KHL Odds and Picks (Oct. 18): Avtomobilist Will Cruise to Fourth Straight Win Over Severstal

• Avtomobilist is looking to beat Severstal for the seventh time in eight games
• CSKA and Dynamo are primed for another low-scoring battle
• See the odds and best bets for the KHL’s four-game slate on October 18 below

Pavel Datsyuk and Avtomobilist are going for a fourth straight win when they take on Severstal on Sunday, Oct. 18. Yekaterinburg has dominated this matchup historically and are listed as -265 favorites.

Elsewhere, CSKA And Dynamo clash in a battle of two strong defensive clubs. There’s one key trend to keep in mind for this matchup.

See the odds and betting analysis below.

KHL Odds: Sunday, October 18

Odds from October 17

Avtomobilist Continues Dominance Over Severstal

The powerhouse Yekaterinburg have had their way with Severstal over recent years, winning six of the last seven meetings. There’s even more reason to think that trend will continue on Sunday when you look at how both teams have performed this season.

Avtomobilist ranks first in the East Division with 37 points this season, while Severstal is sitting seventh in the West Division with just 19 points. There’s a clear mismatch in skill between these two teams, and Avtomobilist will take full advantage. They’ve won four of their last five games and boast arguably the best player in the league in Pavel Datsyuk.

Pavel @Datsyuk13's backhanders are ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/XJZCAz7Aei

— KHL (@khl_eng) October 11, 2020

Not only does Avtomobilist have one of the top scorers in the league, but they also have one of the best goaltenders in Jakub Kovar. He’s stopped 439 of 471 shots for a solid .932 save percentage in 15 starts this season. Don’t expect him to get tested much against a struggling Severstal offense that is averaging just two goals per game.

Avtomobilist should win this one with ease when you consider they lead all KHL teams in goal-scoring by a wide margin. They’re almost scoring four goals per game, which will be an issue for a Severstal defense that allowed four goals to Traktor in their last game. Even if Datsyuk were to have a rare down game, Avtomobilist has plenty of other weapons in Alexei Makeyev, Peter Holland and Dan Sexton, who can pick up the slack.

Pick: Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg -1.5 (+115)

CSKA And Dynamo Play Another Low-Scoring Affair 

There’s never much scoring when CSKA and Dynamo clash in the KHL. The under has hit in all five head-to-head meetings between the two clubs, primarily due to strong defense and goaltending. Both teams are once again strong defensively this season, with CSKA allowing only two goals per game and Dynamo allowing 2.5 goals per game.

CKSA has been the best team in the West Division this season, but Dynamo only trails them by nine points with two games in hand. They showed their offensive potential in their last outing, beating SKA 4-3 thanks to big games from Vadim Shipachyov and Dmitrij Jaskin.

Шипачев is back pic.twitter.com/b0F85LtQP7

— HC Dynamo Moscow (@dynamo_ru) October 12, 2020

Despite Shipachyov and Jaskin playing well, we’ve seen this Dynamo offense struggle when matched up with good defensive squads. They were shutout by Jokerit earlier in the season and were beat 2-0 by CSKA in the last meeting. CSKA has a well-balanced blueline and a great goaltender in Alexander Sharychenkov, who owns a .920 save percentage and 1.92 GAA in 14 starts.

We’ve seen Dynamo hold this dangerous CSKA offense to two or fewer goals in all but one meeting since 2019. They play a defensive style that matches up well against CSKA’s talented offense. Expect the ‘under’ trend to continue in this latest matchup.

Pick: Under 5 (-110)