Best players of the first round
The Kontinental Hockey League’s commission has determined the best players of the playoff’s first round in four categories.
In the Gagarin Cup playoffs’ first round, the League’s teams played a total of 35 games, with 344 players (23 goalies, 114 defensemen, and 207 forwards) taking part in the action. The average goals-per-game was at 5.51 – an all-time record for first-round series.
- Best goalie for the second time in playoff series was Simon Hrubec (Avangard), who won four of six games. Hrubec was the only goal to record a shutout, allowing no goals to Ak Bars twice. Hrubec faced 194 shots, or 32.3 per night, posting a 94.85% saves percentage and a goals-against average of 1.61.
- Best defenseman for the first time in his career was Vyacheslav Voynov (Dynamo Moscow), who had 9 (5+4) points in seven games. He posted a plus-2 differential, was the first round’s top overall scorer and is tied with SKA’s Andrei Kuzmenko for the most goals. The defenseman also recorded six hits, blocked two shots, and netted three game winners.
- Best forward for the first time in his career was Andrei Kuzmenko (SKA), who scored 8 (5+3) points in four games. The forward had two doubles against Dinamo Minsk, earned three powerplays for his team, and potted the game-winner in game two. Kuzmenko had at least a point in each of the four games of the series.
- Best rookie for the first time in his career was forward Arseny Gritsyuk (Avangard), who scored 4 (1+3) points in six games. Gritsyuk recorded six hits, blocked four shots, and potted the game-winner in game three.
