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Barber’s success with his new team – Top imports
Riley Barber moves to Kazan without stopping to score, Kyle Wood helps Kunlun Red Star climbing up in the Western Conference standings. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.
United States
F, Ak Bars, 3 G, 5 (2+3) points, +3
The American forward has just moved to Ak Bars from Barys (in exchange for defenseman Kristian Khenkel), and started scoring right away – just as he did in the Kazakh capital. With Ak Bars, Barber had an assist in his very first game when Kazan blanked Lada on Tuesday (2:0) – he assisted Dmitry Yudin in the goal that became the game-winner for Ak Bars. After finishing scoreless in Ak Bars’ win over Avtomobilist on Thursday (3:2), Barber had his best game in the KHL to date on Sunday. With Kazan recording a commanding victory over Neftekhimik, the forward had a striking four-point performance, potting his first goals with his new team and adding two assists. Ak Bars is gaining tempo for the playoffs, and Riley Barber’s role within the team is destined to increase.
Canada
D, Kunlun Red Star, 3 G, 3 (0+3) points, +5
The Canadian blueliner, at his second season with the Dragons, had a good week when he helped Kunlun Red Star getting two wins in three games. After being left out of the scoresheet in a Kunlun’s losing effort against Sibir (2:3), Wood recorded an assist in the Dragons’ surprising win over Spartak on Nov 30 (5:3). On Saturday, Kunlun Red Star had another win – this time over Avtomobilist – that propelled them to a new winning streak. Kyle Wood had two assists that night, and ended the game with an impressive plus-4 differential as the Dragons claimed a 5:2 home win. Kunlun Red Star is currently the ninth seed in the Western Conference, and the playoffs line is just three points ahead.
Slovakia
G, Torpedo, 2 G, 2 W, 96.30%, GAA 1.44
The Slovakian netminder has improved his numbers if compared to last year, and had a good week even with just two games played. First, on Wednesday, he helped the Nizhny Novgorod side getting a coveted win over rivals Lokomotiv (3:2 SO) – Huska posted an impressive 41 saves that night. A few days later, the Slovakian netminder stopped 37 out of 38 Dynamo Moscow shots when Torpedo collected a 4:1 victory. While there’s still a lot of hockey to be played, Huska’s play this season has been admirable and it looks like he may be Torpedo’s number one hockey when it will matter the more – this spring.
Sweden
D, CSKA, 3 G, 1 (0+1) point , +1
It hasn’t been the best week for the Muscovites, who only had one win in three games, yet Claesson often showed a good defensive prowess and, despite the Gagarin Cup champion’s defeats, ended the week with a positive rating. Claesson started the week posting on Monday an assist in CSKA’s losing effort against Lokomotiv (2:3) – he also had a plus-1 differential for the night. Two days later, CSKA returned to victory against Dinamo Minsk, with Claesson left out of the score sheet, but logging more than twenty minutes of ice time. On Sunday, the Muscovites lost again, this time to Traktor (1:3), but Claesson logged a season-high 24:21 of ice time and ended the game again with a positive, plus-1 differential. With the December pause approaching, Claesson and CSKA will have a chance to rest and perhaps rise the bar for the second part of the season.
