Lokomotiv vs Neftekhimik 10/20/2026

Neftekhimik will play game #17 of the season!

10/20/2026                  vs Lokomotiv                  ⏰ 7:00 pm              KHL WEB 

Neftekhimik will play its second of three road game. Neftekhimik lost its last game.

Lokomotiv will play its first of five home games. Lokomotiv won its last game.

Career Milestone:

Neftekhimik forward Andrei Belozyorov may score his 100th career assist (currently at 99).

Injuries:

Lokomotiv: Maxim Beryozkin, Denis Romantsev. 

Lokomotiv’s strength lies in its stability: the team has remained largely unchanged from one title to the next, with only minor, targeted adjustments.

Alexander Radulov. Still the driving force behind this team, even at age 40. In late September, the forward scored his 300th KHL goal, and last season, he became only the third player in league history to reach 800 career points. He is a three-time Gagarin Cup champion (2011 with Salavat Yulaev; 2025 and 2026 with Lokomotiv) and was named the 2025 playoff MVP. The Radulov–Surin duo has emerged as the primary threat during the opening weeks of the season.

Maxim Shalunov. The man behind two consecutive championship-clinching goals – it was his pucks that secured the Gagarin Cup for Lokomotiv in both the 2025 and 2026 finals. The veteran holds three Gagarin Cup titles, the first of which he won with CSKA in 2019.

Daniil Isayev. A championship-winning goaltender and two-time Gagarin Cup holder. During the team’s back-to-back title run, he backstopped Lokomotiv to victory in the sixth game of the 2025 final against Ak Bars, and this season, he has already recorded the 40th shutout of his career.

Familiar Faces
In this game, special attention focuses on two figures with roots in Tatarstan:
Defenseman Andrei Sergeyev. A product of the Neftekhimik youth system, he rose through the ranks – from the Reaktor junior team to winning two Gagarin Cups in Yaroslavl. He also spent time playing for his hometown club, Neftekhimik. In September, Sergeyev played his 900th KHL game, becoming only the third defenseman in the league's history to reach this milestone. He also ranks among the highest-scoring defensemen in KHL history – surpassed only by Kevin Dallman, Ilya Nikulin, and Kirill Koltsov.

Forward Arut Kayumov, a native of Bugulma, is now in his tenth season with the Yaroslavl club. This winter, he became Lokomotiv’s all–time leading KHL goalscorer (119 goals), surpassing Egor Averin; he currently sits among the team’s top three, alongside Berezkin and Shalunov.

What has changed at Lokomotiv?
The most significant change has taken place on the bench. Following Hartley’s departure, Dmitri Kvartalnov has taken the helm, returning to Yaroslavl after spending several years with Dinamo Minsk. Hartley has remained with the club in a consulting role. As for the roster, there have been no radical overhauls – a deliberate stance taken by the club. As one expert noted, Lokomotiv’s approach to its lineup remains consistent: the team focuses on targeted adjustments and strategic reinforcements – players with strong personalities who deliver results. You will not see mass player turnover here. In essence, this is "Yaroslavl in its purest form" – a team built primarily from its own youth academy.

Head–to–head history
You can find the full details in our customary infographic. Back in the early days of the KHL – specifically in 2009 – Neftekhimik faced Lokomotiv in the first round of the playoffs. On that occasion, Lokomotiv won the series 3–1.