TOLYATTI (Interstat) — Avangard will visit Lada in a Kontinental Hockey League game Friday at Lada Arena, with the visitors carrying a significant edge in form and standings. Avangard is 10-8 this season, while Lada is 2-18.

Avangard enters after a 4-0 win at Ak Bars. Michael McLeod scored twice, Marsel Ibragimov recorded two assists and goaltender Nikita Serebryakov stopped all 24 shots he faced. Serebryakov is the player to watch for Avangard. He has been sharp in several recent appearances, including a 42-save performance in a 1-0 win at Neftekhimik, a 30-save effort in a 2-1 win against Traktor and a 24-save shutout at Ak Bars. He also made 34 saves on 37 shots in a 4-0 loss at Avtomobilist, 21 saves on 25 shots in a 5-1 loss at Barys and 17 saves on 20 shots in a 3-2 loss to Neftekhimik.

Lada enters after a 3-1 home loss to Admiral. Ben King scored in that game and put six shots on goal. King is the player to watch for Lada. He also had an assist against Sochi, recorded three shots on goal in a 2-0 loss to Shanghai and posted two hits in a 2-1 shootout loss to Dynamo Moscow. He also logged three shots on goal in a 1-0 win against SKA Saint Petersburg and one hit in a 1-0 loss at Amur. Vyacheslav Osnovin added an assist against Admiral, and Ivan Savchik recorded three shots on goal in the same game.

Avangard won the most recent head-to-head meeting 4-1. Avangard’s recent results also include a 3-2 overtime win at Dynamo, a 2-1 shootout win against Traktor, a 4-2 home win against Avtomobilist and a 3-2 loss to Neftekhimik. Lada has dropped several close games, including a 2-1 shootout loss to Dynamo, a 4-3 overtime loss at Admiral, a 4-3 loss to Sochi and a 1-0 loss at Amur. Lada’s recent victory was a 1-0 home win against SKA Saint Petersburg.

After this game, Avangard is scheduled to visit Sochi and then return home for games against CSKA and Sibir. Lada is scheduled to visit Lokomotiv and Salavat Yulaev before returning home to face Lokomotiv. Avangard’s upcoming schedule also includes games against Metallurg M, Neftekhimik, Admiral, Barys and Ak Bars. Lada’s upcoming schedule also includes games against Severstal, Sochi, Torpedo, Metallurg M, Shanghai and Traktor.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Avangard 2, Lada 0. Interstat’s ELO system gives Avangard an 84.7 percent probability to win. The over/under for the game is 4.5.