Regular season wrapped, dramatic start to playoffs
After a record-breaking regular season, the 2024 KHL playoffs began with plenty of action. We’ve had upset wins, all-time high attendances and a memorable fight in the first weekend of post season. And, with five series locked at 1-1, it looks like there’s plenty more action to come in the first round.
Five series deadlocked
The playoffs are underway, and the 2024 contest is more intriguing than ever. As of Sunday evening, five out of eight series were tied at 1-1, and a sixth between Dynamo Moscow and Dinamo Minsk had only seen one game. Avtomobilist won both road games at last year’s beaten finalist Ak Bars and only Avangard (second seed in the East) recorded back-to-back home victories at the start of its match-up with seventh seed Lada. Among the surprises, the East’s top seed Metallurg struggled with its power play in a 2-3 loss at home to Amur. CSKA, sixth in the West, won 4-0 at third-ranked Lokomotiv in its opening game, although the Railwaymen responded with a 2-1 win. The Salavat Yulaev vs Traktor, Spartak vs Severstal and SKA vs Torpedo series are also locked at 1-1.
New attendance record
The series between SKA and Torpedo brought two new record attendances for KHL games at indoor arenas. On Friday, the SKA Arena’s first ever playoff game attracted 23,905 spectators. Most of them left disappointed as the outsider grabbed a 5-2 victory. Two days later, the bar was raised once again when 23,966 fans saw SKA square the series when a Vasily Glotov goal in the second period of overtime completed a fightback from 0-2.
Ultimate fighting in Ufa
Game two between Salavat Yulaev and Traktor turned into something of a fight night. After a skirmish between the visitor’s Albert Yarullin and Danil Alalykin, it all kicked off. Traktor’s Charles Robinson was the leading protagonist, earning 50 PIMs in total after getting into two brawls. He knocked over Grigory Panin then tangled with Alexei Vasilevsky, while Mikhail Vasilevsky got to grips with Danil Bashkirov. When the dust settled, the teams had 107 penalty minutes in the third period alone, while Ufa celebrated a 4-1 victory in the game and tied the series at 1-1.
Import scoring records tumble
The 2023-2024 regular season ended a week ago, and saw two players overtake an import record set back in the inaugural 2008-2009 campaign. Back then, Czech international Jan Marek scored 72 (35+37) points for Metallurg. No foreign player matched that until this season when Avangard’s Reid Boucher (78 points) and Dynamo’s Jordan Weal (77) overtook Marek at last. Boucher’s tally includes five overtime goal, which is also a KHL record, and his 267 shots on goal beat the 250 from Geoff Platt in 2013-2014.
Gusev moves clear
Russia’s own Nikita Gusev also rewrote the record books. His 89 points outstripped Sergei Mozyakin’s record from the 2016-2017 season, and his 66 assists improved his own best in that category. The Dynamo man also improved his record for points and assists on the power play this season.
Goalie rivalry
Ak Bars vs Salavat Yulaev is always a big KHL rivalry – and this year it’s summed up by a battle between goalies Timur Bilyalov and Alexander Samonov. The two topped the KHL stats, and depending on your loyalties you can make a case for either man. In Tatarstan, Bilyalov’s 93.8% save percentage is the key indicator, with Samonov on 93.7%, In neighboring Baskortostan, meanwhile, Samonov’s GAA of 1.79 is the big deal compared with Bilyalov’s 1.82. Both men have seven shut-outs. Perhaps the tie break comes from smart puck stats: Bilyalov’s xG- figure of 32.1 is well ahead of Samonov’s 24.86, suggesting that the Ak Bars man denied a greater proportion of clear scoring chances.
For and against
Spartak was the KHL’s leading scorer with 233 goals. SKA and Lokomotiv allowed 139 each, tying for the best defense in regular season. Solid as that showing was, it fell a long way short of the 75 goals allowed in 62 games by CSKA in 2019. Sochi would envy that kind of defense. For the second season running, the Leopards allowed 254 goals, repeating their unwanted record from last season.
Nikishin leads defensemen
SKA’s Alexander Nikishin was the league’s leading defenseman. His 56 points was only just ahead of Avangard captain Damir Sharipzyanov, but he was out in front with 17 goals. He also set a KHL record with 1625:01 on the ice and matched Vladislav Gavrikov’s record of 33 games with a positive plus/minus rating. Nikishin also skated further than anyone else in the league (343,289m) and skated further with the puck (28,022m).
Dea departs Neftekhimik
Canadian forward Jean-Sebastien Dea has ended his contract with Neftekhimik. The 30-year-old center began his first season outside of North America at Metallurg. After 18 games and six points in Magnitogorsk, he moved to Nizhnekamsk where he picked up 11 points in 27 appearances. However, after the Wolves failed to make the playoffs, the club parted company with the forward. In similar fashion, Sochi released former SKA forward Marat Khusnutdinov.
