Severstal is back at full strength as this game brings to the close.

Two minutes left in the third period.

Yury Petrov keeps possession behind Severstal's net despite having a man on the back and after a couple of passes back and forth on the left side, they get a shot, but it's caught by Stepanek.

Lokomotiv still goes down the ice, but this time the shot is blocked into the netting and we'll have a faceoff deep in the zone.

Today's attendance in the Arena 2000 is 9000.

Icing Lokomotiv.

A defensive miscommunication in the Severtal's zone, but Lokomotiv didn't take advantage of it as they regroup quickly but still face Lokomotiv's possession.

Vadim Berdnikov receives a short pass on the right side outside the circle and sends a puck to the middle, but doesn't find no one so it goes out of the zone.

Severstal get some courage now and get rid of the pressure as Pakhrudin Gimbatov drives to the net and gets a shot. Easy save for Kolesnik.

Severstal back at full strength.

Bogdan Kiselevich tries to beat fantastic Kolesnik with a shot from between the right circle and the boards, Kolesnik has no problems snapping that one.

With a minute gone by, Lokomotiv haven't been able to get anything on the powerplay despite trying and getting the puck into the zone.

Vadim Khlopotov drives to the net over the left, but going behind the goal line first and then gets tripped before getting the chance to shoot.

Severstal is back at full strength.

With :30 left on the penalty and time working on Lokomotiv's side, Severstal will have to go for all or nothing to get anything out of this game, at least a goal.

Jakub Stepanek makes an easy glove save as Sergei Plotnikov shoots from the right post aiming for the upper right corner.

Linus Videll drives to the net shorthanded and gets a shot on Kolesnik from just outside the crease, but can't find the way through and finally get his team on board.

Plotnikov drives the puck to the net on the right and circles trying to find a feed in the slot from the left circle, but gets intercepted, though Lokomotiv manage to keep possession in the zone.

Severstal is back at full strength.

An interesting opportunity on the other side, but Lokomotiv can't find the way to the net, taking a shot from the right post.

Severstal continue to rule the game in the opening minutes of the third period firing a couple of shots on Kolesnik, but nothing he couldn't save or deflect.

Lokomotiv back at full strength.

Kolesnik gets another save deflecting the puck after Caslava found a feed in the slot, but Severstal still can't find the way past the goalie.

Kolesnik makes a huge save on a one-timed slapper from the middle on the blue by Severstal, and still remains at 100% saves.

The final minute of the second period.

Lokomotiv back at full strength.

Severstal back at full strength.

Severstal dump the puck from the right, Kolesnik leaves the net to play the puck but doesn't find support so he gets attacked but manages to retrieve back into the crease on time.

Pavel Dedunov gets another shot on Kolesnik, but is deflected by the defense and the puck goes to the protective net for the faceoff inside the zone.

A breakaway chance for Evgeny Kovyrshin who takes the puck over the left wing and drives to the net firing a shot to the near post against Kolesnik, but he is focused and makes the save.

Lokomotiv takes the puck to the zone, but Severstal's defense is pretty tight right now not allowing anything go past. And we have an icing against Lokomotiv.

Lokomotiv back at full strenght.

Sergei Plotnikov is down on the ice and leaves it alone but in evindent pain after a clash with Yevseyenkov. A brawl on the boards after but the referees bring everything to order. No penalties.

Severstal get into the zone as Ignat Zemchenko circles the net from right to left and feeds to the slot, but they don't get a good grip on it and lose possession in the zone.

Lokomotiv is back at full strength leaving Severstal at 0/3 on the powerplay.

Severstal build up in the zone looking for a gap to put the puck on Kolesnik, who has to intervene on a few occasions, but moslty the penalty killing squad deals with it.

Now Severstal try to jeopardize Kolesnik on the attack led by Vladimir Antipov, but Kolesnik stones him cold and makes a great glove save to keep his net intact.

Yakovlev executes a hard shot from the blue, Stepanek makes the glove save and then we have some pushing and shoving, but nothing serious.

Severstal will play with a aman down for another two and a half minutes as Lokomotiv gets on the attack.

One minute to go in the first period.

The game is mainly coast-to-coast with occasional shots that get lost in the way through the scramble, or easily deflected.

Lokomotiv try to shoot from the right blueline, but it turns out no to be so dangerous as the puck misses the far post wide.

Vitaly Kolesnik makes some crucial saves denying Severstal from all spots and covering all the gaps.

Nothing significant lately going on as both teams calm the game down a bit, though Lokomotiv started attacking again.

