First round’s finest: Bobkov, Barantsev, Hartikainen and Altybarmakyan

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best player of the playoffs’ first round in four categories.

- best goalie was Igor Bobkov (Avangard), who posted four wins in the series against Ak Bars Kazan, including one shutout. The Omsk goalie had a saves percentage of 94.17% and a goals-against average of 1.50.

- best defenseman was Denis Barantsev (Torpedo), who scored 4 (2+2) points in the seven-game series against Barys Astana. The Nizhny Novgorod defenseman posted no negative ratings, ending the clash with a plus-5. In game three, the blueliner scored a double. Moreover, he had 25 shots on goal, recorded 19 hits, and blocked 7 shots from the opposition.

- best forward was Teemu Hartikainen (Salavat Yulaev), who scored 10 (5+5) points in six games against Metallurg. The Ufa forward posted no negative ratings, ending the series with a plus-7. The Finnish national scored points in five of six games, including posting a double in the sixth and deciding match. To date, Hartikainen leads the League in playoffs scoring. The forward also had 29 shots on goal, recorded 7 hits, and blocked 6 shots from the opposition.

- best rookie was forward Andrei Altybarmakyan (HC Sochi), who scored 3 (2+1) points in the series against Lokomotiv. The Sochi forward posted no negative ratings, ending the series with a plus-2. Altybarmakyan posted a double in the second match, including the game-winning goal. He also recorded 8 hits and logged an average time on ice of 12 minutes and 23 seconds.