:
Admiral:
- Daniil Gutik: 6 points (3 goals + 3 assists)
- Stepan Starkov: 6 points (2 goals + 4 assists)
- Semyon Koshelev: 5 points (1 goal + 4 assists)
Admiral forwards Semyon Koshelev (1+4) and defenseman Georgy Solyannikov (0+3) both have three-game point streaks. Goaltender Adam Húska is among the top-5 in the regular season for shutouts (two out of 12 games played this season).
Spartak:
- Nathan Todd: 5 points (2 goals + 3 assists)
- Adam Ruzicka: 5 points (1 goal + 4 assists)
- Pavel Poryadin: 4 points (2 goals + 2 assists)
Spartak forwards Adam Ruzicka (1+3) and Nathan Todd (2+2) have recorded points in three consecutive games. Red-and-white forward Nikita Korostelyov is among the top five snipers in the regular season with nine goals in 15 matches.
Head-to-Head History:
Spartak has won 12 of 20 head-to-head matches against Admiral in League history.
Recent head-to-head results:
- Admiral 4 – 3 Spartak
- Admiral 3 – 4 Spartak
- Admiral 1 – 2 Spartak
- Spartak 6 – 1 Admiral
- Spartak 2 – 6 Admiral
- Spartak 2 – 1 Admiral
Will CSKA Win for the Fifth Consecutive Time in Nizhny Novgorod? (Torpedo vs. CSKA, 7:00 PM MSK)
The game in Nizhny Novgorod will be the 700th in the KHL for CSKA head coach Igor Nikitin. His return to the army club has proven quite challenging – the team is currently outside the playoff zone, in an uncharacteristic ninth place in the Western Conference, with three consecutive losses. Two days prior, the Red-and-Blues lost 1-4 in Yaroslavl to Nikitin`s former team, Lokomotiv, with whom he won the Gagarin Cup last season. For Torpedo, this upcoming match marks the first of two home games in a short series. The “Autofactory men” are also going through a difficult period, with four losses in their last five games, including a crushing 1-7 away defeat to Dinamo Minsk. However, a cushion of 19 points currently allows the hosts to remain in the leading group in the Western Conference.
Team Leaders in the Last Five KHL Matches:
(Information regarding the leaders of Torpedo and CSKA in the last five KHL matches is not provided in the original text.)
Head-to-Head History:
(Information regarding the head-to-head history of Torpedo and CSKA is not provided in the original text.)