Severstal is back at full strength.

A great feed to the middle by Lokomotiv as they take the attack on the left side and pass to the slot from outside of the left circle, but the shot is wide.

Severstal go on the attack after regrouping from behind their net and all of their players got a touch on the puck in the end to find Gennady Stolyarov entering the zone with it from the right and taking a shot to the near post, but Kolesnik deflects aside.

Lokomotiv gets back at full strenght, as Severstal couldn't do anything on the powerplay.

A very interesting game so far with lots of action on both sides, but also a lot of penalties. If they can keep up the tempo, we'll have an extremely interesting match ahead.

5-on-4 for Lokomotiv as Kalashnikov gets back on the ice.

With a minute gone by in the powerplay, Lokomotiv haven't been able to generate anything on the offense as Severstal clear the pucks.

With a delayed penalty Lokomotiv keeps the pressure up on Severstal with two very dangerous shots, but Stepanek deflects both from the left side.

Lokomotiv is back at full strenght.

After having cleared the puck twice, Nikolai Kazakovtsev gets the puck into the zone on the right, circles the net and gets a feed to the middle, but Kolesnik makes the first save on the one timer.

Severstal can't organize well in the zone to get a shot on net on the powerplay as Lokomotiv's second line clears the puck away.

We're under way in Yaroslavl as Lokomotiv win the opening faceoff but can't take the first puck all the way into the net.

Starting lineups:

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Kolesnik (Sanford) – Plotnikov, Konkov, Apalkov, Yakovlev, Gorokhov – Holos, Redlihs, Kronwall, Musatov, Kapustin – Vishnevsky, But, Chernikov, Petrov, Pashnin – Khlopotov, Lyubushkin, Zotov, Galimov, Korenev

Severstal Cherepovets: Stepanek (Grigoryev) – Berdnikov, Andersen, Videll, Kiselevich, Nikontsev – Antipov, Caslava, Kalashnikov, Medvedev, Stolyarov – Stasenko, Kazakovtsev, Yevseyenkov, Kovyrshin, Buchnevich – Zemchenko, Gimbatov, Chernov, Popov, Dedunov

Referees: Akuzovsky, Sergeyev – Streltsov, Tarasov.

Don't miss the game at 14:00 CET, 17:00 MSK, 08:00 EDT.

As both teams are in desperate need of points, the game should be very interesting. It might not be the best of the best, taking into consideration two low-positioned teams play, but it will be a battle for every inch of the ice as they both need wins to keep their playoff battle alive.

Severstal Cherepovets:
Severstal will be looking to end their 3-game losing series today in Yaroslavl. Currently, they're only two spots away in the standings from their today's opponent having a 8-7-10 negative streak and 33 points, so a point away as well.

They score more than their opponents, but also concede far more goals.

They've seen most of their goals come through Nikolai Bushuyev (8+7) and Linus Videll (5+10), both with 15 points. Vadim Berdnikov follows with 12 points (7+5).

Defense-wise, Bogdan Kiselevich generates most with 6 points (1+5) and is followed by Alexander Yevseyenkov (1+4) with 5. Teemu Laakso scored twice and added as many assists for a total of 4 points.

Their top goalie is, without a doubt, Jakub Stepanek sitting at 92.8 SVS% and allowing 2.24 goals on average while snapping up 1395:50 minutes on the ice.

Last games:
Severstal – CSKA 2-3 SO
Severstal – Dinamo Riga 0-1
Atlant – Severstal 3-2 SO.

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl:
Lokomotiv currently lie in the 10th position of the Western Conference with the record of 8-7-10 and 34 points.

Their most prodcutive forwards include Sergei Plotnikov with 14 points (4+10), Daniil Apalkov with 11 points (6+5) and Yegor Averin with 10 (5+5).

On the defense Alexei Vasilyev scored 5 goals and added an assist, while he is followed by Jonas Holos (2+4) and Staffan Kronwall (1+5) both with 6 points.

With 926:44 time spent between the pipes, Kurtis Sanford is the goalie his coach believes in most. He is currently at 94 SVS% and 1.81 GAA, and is most likely to start today. However their second goalie, Vitaly Kolesnik could also get time in net today (94.4 SVS%, 1.54 GAA).

Last games:
Lokomotiv – Dinamo Riga 1-2
Lokomotiv – CSKA 1-3
Lokomotiv – SKA 2-0.

Warm welcome everyone in today's KHL match-up featuring Lokomotiv Yaroslav and Severstal Cherepovets.

Welcome. Game starts at 14:00.