Paquette’s hat-trick and Jurusik’s saves. Top imports
Paquette nets a hat-trick, Da Costa propels Avtomobilist, and Jurusik stops pucks for Kunlun Red Star. KHL.ru presents the best players from each country.
Canada
F, Dynamo Moscow, 3 G, 6 (5+1) points, +4
The Canadian forward, a key player for Dynamo Moscow, showcased an impressive performance in the past week, amassing a total of 6 points, with 5 goals and 1 assist, across three games. The forward for the Blue-and-Whites exhibited consistency by avoiding any negative ratings, culminating the week with a league-leading plus-4 differential (tied with Magnitka’s Nikita Mikhailis). Not only did he contribute offensively, but Paquette also displayed his defensive prowess with three hits and four blocked shots.
One of the standout moments of Paquette’s week was his stellar performance in Dynamo Moscow’s victory over Torpedo on Saturday, where he achieved a remarkable feat by scoring his first-ever hat-trick in the league. For his efforts, Paquette was awarded the Best forward honors last week.
France
F, Avtomobilist, 2 G, 4 (2+2) points, +3
The Frenchman had a striking performance for the Motormen, who achieved two victories last week, both against Lada. In both games, Da Costa was instrumental for Avto, netting a tally in each match – with a helper – to surpass once again the 40-point mark and overcome Brooks Macek as his team’s top scorer. It’s the fifth time for Da Costa to score more than 40 points in a single regular season, and two of his campaigns with CSKA were cut short by injuries as he only played 48 games in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 regular seasons. Avtomobilist is currently the fourth seed in the East, tied with Salavat Yulaev for third place, and Da Costa is a key player for its success.
United States
G, Kunlun Red Star, 2 G, 1 W, 96.97%, 1.12 GAA
The American netminder, at his second year with the Dragons, faced Salavat Yulaev twice this week, winning one game for Kunlun Red Star, and coming in as a substitute for Jeremy Smith in the second. In both encounters, Jurusik played lights out. First, he had a 35-save performance as the Dragons surprised the Ufa team on Tuesday – the Dragons halted a five-game skid to achieve a strong-willed, 2:1 win in Ufa. On Sunday, the two teams faced off again, this time in Mytishchi, with Jurusik coming out of the bench after a rocky start for Smith between the Kunlun Red Star’s piping. Jurusik had another 29 saves, but this time the Dragons failed to add a W to their record. Kunlun Red Star is still on the run for a playoff spot, but it won’t be easy as they have an eleven-point gap from eighth seed Dinamo Minsk, with three games played more than the Belarusians.
Slovakia
F, Severstal, 2 G, 2 (0+2) points, +1
Perhaps it wasn’t the best week for Liska, but the forward, in his sixth season in the league, showcased consistency being on a five-game scoring streak, and helped the Steelers achieving two victories – against Kunlun Red Star and SKA, respectively. The Slovak forward had an assist when Severstal downed the Dragons (2:1), and also recorded a helper in the Steelers’ home win over SKA. The Cherepovets franchise is currently on a surprising sixth place in the Western Conference standings, having all the chances to qualify for the Gagarin cup playoffs for the fourth time in a row. But will they perhaps pass the first turn? In the KHL history, only once did Severstal win a series, back in 2012-2013 when they defeated Lokomotiv 4-2 before being swept by SKA in the quarterfinals.
