SKA Face Back-to-Back Games in KHL Schedule Crunch
SKA play their second match in two days after facing Spartak in Moscow, sparking fan complaints about the KHL's congested early-season calendar versus rivals like Avangard.
SKA's trip to Moscow lands as their second match in as many days, having played in St Petersburg the previous evening. The turnaround has drawn complaints over how the KHL calendar was drawn up this early in the campaign, with the same thread noting that Avangard, by contrast, have two home games and then four days before their next fixture — ahead of a seven-match away trip.
Lokomotiv arrive at their game with Severstal as reigning champions who opened the season with a 5-1 win over Traktor, 18-year-old Matvey Kotkov scoring first. Their form since has been mixed: a 0-1 defeat to Dinamo in the Moscow derby stood after Russia's Expert Refereeing Commission upheld the penalty award against them.
A congested schedule this early in the season, if it persists, could tell on SKA's legs before the travel eases later in the campaign.
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