KHL Odds and Picks (Oct. 20): Lokomotiv Heavy Favorites Over Spartak

• There’s one KHL game on the slate for Tuesday, October 20th
• Red-hot Lokomotiv is listed as a -265 home favorite over Spartak
• See the odds and best bet for Spartak vs Lokomotiv in the story below

It’s a quiet Tuesday in the KHL with only one game on the slate. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is listed as a heavy -265 favorite over Spartak Moscow. The game is set for 12:00 PM EST at Arena 2000 in Yaroslavl, Russia.

See the odds for the game and betting advice below.

KHL Odds: Tuesday, October 20th

Odds as of Oct. 19 at DraftKings

Lokomotiv is on a Roll

Lokomotiv comes into this game on a six-game winning streak, including recent victories over Jokerit, Dinamo R and Dinamo Mn. They’ve climbed up to third place in the West Division and trail division-leading CSKA by six points with two games in hand.

Пять в ряд ✅✅✅✅✅#НашаПобеда pic.twitter.com/pHgyQnnSFw

— HC Lokomotiv (@hclokomotiv) October 14, 2020

Lokomotiv is winning games right now due to their stellar defense. They’ve allowed two or fewer goals in four of their last five games and have allowed the fewest goals out of any team in the league on the season (29).

Yaroslavl has been getting contributions from a variety of different sources. Six different players have scored at least four goals through the team’s first 16 games. Yegor Korshkov and Vladimir Tkachyov have reached the 10-point mark, while Artur Kayumov has been a force on the power play with three goals tallied with the man advantage.

Perhaps the team’s biggest asset is in the goaltending crease. Edward Pasquale has won five of his last six games, stopping 139 of 146 shots for a stellar .952 save percentage.

Spartak is Also Playing Well

Spartak comes into this matchup having earned at least one point in four of their last five games. They’re coming off a 3-0 victory over Dinamo Mn and sit eighth in the West Division with 15 points through 16 games.

Moscow has some players that can score, but defense is their primary issue. Their 51 goals against are the second-most allowed by any team in the conference. They’ve been riding with goalie Julius Hudacek, who is coming off an impressive 26-save shutout but got exposed in his two previous contests against Jokerit and Barys.

Spartak might be able to put up a few goals in this game considering they have one of the league’s top players in Jori Lehtera. The former Philadelphia Flyer has three points in his last two games and leads the team with 16 (4G) on the season. They also have two very capable snipers in Lukas Radil and Sergei Shirokov, who have a combined four goals in the last two contests.

Spartak is finding ways to score, but we’ve also seen this dangerous offense shutout on three different occasions this season. They can somewhat mask their defensive issues by scoring plenty of goals, but that’s not a winning formula when going up against the league’s hottest goalie in Lokomotiv’s Pasquale.

What’s The Best Bet?

These two teams have already played once at Arena 2000 this season, and it wasn’t pretty for the visiting team. Yegor Korshkov and Vladimir Tkachyov had a field day for Lokomotiv, combining for three goals and five points to help lead their team to a commanding 7-2 blowout victory.

I don’t expect this meeting to be that lopsided considering Spartak is playing better now, but their offense is going to be challenged by one of the best defenses in the league. The ‘over’ is a tempting bet with the firepower on both offenses, but you have to consider how well goalie Edward Pasquale is playing.

Lokomotiv has either won in regulation or gone to overtime in six of their eight home games this season. After an impressive three-game road trip, look for Yaroslavl to keep the momentum going as they return home and deliver a big win in front of their fans.

Pick: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl -1.5 (+112)