KHABAROVSK (Interstat) — Amur hosts Salavat Yulaev on Saturday in a Kontinental Hockey League game at Platinum Arena.

Amur enters with an 8-7 record and will try to protect home ice after a 2-1 loss to Spartak Moscow in its most recent game. Vitaly Abramov scored in that defeat and recorded four shots on goal and two penalty minutes. Artyom Shvaryov added an assist, and Yaroslav Likhachyov had three shots. Before that, Amur beat Lada Togliatti 1-0 and took two wins at Traktor Chelyabinsk, 2-0 and 2-1. Amur also earned a 3-0 win at Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg but dropped a 3-0 decision in the other meeting. At home, Amur has posted wins over Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and Dynamo Moscow while falling to CSKA Moscow and Severstal Cherepovets.

Salavat Yulaev is 8-8 and coming off a 4-2 home loss to Sibir Novosibirsk. Jack Rodewald scored, while Sheldon Rempal and Matthew Maggio each supplied an assist. Rempal finished with nine shots on goal in the loss, continuing a busy stretch. He scored twice against Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and had a goal and an assist in a win at Sibir Novosibirsk. He also had a goal and an assist at Dynamo Moscow and scored twice against Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Earlier in the season, Salavat Yulaev won at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and at Dynamo Moscow, but it also absorbed a 7-1 loss at Metallurg Magnitogorsk and a 3-1 loss at CSKA Moscow.

Rempal is the Salavat Yulaev player to watch. His recent run includes multiple shots-heavy games and points in several contests, giving the visitors a scoring threat on the road. He has also recorded five shots against Sibir Novosibirsk, four shots at HC Sochi, one shot and two penalty minutes at Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, and two goals with three shots against Metallurg Magnitogorsk. He added three shots and two penalty minutes at Metallurg Magnitogorsk, four shots against Sibir Novosibirsk, and two shots at CSKA Moscow. Abramov is Amur’s player to watch. He has scored in recent play, including a goal against Spartak Moscow, and has generated shots in games against Lada Togliatti, Traktor Chelyabinsk, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk and Dynamo Moscow. He had three shots against Lada Togliatti, three shots and a hit at Traktor Chelyabinsk, and four shots at Traktor Chelyabinsk. Abramov also picked up an assist at Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and against Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk.

Amur will host Barys Astana next before welcoming Admiral Vladivostok. Salavat Yulaev is scheduled to visit Admiral Vladivostok and Metallurg Magnitogorsk before returning home to face Ak Bars Kazan and HC Sochi.

Interstat’s game simulator projects Amur 3, Salavat Yulaev 2. The over/under for the game is 4.5.