Tough times in the East — the KHL week in review
Two of the KHL’s biggest clubs are having a rough start to the season, with record losing streaks and the first coaching change of the season. Meanwhile, one of Jaromir Jagr’s KHL records has fallen, and Metallurg became the first team to play 1,000 games in the league.
Ak Bars in trouble
Sunday saw Ak Bars lose 2-5 at Traktor and sink to a sixth successive defeat. That’s an unwanted club record for Oleg Znarok’s team, which hasn’t won since Dmitry Kagarlitsky’s overtime goal against Amur on October 1. Since then, it’s been a tough run. Three games against Avtomobilist produced three OT losses, punctuated by a 2-3 home reverse against Barys and a 1-4 defeat at Metallurg. Vadim Shipachyov, one of the much-touted summer signings in Kazan, has gone into a slump at the same time. He has just one assist in those six games. Ak Bars’ miserable run matches Avangard’s club record six-game losing streak at the start of the season. The next game comes on Wednesday, when Metallurg visits Kazan.
Traktor hands record sixth loss to Ak Bars. October 16 round-up
Avangard parts company with Dmitry Ryabykin
That slow start to the season for Avangard ultimately prompted the first coaching change of the campaign. Dmitry Ryabykin, appointed in place of Bob Hartley over the summer, was dismissed on Monday. The final straw was a 0-4 loss at home to Kunlun Red Star, the club’s first loss at its new home at the G-Drive Arena back in Omsk. At that stage, the Hawks had six wins from 16 games. Mikhail Kravets was appointed as interim head coach and opened with a 4-1 win over Amur. However, his second game ended in a shoot-out loss to Admiral, which leaves the Hawks outside of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.
Yip overtakes Jagr
When Brandon Yip grabbed a late goal for Kunlun Red Star in its loss at home to Severstal, he found the net for the sixth game in a row. And that set a new record for the veteran Chinese international. He overtook the legendary Jaromir Jagr’s five-game goal streak for Avangard to reach a new mark for players aged 37 and over. Yip’s goal run came to an end in the next game, a 3-0 home win over Spartak, but his assist in that game extended his productive streak to eight games.
Avto maintains Ak Bars hoodoo, Severstal beats Kunlun. October 14 round-up
First regulation loss for SKA
It took until game 18 of the season, but table-topping SKA finally left the ice empty-handed. Lokomotiv pulled off a 3-1 victory over Roman Rotenberg’s team in Yaroslavl to end that impressive run. Two goals from Georgy Ivanov and another from Yegor Korshkov sealed the verdict for the Railwaymen, who are up to third in the West. SKA’s lead remains commanding, though: the Petersburg club is six points ahead of second-placed Dynamo, with Eastern Conference top dog Avtomobilist two points futher back.
SKA suffers rare loss, Kravets wins with Avangard. October 13 round-up
1,000 games for Metallurg
Metallurg Magnitogorsk is the first team to play 1,000 games in the KHL. However, there is some confusion about the precise date of that milestone. Officially, the millennium game was on Oct. 8 in Omsk. However, during the COVID-afflicted 2020-2021 season, one of Metallurg’s games was cancelled due to quarantine. The Steelmen recorded the win over Dinamo Riga, but nobody took to the ice to contest the fixture. Thus, the 1,000th actual game was played at home to Dynamo on Oct. 10. Whichever count you favor, the landmark game ended in defeat. Avangard defeated Metallurg 5-1 in Omsk, then Dynamo won 3-1 in Magnitogorsk.
Tough times for Eastern leaders. October 8 round-up
Kolosov, Kareyev and Chmelevski lead the voting
Voting is underway for the All-Star rosters. The first days of the fan poll nominated three clear leaders for the grand event in Chelyabinsk in December. In line with the tradition of recent years, the most popular player represents Dinamo Minsk. This year, goalie Alexei Kolosov is out in front and seems set to stand between the piping for the Tarasov Division. The two other leading players both come from Salavat Yulaev. Goalie Andrei Kareyev, who came close to beating Alexander Yeryomenko’s shut-out streak in Ufa, is out in front. And forward Alexander Chmelevski is the most popular forward thus far. To place your vote, visit https://www.allstarweek.com/khl/.
Make your choice! All-Star fan voting gets underway
Nesterova sets u18 women’s record
Alexandra Nesterova, one of the rising stars of Russia’s Women’s Hockey League, moved to the top of the scoring chart for u18s last week. Her hat-trick in Tornado’s win over Chelyabinsk on Oct. 11 took her to 28 goals in her career to date, and moved her ahead of Sofia Lifatova of Biryusa Krasnoyarsk. Moreover, Nesterova, who joined Tornado from 7.62 in the summer, has every opportunity to improve on her record. Her 18th birthday is on June 28 next year, giving her a further 24 regular season games to add to her goal tally.
