Thornberg shoots, pad save Vasilevsky.

Offside Lev. They're trying to organise a rush into the zone with possession instead of dumping it in, and they're having a hard time doing so.

Lev has to start back from their own zone.

Icing Ufa, who are doing all they can to keep Lev from setting up shop in their zone.

Repik shoots rushing from the right wing just wide.

Thornberg with a low wrister from far out, stick save Vasilevsky.

Icing Ufa.

Ufa kills off the penalty without giving up a shot, and now Lev is called for offside.

The puck is deflected into the Lev bench with 1:06 left in the penalty. Faceoff outside the Lev blue line.

Lev shoot-in goes on goal and, under pressure, Vasilevsky covers it.

Brent Sopel plays the puck with a high stick in his own zone, faceoff inside.

Lev rush into the zone, Petr Taticek shoots from the left wing but Vasilevsky makes the glove save. Crowd really into it now. We could be in for quite a finish.

Lev back at full strength and the fans give the team a standing ovation for the kill. You can really feel the momentum of this game has shifted.

Icing Ufa. This fans alive now after that goal. This matinee crowd has been sleepy most of the game.

Lev goes offside again trying to make a passing play at the blueline.

Offside Lev.

Now Vasilevsky covers the puck for a faceoff.

The penalty is now over and Vasilevsky covers the puck in the Ufa zone.

Zubarov the slapper from the point hits Calle Ridderwall in the ankle, and he surely feels that one but play continues and he seems ok. Then Lev ices.

Huge hit by Ryan O'Byrne on Teemu Hartikainen along the boards at the blueline--the linesman even had to be quick to avoid that one.

Offside Lev, as Birner was across the blueline just a bit early to receive the pass. Faceoff back at the Lev blueline.

Puck out of play in the Ufa zone, faceoff inside.

Lev unable to get a shot in the last quarter of that power play as Ufa iced twice.

One-timer from Jaakola goes just wide.

Offside Lev.

Klepis tries to centre for Thornberg, but he's wrapped up and can't get a shot away.

A Lev dump-in goes too high and into the netting above the glass. Faceoff at centre ice.

Now Denis Khlystov with a rising slapper on an Ufa rush, shoulder save Vehanen.

Now just after the penalty ends a pass to Repik but his quick shot misses and hits the glass.

Topi Jaakola shoots a rolling puck from the point that Vasilevsky blocks in the butterfly.

Back into the Lev zone, a loose puck in the slot but Vasilevsky gets a glove on it. :46 left in the penalty.

Penalty half over, Ufa ices.

Offside Lev, 1:37 left in the power play.

Another shot from Sevc, this one from the point, hits Vasilevsky up high.

Now Anton Slepyshev's shot is blocked and Lev ices again.

Brent Sopel's point shot is blocked, then Arturs Kulda backhands the loose puck, pad save Vehanen and it's cleared.

Puck out of play in the Lev zone, faceoff inside.

Lev clearing attempt hits a player on the bench. Faceoff back inside the zone.

Hand pass by Ufa in the neutral zone, faceoff at centre ice.

Vehanen finally covers the puck for a stoppage.

Antti Pihlstrom shoots on an Ufa rush, stick save Vehanen.

Vrana passes to Repik, his shot on the rush just wide.

Puck goes over the glass in the Ufa zone, faceoff outside.

Icing Lev.

Vehanen catches the puck and holds for a stoppage in the Lev zone.

Now a Lev rush and a shot by Sekac, just whistles wide.

Makarov attempts a shot just as the penalty ends but there's too many bodies in front and it doesn't get through.

Ryan O'Byrne with a hard check in the defensive zone, as Lev doing a good job on the penalty kill.

Ufa blocking a of shots in the early going, this one on a drive by Nemec.

Ryan O'Byrne winds up for a slapper, blocked and Ufa starts back.

Then Ufa rushes up ice but a shot attempt is deflected out of play. Faceoff in the Lev zone.

Petr Vrana with a couple of attempts for Lev, first Vasilevsky makes a stick save, second one is blocked.

Offside Lev.

