CHEREPOVETS, Russia (Interstat) — Sochi will visit Severstal Cherepovets on Saturday in a Kontinental Hockey League game at Ice Palace. Sochi enters with a 1-6 record, while Severstal Cherepovets is 3-5. Sochi has lost six of its first seven games. Severstal Cherepovets has won two of its last three.

Sochi is coming off a 3-0 loss at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Artur Gizdatullin had two shots on goal and two hits in that game. Alexander Khokhlachyov added three shots and two hits, and Dmitry Ovchinnikov recorded two shots. Gizdatullin has recorded shots or hits in each of his recent games. He had four shots and two hits in a win over Ak Bars Kazan, one shot and four hits against Sibir Novosibirsk, and two hits against CSKA Moscow. He also had one shot and two hits against SKA Saint Petersburg, two shots and one hit at Avangard Omsk, and two shots and three hits at Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Sochi’s lone win came against Ak Bars Kazan by a 3-2 score. The team has also lost to Sibir Novosibirsk, CSKA Moscow, SKA Saint Petersburg, Avangard Omsk, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Sochi lost 5-1 to Sibir Novosibirsk, 4-0 to CSKA Moscow, 1-0 to SKA Saint Petersburg, 4-1 at Avangard Omsk and 5-1 at Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

Severstal Cherepovets is coming off a 5-2 home win over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. Denis Yan led the way with two goals, one assist, four shots on goal and one hit. Nikita A. Popugayev also had two goals, one assist, three shots and one hit, while Alexander Samoilov made 30 saves on 32 shots. Yan has scored in several recent games. He had one goal and three shots in a win at Amur Khabarovsk, one goal and one shot at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, and one goal and four shots against Salavat Yulaev Ufa. He also recorded two shots at Admiral Vladivostok, two shots at Spartak Moscow and two shots against Lada Togliatti. Severstal’s recent schedule includes wins over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, Amur Khabarovsk and Lada Togliatti, along with losses to Admiral Vladivostok, Dynamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and Salavat Yulaev Ufa. Severstal lost 2-0 to Dynamo Moscow, 8-0 at Spartak Moscow, 2-1 in overtime at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and 3-2 to Salavat Yulaev Ufa, while defeating Lada Togliatti 1-0.

Sochi is scheduled to face Shanghai Dragons, Salavat Yulaev Ufa, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Spartak Moscow in upcoming games. Severstal is set to meet Admiral Vladivostok, Shanghai Dragons, SKA Saint Petersburg and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Severstal 2, Sochi 1.