Sibir Novosibirsk vs SKA St. Petersburg Prediction 18 March 2026
🔊 Sibir have achieved their minimum goal by securing a spot among the top eight teams in the East. Their remaining two games hold no significant impact on their standings, giving them less than a week to fully recover and prepare for matches against the league's best team. Meanwhile, SKA are still uncertain about their final position and potential opponent for the first round of the playoffs. Can Igor Larionov's squad take advantage of an unmotivated opponent? We break down this KHL regular season matchup and offer a prediction for the game on March 18.
Head-to-Head
📊 Over the past three seasons, Sibir and SKA have faced off five times: the Novosibirsk side claimed victory in one match, while the St. Petersburg team emerged victorious in four. Notably, in Novosibirsk, the "Army Men from the Neva" have won 5 out of the last 6 head-to-head encounters, keeping a clean sheet in three of those games.
Head-to-head statistics Sibir Novosibirsk - SKA St. Petersburg
Sibir Novosibirsk Team Overview
Recently, Sibir secured a victory against CSKA (3-2), clinching a playoff spot with two games remaining in the regular season. The team from Novosibirsk can now mentally prepare for a showdown with the league's top team, Metallurg.
Under the guidance of Yaroslav Lyuzenkov, the team has picked up points in their last five home games, showcasing consistently solid defensive play (conceding an average of 1.4 goals per game). However, in other metrics, Sibir lag significantly behind their rivals-they have only managed 7 regulation-time wins at home (the worst record in the KHL) and scored just 80 goals (second-worst in the East).
Sibir's injury list includes forwards Ilya Talaluev and Pavel Tkachenko. Against CSKA, Timur Akhiyarov, one of the league's top shot blockers, returned to the lineup, replacing Andrey Churkin. Andrey Loktionov also played against the Moscow club, taking the spot of Ilya Fedotov.
Match Results: Sibir Novosibirsk
SKA St. Petersburg Team Overview
The St. Petersburg club saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with a 2-1 defeat against Traktor. The Western Conference remains wide open until the final match, as with two games left in the regular season, SKA could finish anywhere between fourth and eighth place.
Before the loss in Chelyabinsk, SKA's road winning streak was even more impressive, with six consecutive victories. Igor Larionov's team continues to showcase solid defensive play-since the start of February, they've conceded only 11 goals in eight away games, averaging 1.38 goals against per game.
Unlike their opponents, SKA have only defensemen on the injury list-Nikita Zaitsev and Trevor Murphy. Returning to the lineup is the team's top-scoring defenseman, Yegor Savikov, who missed the last three matches and has now replaced Ivan Vidrenkov in the squad.
Match Results: SKA St. Petersburg
⚡️ Leaders
As the regular season draws to a close, Anton Kosolapov has surged to the top of Sibir's scoring race. After tallying 1+2 against CSKA, he now has 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) for the season. Former leader Yegor Alanov is just behind with 35 points (4 goals, 31 assists).
In SKA's scoring race, Sergei Plotnikov (18 goals, 28 assists) and Nikolai Goldobin (15 goals, 31 assists) are tied for the lead. Meanwhile, Rocco Grimaldi extended his personal scoring streak to three games in Chelyabinsk, maintaining his spot among the team's top four scorers.
🥅 Goalies
In crucial games, Sibir's coaches have given opportunities to both goalies-Anton Krasotkin and Mikhail Berdin. Krasotkin boasts a save percentage of 96.1% across three partial March games, with a goals-against average of 1.20. Over the same period, Berdin has a save percentage of 91.6% with a GAA of 3.08.
SKA also features two equally capable and even more consistent goalies. Artemiy Pleshkov has saved at least 90% of shots in 10 of his last 11 games. In March, he allowed just three goals across four matches, achieving two shutouts. Sergey Ivanov also finished 10 out of 11 games with a save percentage over 90%.
Editor's Prediction
The head-to-head stats between Sibir and SKA heavily favor the St. Petersburg side. The "Army Men from Neva" have claimed victory in five of their last six encounters with Sibir and have also won five out of six away games in this matchup. Considering SKA's six-match away winning streak before their loss in Chelyabinsk, and their mission to climb into the top five as they head to Novosibirsk, a victory for SKA (including overtime and shootouts) seems like a reasonable prediction.
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