February 26, 19:00, Riga, HS Riga Ice Arena.
After a six-game homestand, Oleg Tymchenko’s side will wrap up the regular season with five away matches.
The first of them takes place today against HS Riga. Kyiv has defeated this opponent three times during the season (7:2, 4:2, 4:1), but their 3:1 loss in the most recent head-to-head meeting is still fresh in the memory.
Accordingly, the motivation to earn two points tonight is driven by both the standings and principle.
At the moment, Juris Ozols’ team sits in seventh place with 20 points. However, the gap to sixth position – which grants the right to compete in the play-in round – is 12 points.
The Estonian side Panter significantly improved their play-in chances by defeating the Riga team twice in five days, both times by a 4:1 scoreline.
As for the top scorers in head-to-head matchups, Kristers Obuks has recorded three points (1+2) for the Riga side, while Martins Karsums has collected eight points (2+6) for the Capitals.
Karsums has also regained the scoring lead for Kyiv with 43 points (16+27). For HS Riga, Obuks is likewise the team’s top scorer with 23 points (9+14).
So we expect an exciting performance from both the captains and the teams overall.