Ufa cycling down low in the Lev zone, captain Denis Khlystov shoots from a sharp angle and Petri Vehanen catches and holds onto the puck.

Puck played by a Lev high stick in the neutral zone. The faceoff is going back in the Lev zone.

Danielsson shoots from the point, it gets deflected out of play. Faceoff in the Ufa zone.

Finally Andrei Vasilevsky covers the puck and stops play.

Justin Azevedo with a long slapper from centre that goes off the end boards and out in front for Nicklas Danielsson, he shoots and then Azevedo again, Vasilevsky makes a pad save on both.

The national anthems of the Russian Federation and Czech Republic are complete, and the opening faceoff is moments away.

Lev Praha is wearing their home red uniforms with blue and white trim, white numerals, red NY Rangers-style pants, blue helmets. Salavat Yulaev Ufa is wearing white road uniforms with green and blue trim, green numerals, green pants, white helmets.

Starting Lineups:

Lev Praha: Vehanen (Lukáš) – Mikuš, Němec, Gragnani, Ševc, Jaakola, O'Byrne, Humphries – Birner, Vrána, Řepík – Ridderwall, Azevedo, Danielsson – Sekáč, Zackrisson, Thörnberg – Tatíček, Klepiš, Kubalík – Cingel.

Salavat Yulaev Ufa: Vasilevsky (Volkov) – Konev, Babchuk, Sopel, Kulda, Koltsov, Zubarev, Isangulov, Vishnevsky – Pankov, Glukhov, Stepanov – Dubrovsky, Makarov, Hartikainen – Pihlström, Kajgorodov, Mirnov – Slepyshev, Meresky, Khlystov.

Referees: Baluska, Cherenkov – Kuchava, Novikov.

Champions of the Gagarin Cup in 2011, Salavat Yulaev Ufa has been a perennial contender since the KHL´s inception. Last season they finished 5th in the Eastern Conference and ultimately pushed Ak Bars to a 7th game in the second round before bowing out. They beat Lev in Ufa on October 17 by a score of 4-2, but then the Lions evened the season series in Prague on December 21 with a 6-1 spanking, thanks to a 4-point night from Nicklas Danielsson in his KHL debut.

The two teams met at Tipsport Arena in August during the Prague Hockey Cup, in which Michal Birner scored the game´s lone goal and Atte Engren made 30 saves for the shutout. Through their first 14 games of the regular season, Salavat Yulaev has 24 points and sit 5th in the East, sandwiched between Sibir and Torpedo. Just as Lev is finishing a four-game home stand, Ufa is finishing up a four-game road trip on which they´ve collected 5 points so far -- on Friday night, they fell 2-1 in a shootout in Bratislava.

Ufa already has three goalies that have logged over 200 minutes in net this season: Alexei Volkov, Andrei Vasilevsky and Iiro Tarkki. It was Volkov who gave up just one goal in 65 minutes of hockey on Friday, and has the best numbers of the trio. The team´s defence is led by Kirill Koltsov with 8 points, with the most notable name on the unit being long-time NHLer Brent Sopel, who has 3 points. Up front, Dmitri Makarov leads the team overall with 14 points (all assists), followed by Teemu Hartikainen with 11 points and a team-leading 5 goals, Denis Khlystov with 10 points and Nikita Filatov with 9. They also have 19-year-old Anton Slepyshev, a 3rd-round draft pick of the Edmonton Oilers this past summer.

As for Lev, their scoring is a lot more spread out, with no players in double digits yet, but nine players with at least 6 points. The scoring parade is led by winger Jakub Klepiš and defenceman Martin Ševc with 9 each. Martin Thörnberg leads in goals with 6 and has 7 overall points, as do Niko Kapanen (playing his first game back on Friday after missing five) and Jiří Sekáč. One feature of Lev´s team is the number of players able to produce from the back end. This was evident in Friday´s 7-2 win over Traktor Chelyabinsk, in which four goals were scored by defencemen, including KHL firsts for Marc-André Gragnani and Spencer Humphries.

Welcome. Game starts at 13:00 CEST local time in Prague, 17:00 YEKT in Ufa, 09:00 EDT.