More playoff places booked plus an unwelcome record

Last week saw the first teams from the Eastern Conference secure their playoff spots. And it also saw one unfortunate team lose a game after 62 shots on goal. Read on to find out more ...

Metallurg and Avangard lead the way

The first teams from the Eastern Conference have secured their playoff places. While the top guns in the West started booking their tickets back on Jan. 17, it wasn’t until Friday that Metallurg confirmed its post season. The Steelmen, currently top of the overall KHL standings, got there with a 4-2 victory on the road at Admiral. On Sunday, Magnitka also secured Avangard’s place with a win at Amur. That meant that the Tigers could no longer catch the second-placed Hawks despite Avangard’s loss at home to Traktor later in the day.

Metallurg, Torpedo to playoffs, SKA to the top of the table. January 26 round-up

Spartak and Torpedo secure playoff spots

In the Western Conference, five teams are now assured of playing in March. Spartak got there in the sweetest style, powering to a 6-3 derby win at Dynamo. The, on Friday, Torpedo joined the Red-and-Whites. However, Torpedo’s journey was via a more convoluted route. A shoot-out loss at Avtomobilist left Igor Larionov’s team waiting on the result for Vityaz against Sochi. When the Balashikha team lost in regulation, Torpedo was on its way.

Tsyplakov’s goal rush

Maxim Tsyplakov was the star of Spartak’s win over Dynamo. The 25-year-old forward scored four in the game, include two shorthanded efforts. Moreover, he needed just 26 minutes, 58 seconds to get his goals – the quickest quartet in KHL history.

62 shots, no win

Spartak and Dynamo met twice last week. The second encounter saw the Blue-and-Whites go all out for revenge. Spartak goalie Dmitry Nikolayev made 59 saves from 62 shots, including an absolute worldie in overtime to keep his team in the game. He then added three stops out of four in the shoot-out as Spartak took the win. It all meant that Dynamo set an unwanted record: nobody in KHL history has managed 62 shots on goal and failed to win the game.

SKA hits the top

Early in the season an unprecedented five-game skid posed all sort of questions about SKA’s prospects for the season. There was speculation about the experience of the coaching, the effectiveness of the imports and the team’s ability to deal with adversity. Now, though questions seem to be answered. SKA is currently on top of the Western Conference (albeit level on points with Dynamo Moscow) after another good week. Wednesday brought a 7-0 thrashing of Barys, with Arseny Gritsyuk contributing five points. Then on Friday Petersburg celebrated a 5-1 drubbing of CSKA. At the same time, previous leader Lokomotiv fell to Sochi and Dinamo Minsk, opening the path for SKA to hit the summit.

Seventh heaven for SKA, Sochi surprises Lokomotiv. January 24 round-up

Upwardly mobile

The basement teams in both conferences got off the foot of the standings this week. In the West, Sochi’s upswing in form has seen Dmitry Kokorev’s team win four of its last six games, with an OT defeat in its most recent outing against Kunlun Red Star. That’s moved the Leopards up to ninth in the standings although, realistically, hopes of a playoff place are theoretical at best. Vityaz is currently propping up the rest in that section. In the East, Barys struggled for goals all week and fell behind Admiral after the Sailors got a 5-4 OT verdict over Salavat Yulaev on Sunday.

Gusev, Boucher eye all-time records

KHL scoring leader Nikita Gusev is enjoying a great season in the league. This week he moved to 73 (19+54) points, moving him into the top 10 best individual campaigns. With up to 12 games left for him this season, there could be more landmarks to come: Gusev’s personal best is 82 points, while Sergei Mozyakin’s all-time record of 85 points is not out of reach. Hard on Nikita’s heels in the scoring race, Avangard’s Reid Boucher is on 70 points. His 39 goals to date have him in touch with Mozyakin’s goal record of 48, with 12 games remaining for Avangard to help him reach that mark.