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Lada’s players on the top, Blacker returns – Top imports
The Togliatti side is having a great season, and its imports have helped the team conquering the top spot in the Eastern Conference. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.
Canada
F, Lada, 4 G, 5 (2+3) points, +6
Lada has been this season’s main sensation, and the magic is continuing as the Togliatti side is currently leading the Eastern Conference with more than one third of the regular season already passed by. One of Lada’s top players has been Scott Kosmachuk. The Canadian forward, at his debut season in the KHL, is having a tremendous season, and last week he was one of the best overall in the league. Lada won three games from four, with a further game lost after SO to Dynamo Moscow – Kosmachuk was instrumental for Lada in the side’s success. In particular, on Friday, Kosmachuk posted his first three-point KHL performance in Togliatti’s 6:3 victory over Ak Bars. The Canadian had one goal and two assists, and ended the game with a plus-3 differential. Two days ago, Lada defeated another Eastern powerhouse, beating Magnitka 4:3. Kosmachuk netted the game-winner with fewer than a minute to go, taking full advantage of a recklessness play by Grigory Dronov – he also had an assist that night. Moreover, he posted a league-leading plus-six differential. Lada is deservingly leading the Eastern Conference, and Scott Kosmachuk is a big part of this success.
Slovakia
F, Severstal, 3 G, 3 (2+1) points, +3
Severstal didn’t have a striking week, with only one win, but they also snagged up one point when they had a SO, home loss to Lada on Wednesday – Liska did score a goal that night, but the Steelers ended up being on the losing side. The Slovak forward, at his fifth season in Cherepovets, had an assist in Severstal’s 3:4 loss to Lokomotiv on Friday, but he returned to scoring on Sunday, when the Steelers also returned to victory with a 4:2 over Avtomobilist. Cherepovets is currently the ninth seed in the West and the franchise will need Liska to keep on scoring to return to the right side of the playoffs line.
Canada/Kazakhstan
D, Avtomobilist, 3 G, 3 (2+1) points, +3
Just as Liska scored for Severstal in Sunday’s showdown between the Steelers and the Motormen, Blacker also had a tally in the same night, but he was on the losing side with Avto losing its second straight game after a 2:4 to Torpedo on Friday. It was the third goal of the season for Blacker, who missed more than a month between September-October sitting in the injury list. Earlier in the week, the Toronto native had a goal and an assist when Avto had its only win in the latest six matches recording a 5:2 victory over Barys. This was Blecker’s first multi-point game of the season, but certainly more will follow as the d-man is now fully healed.
Russia/Czechia
F, Lada, 4 G, 4 (2+2) points, +3
Lada had a busy week, with four games in seven days. The forward had points in three games from four, being scoreless only in the Togliatti’s side win over Metallurg on Sunday (4:3). In the three previous games, Safin had at least one point, including a two-point performance in Lada’s win over Severstal on Wednesday (4:3 SO). The Prague native had one goal and an assist that night, and he also scored in Lada’s victory against Ak Bars two days later, when he netted his only shot of the night. Safin added an assist in Lada’s 4:5 OT loss to Dynamo Moscow on Monday – the Togliatti side still got a point from that contest. Lada is currently on the top of the Eastern Conference standings, and Safin is playing a crucial role for the KHL newcomers.
United States
F, SKA, 3 G, 3 (1+2) points, even
SKA had one win and one loss last week, but in both cases they could count on Galchenyuk’s points. The forward posted two assists in SKA’s win over Kunlun Red Star (6:3), including a particularly smooth pass to Arseny Gritsyuk’s first goal of the night. Galchenyuk’s goal wasn’t however enough for SKA to skate past HC Sochi as the St. Petersburg franchise suffered from a 4:5 loss in the second clash in the current season between the two teams, both won by Sochi. Galchenyuk is currently the third scorer for SKA, trailing behind only Alexander Nikishin and Vladimir Alistrov.
