Warn the accelerator, Proskuryakov the savior and Mironov the terminator – the KHL is proud to bring you the finest 10 goals, saves and hits of the seventh week of the Championship.
Top 10 Goals: Warn at Full Throttle
The best strike of the week came from Kunlun Red Star forward Max Warn, who embarked on a run from deep in his own zone and produced a stunning burst of pace in the center circle, charging past all five HC Sochi skaters in two strides before sending the puck past a helpless – and indeed, blameless – Konstantin Barulin.
Torpedo forward Dmitry Semin is in second place with a superb slalom which would make any skier proud, taking out two defensemen to get one-on-one with Admiral goalie Igor Bobkov and deftly tapping the puck home.
Dynamo Moscow forward Maxim Karpov showed superb vision and timing as he coolly set up camp behind the Riga goal, weighed up his options, and sent a peach of a pass into the path of the advancing Mat Robinson. The Canadian was no mood to show the Riga men any mercy, and duly scored our third best goal of the week.
Top 10 saves: Proskuryakov’s Miraculous Stop
How do you resist the irresistible force of the Magnitka offense? Ask Salavat Yulaev’s Andrei Gavrilov. The Ufa man was the scourge of the Gagarin Cup holder, making a string of impressive stops, and our experts rated his impressive double save as our third finest of the week.
Second spot goes to Sibir netminder Alexander Salak, for a stunning reaction save. Metallurg Novokuznetsk forward Artyom Mikheyev’s strike seemed destined for the top corner, but the Novosibirsk man not only got his left glove to it, but caught it.
Ilya Proskuryakov of Torpedo takes the prize for the greatest save of the week, and it was a truly spectacular effort. Amur forward Stanislav Katsuba was hovering with great predator’s instinct at the back post, took the pass, and calmly but firmly directed the puck at the center of the goal. How did Proskuryakov save that? Watch the clip and judge for yourself.
Top 10 Hits - Mironov’s Windmill
"Oh, what a beauty!" - was the commentator’s cry as Jokerit forward Joey Hishon windmilled through the air in a graceful arc before landing with a painful thump on the ice. The Helsinki man had just offloaded the puck during a 20-yard dash, but this terminated abruptly when Dynamo Moscow D-man Andrei Mironov dropped his shoulder and sent the Canadian airborne. Mironov’s teammate, Martins Karsums, secured second place with his powerful check against Riga’s Colton Gillies, while third spot went to CSKA forward Sergei Andronov, thus making it a clean sweep for the Muscovite clubs in this week’s top three tough guys.
