March's finest: Sorokin, Bailen, Azevedo and Kravtsov

To mark the end of the sixth full month's play of the tenth season of the Championship, the Kontinental Hockey League has named the best players of March in four categories.

– Best goaltender, for the second time this season, was Ilya Sorokin (CSKA), who helped the Army Men win 9 of his 13 matches, shutting out the opposition in no fewer than five playoff games (three times against Spartak and twice against Jokerit). The young Russian posted a save percentage of 95.18, a goals against average of 1.14 (the lowest of any goalie during the month), and a shutout series of 213 minutes 49 seconds;

– Best defenseman was Nick Bailen (Traktor). The 28-year-old Belarusian-American appeared in 14 games, 9 of which were wins, and his account for the month reads: 8 (3+5) points, 36 shots,14 blocks, and an efficiency rating of +11 (the best of any D-man in the League);

– Best forward was Justin Azevedo (Ak Bars), who celebrated victory in 9 of his 12 games, scoring 17 (6+11) points and earning a +6 for the month. Kazan's Canadian danger man also recorded 38 shots, 18 hits and 10 blocks, and five of his six goals were game-winners (spread across every round: 3 in the quarters against Amur, one in the semis against Magnitogorsk, and one in the Conference final against Traktor;

– Best rookie was 18-year-old Traktor forward Vitaly Kravtsov, who was given 14 outings in March, ending the month with 9 victories, 12 (7+5) points, 36 shots, 9 hits, an average ice time of 13 minutes 12 seconds, and a +1. Of his seven goals, four were game-winners and three of these were scored in the playoffs (two against Neftekhimik and one against Salavat Yulaev), and he also recorded a double on the road at Nizhnekamsk.