Entertaining Admiral

2 January 2019

2019 gets underway with two home games against Admiral. Martin St. Pierre is set to feature once again after his return to the club. After wrapping up 2018 with a victory at Traktor, Jussi Tapola and his players will be going all out to start the new year with a bang!

Jan. 3, Jan. 5 – Admiral

Last time out: Our first meeting this season ended in a 3-2 victory in Vladivostok in October, with a late winner from Brandon Yip securing the points.

Familiar faces: Defenseman Oskars Bartulis began last season with Admiral, making 32 appearances for 5 assists before switching to Salavat Yulaev.

Background: Admiral has not been particularly buoyant so far this season and the team sails into Shanghai placed last in the KHL. Our Far East neighbor has struggled on and off the ice this term, but the last few games showed signs of improvement. Two victories from five, plus a narrow overtime loss against SKA before the New Year Holiday, will doubtless give our visitor hope that 2019 can bring an improvement.

Key players: In recent games, Denis Vikharev has led the scoring, while the Streltsov twins, Alexander and Vasily, have maintained the partnership they forged at Lada last season. Veteran Sergei Konkov, a Gagarin Cup winner with Dynamo Moscow, adds some experience to the roster.