UFA (Interstat) — Salavat Yulaev Ufa will host Sibir Novosibirsk on Wednesday in a Kontinental Hockey League game at Ufa Arena in Ufa, Russia. Salavat Yulaev enters with an 8-7 record, while Sibir is 5-10.

Salavat Yulaev most recently defeated Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4-3 at home. Sheldon Rempal scored twice in the win, Semyon Vyazovoi made 24 saves on 27 shots, and Vladislav Yefremov recorded a goal and an assist. Rempal has been a consistent threat in recent games. He had a goal and an assist in Salavat Yulaev’s 5-4 overtime win at Sibir earlier this season, and he also recorded five shots on goal in the teams’ other meeting. In other recent games, Rempal scored twice against Metallurg Magnitogorsk and had a goal and an assist at Dynamo Moscow. He also recorded four shots at HC Sochi, three shots at Metallurg Magnitogorsk and two shots at CSKA Moscow.

Sibir most recently won 3-2 at Barys Astana. Mikhail Berdin stopped 37 of 39 shots, Stepan Nikulin had a goal and two assists, and Taylor Beck added a goal and an assist. Berdin has been busy throughout Sibir’s recent schedule. He made 34 saves on 36 shots in a 4-2 road win at Salavat Yulaev earlier this season. He also stopped 31 of 34 shots at Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, 32 of 34 against Ak Bars Kazan, and 24 of 25 at HC Sochi. Over those five starts, Berdin faced 168 shots and made 158 saves.

The teams have already met twice this season. Salavat Yulaev won the most recent meeting 5-4 in overtime at Sibir. Sibir won the previous matchup 4-2 at Ufa Arena. Each team has won on the road in the season series.

Sibir has had a difficult start, with recent results including a 2-1 win at Traktor Chelyabinsk, a 5-4 overtime loss to Salavat Yulaev, a 3-2 loss at Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, and a 4-2 win at Salavat Yulaev. The club has also dropped games to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, Ak Bars Kazan, Dinamo Minsk, and Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

Salavat Yulaev’s recent stretch includes a 7-1 loss at Metallurg Magnitogorsk, a 3-1 loss at CSKA Moscow, a 6-3 loss at HC Sochi, a 3-0 win at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, and a 3-1 win at Dynamo Moscow. The club also beat Spartak Moscow 3-1 and Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2-0 at home earlier in the season.

Both teams will continue their schedules after this game. Salavat Yulaev is set to visit Amur Khabarovsk, Admiral Vladivostok, and Metallurg Magnitogorsk in upcoming road games. Sibir is scheduled to host Barys Astana before road games at Dynamo Moscow, SKA Saint Petersburg, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, and Traktor Chelyabinsk.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Salavat Yulaev 3, Sibir 1.