YAROSLAVL (Interstat) — Dinamo Minsk will visit Lokomotiv in a Kontinental Hockey League game Saturday at Arena 2000 in Yaroslavl, Russia. Dinamo Minsk enters at 4-8. Lokomotiv is 10-3 and one of the league’s early pace-setters.

Lokomotiv will look to protect home ice behind goaltender Daniil Isayev. Isayev has six wins in his last nine appearances and is coming off an 18-save shutout at Ak Bars Kazan. He made 17 saves in a loss at Dinamo Minsk in the teams’ most recent meeting, a 4-3 Dinamo Minsk win. Isayev has also posted 24 saves on 25 shots against Avangard Omsk and 33 saves on 35 shots at CSKA Moscow during the young season.

Dinamo Minsk counters with forward Sergei S. Kuznetsov, who has been one of its most consistent offensive threats. Kuznetsov has three goals and two assists over his last 10 games. He scored and put four shots on goal in the team’s most recent game, a shootout loss to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Kuznetsov also had a goal and an assist in a win over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and recorded an assist in the previous matchup against Lokomotiv.

The visitors have had a difficult start, losing eight of 12 games. Dinamo Minsk’s latest result was a 2-1 shootout loss to Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod. Ilya Usov and Rhett Gardner were among the team’s more active players in that game, combining for four shots on goal and six hits. Dinamo Minsk has shown some fight at times, including a 5-4 win over Lada Togliatti and a 5-3 win over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, but consistency has been an issue.

Lokomotiv has won 10 of 13 games and is coming off a 2-0 win at Ak Bars Kazan. Artyom V. Kuzin and Nikita V. Kiryanov each scored in that victory, while Isayev stopped all 18 shots he faced. Lokomotiv has allowed two goals or fewer in several recent wins, including a 3-1 home win over Sibir Novosibirsk and a 2-1 win at Admiral Vladivostok. The home side has also beaten CSKA Moscow and Avangard Omsk this season.

Arena 2000 will host the matchup, with Dinamo Minsk seeking its second win over Lokomotiv in less than two weeks. The teams met recently, and Dinamo Minsk came away with a 4-3 victory. Lokomotiv will aim to avenge that result and continue its strong start. Dinamo Minsk will try to build momentum before a busy stretch of games.

Both teams will return to league play after recent results. Interstat’s game simulator is projecting a final score of Lokomotiv 5, Dinamo Minsk 1.