The KHL regular season continues this Saturday as Amur Khabarovsk welcomes Barys Astana to the Platinum Arena for a 12:30 PM faceoff. Both clubs occupy the bottom two positions in the Eastern Conference standings, with playoff hopes long extinguished as the 2024-2025 campaign winds down.
With no postseason implications on the line, both squads have shifted focus toward developing younger talent, experimenting with new line combinations, and maintaining competitive form despite their challenging seasons.
Amur enters the contest as substantial favorites according to oddsmakers, who have priced a regulation win for the home side at 1.62. Despite their overall struggles this season, Coach Victor Kostyuchenko's Tigers have shown improved offensive output in recent weeks, matching Lada Togliatti's goal production after a difficult stretch.
The Khabarovsk club has maintained consistent scoring form since early January, finding the net at least once in every game since their 5-0 shutout loss to Kunlun Red Star on January 7th. However, this modest improvement has done little to ease fan frustrations during what has been a disappointing campaign.
Barys supporters, meanwhile, were treated to a rare moment of celebration on Thursday when their team orchestrated a remarkable comeback against Admiral Vladivostok. Trailing 4-1 after two periods, Galym Mambetaliev's squad capitalized on two power play opportunities in the final frame to force overtime before eventually securing victory in the shootout.
According to Statbet analytics, Barys has consistently struggled against Amur this season, dropping all seven previous meetings—six in regulation and one in overtime—making this statistical matchup particularly one-sided in the Eastern Conference.
One bright spot for Barys has been the play of 20-year-old goalkeeper Artem Shestakov, who stopped 43 shots in the Admiral comeback. The young netminder continues to develop rapidly, showing promise not only for his club but potentially for national team consideration in the future.
With Barys rarely stringing together consecutive victories this season and their historical struggles against Amur, Saturday's contest presents another significant challenge for the Astana club as they look to build on their recent dramatic comeback.
