NIZHNEKAMSK, Russia (Interstat) — Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk will host Avangard Omsk on Thursday in a Kontinental Hockey League game at SCC Arena in Neftekhim Arena.

Neftekhimik enters with an 8-5 record and will look to build on its most recent result, a 3-2 home win over Sibir Novosibirsk. Goaltender Filipp Dolganov is the player to watch for Neftekhimik. He made 32 saves on 34 shots in that victory. Dolganov also stopped 42 of 45 shots at Admiral Vladivostok, 30 of 33 against Lada Togliatti, 24 of 30 at Metallurg Magnitogorsk, 40 of 42 at Salavat Yulaev Ufa, and all 22 shots he faced at Sibir Novosibirsk.

Damir Zhafyarov had one goal and four shots on goal in the Sibir win, while Maxim S. Fedotov added one assist, three shots on goal and one hit. Neftekhimik’s recent schedule includes a 5-4 overtime home loss to Barys Astana, a 1-0 loss at Amur Khabarovsk and a 5-3 win at Admiral Vladivostok. The club has scored at a steady clip at home, including a 7-3 win over Lada Togliatti and a 3-1 win over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg.

Avangard is 5-6 and enters after a 4-0 loss at Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. Defenseman Lev Starikov is the player to watch for Avangard. He recorded four shots on goal and one hit in the loss. Starikov had two shots on goal and three hits against Lada Togliatti, one shot on goal against Metallurg Magnitogorsk, one assist at Spartak Moscow, and one hit in each of games at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and Traktor Chelyabinsk. He also had two penalty minutes and one hit at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, one shot on goal and one hit against Avtomobilist, two shots on goal and two penalty minutes against Metallurg, and one shot on goal against HC Sochi.

In Avangard’s most recent game, Joshua Leivo had five shots on goal, while Artyom Ilyenko had two shots on goal and one hit. Avangard’s recent results include a 4-1 home win over Lada Togliatti, a 5-1 home loss to Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a 2-1 overtime win at Spartak Moscow, and a 1-5 loss at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Avangard has also earned overtime wins at home against Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and Metallurg Magnitogorsk, plus a 4-1 home win over HC Sochi.

Neftekhimik and Avangard will meet again later in the season, but the focus is on the contest in Nizhnekamsk on Thursday. Neftekhimik has won three of its past four games, while Avangard has dropped three of its past four.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Neftekhimik 3, Avangard 1.