Playing on equal terms

On February 13, Admirals meet Automobilists. This season the teams always played on equal terms: each of the three games ended with a minimal score difference, but the Sailors couldn't win. However, Admirals still managed to earn points, losing the home game by shootout - 3:4 SO.
By their fourth game, the opponents are separated by 14 points. Automobilists have 70 points and rank fourth in the East standings. The gap with the leaders – Traktor – is six points, but the players from Yekaterinburg have three games in reserve. Primorye team has 56 points and ranks eighth. The game in Vladivostok will be Automobilists’ first match after the pause in the championship for All-Stars. In the last game before the pause, the Drivers’ 12-game winning streak was interrupted by Ak Bars (1:4).

Leaders

Automobilists forward Stephane Da Costa has scored points in ten consecutive games (3+8). The next goal will be the 200th in KHL for French player, who is the second on the list of the best playmakers in the league now (36 assists in 52 games). Defensemen Nikita Tryamkin and Kirill Vorobyov close the top-4 players for blocked shots (121 and 119 respectively). The next victory will be the 50th in KHL for Yekaterinburg goalie Vladimir Galkin.

The next point for Admirals forward Shane Prince will be the 200th in KHL. The Sailors’ top scorer Daniil Gutik is still one of the best players for the number of takeaways. The forward is on a par with Vladimir Tkachyov for the most points for Admirals (39). If Gutik scores six more points, he will break the scoring record in a single regular season set by Nicklas Bergfors 10 years ago.

Stepan Starkov has scored points in the last three games (1+2), while Yegor Petukhov has four points in the last four matches (2+2).

Upcoming match

The game between Admirals and Automobilists will be the opponents’ 29th in KHL history. The Sailors have six victories on their account. The last time Primorsky team won a game against the Drivers two years ago: the match in Vladivostok ended with a score of 3:1.