Players of the Month: Johansson, Bailen, Jaskin, and Kostin

The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the Regular Season’s final month in four categories.

In February, the League’s teams played a total of 103 games, with 669 players (57 goalies, 222 defensemen, and 390 forwards) taking part in the action. The average goals-per-game was at 5.20.

— Best goalie for the second time in his career was Lars Johansson (CSKA), who won six of seven games in February, including a SO win and three shutouts. Johansson faced 155 shots, or 25.8 per night, posting a saves percentage of 96.13% and a goals-against average of 0.98.

— Best defenseman for the third time in his career was Nick Bailen (Traktor), who scored 11 (7+4) points in nine games. The defenseman potted a double in the match against Dinamo Minsk (2-3 OT) and scored game-winners against CSKA (2-1) and Metallurg (4-3 OT). Bailen also posted a plus-4 rating, had 38 shots on goal, recorded five hits, blocked six shots, and earned four powerplays for his team.

— Best forward for the third time in his career was Dmitrij Jaskin (Dynamo Moscow), who won eight games from nine with his team. He scored 13 (7+6) points, including posting the game-winner in the 5-1 win over Jokerit. Jaskin posted a plus-6 rating, had 35 shots on goal, recorded 25 hits, blocked seven shots, and earned three powerplays for his team.

— Best rookie for the first time was forward Klim Kostin (Avangard), who won six of eight games with his team. He scored 9 (4+5) points, including netting a double against Dinamo Riga (5-1) and scoring game-winners against the Latvian franchise and Torpedo (3-2 OT). Kostin had 18 shots on goal, recorded 42 hits, blocked three shots, and earned three powerplays for his team.