Big landmarks, big wins

Week five of the 2024-2025 KHL season saw two players hit major career landmarks. We also saw a team score 10 in a game for the first time in two years, while a traditional powerhouse suffered a chastening home loss.

400 helpers for Gusev

With an assist on the third goal in Dynamo’s victory at Vityaz on Sunday, Nikita Gusev reached 400 KHL career assists. He reached that milestone in his 645th appearance and moves to 622 (222+400) points. Gusev, 32, is the fourth player to clear 400 helpers in the league: ahead of him are Vadim Shipachyov (633), Sergei Mozyakin (509) and Alexander Radulov (460).

250 goals for Radulov

There was another landmark last week when Alexander Radulov potted his 250th KHL goal. It was an important one as well, giving Lokomotiv an OT win at then Eastern Conference leader Avtomobilist. Radulov is the fifth player to reach 250 KHL goals, behind Sergei Mozyakin, Nigel Dawes, Danis Zaripov and Vadim Shipachyov.

Barys begins rebuild

Following the appointment of Vyacheslav Butsayev as head coach, Barys is looking to freshen up its playing staff. Defenseman Alex Grant is the highest profile new acquisition to date. The 35-year-old Canadian was a big success in his four seasons with Jokerit and later played for SKA and Barys. Last season he played eight games for the Kazakh club; his KHL career takes in 246 appearances for 114 (40+74) points. Other signings include forwards Stanislav Bocharov and Nikita Setdikov, plus defenseman Ilya Khokhlov. Two imports, Chase DeLeo and Wade Allison, were placed on waivers.

Humbled at home

One of the triggers for Barys’s latest dive into the transfer market was a 1-10 hammering at home to Torpedo. That was the biggest win in the KHL so far this season and the first time Barys had allowed double figures in a game. Curiously, the Kazakhs have been involved in four games in which a team has scored 10 or more – a KHL record. In Jan. 2009, Barys was the first team to hit double figures, beating Vityaz 11-6. Then came a 10-2 win at Metallurg Novokuznetsk in 2011 and a 10-1 scalping of Severstal in 2013. Monday’s humiliation at the hands of Torpedo was thus the fourth double-figure tally in a game involving Barys. Severstal has featured in three such results, winning two and losing one.

Neftekhimik adds Barber

Riley Barber is back in the KHL with Neftekhimik. The American forward signed until the end of the season. Last term Barber played 57 games, splitting his time between Barys and Ak Bars. He finished with 34 (15+19) points. Neftekhimik also acquired Sergei Shmelyov from Admiral. Previously Shmelyov was a productive forward at Sochi and Salavat Yulaev but he found opportunities limited with the Sailors.

Biryukov heads home

Evgeny Biryukov, the first man to play 1,000 games in the KHL, is heading back to Magnitogorsk. After hanging up his skates in the summer, Biryukov joined the coaching staff at Salavat Yulaev, his final club. However, the veteran defenseman spent most of his career at Metallurg and when he had the opportunity to replace GM Sergei Gomolyako it was too good to turn down.

Amur ends 11-year drought

Kazan has not been a happy hunting ground for the Tigers in recent seasons. Amur suffered defeat every time it travelled to Ak Bars in the past 11 years. The losing streak reached 16 games – most recently a shoot-out loss – before finally coming to an end on Friday. It was a tight 2-1 verdict sealed with a goal from defenseman Cam Lee, who celebrated his 100th game for the club in some style.

Traktor tops the East

Three games and three wins in Moscow last week saw Traktor climb to the top of the Eastern Conference ahead of Avtomobilist. The run began with a shoot-out success at Spartak, then took in a 4-1 victory over Dynamo and a 4-0 win at CSKA. Benoit Groulx’s team has done a good job of sharing the scoring as well: Maxim Shabanov was the key player at Spartak, defenseman Grigory Dronov scored twice to pace the win over Dynamo, then Buddy Robinson potted a brace to see off CSKA.

Razin wins in 500th game

Metallurg head coach Andrei Razin has not had things all his own way this season. The defending champion has stuttered at times, but with key players returning to fitness things are starting to improve. The Steelmen’s current trip to Moscow brought a 7-0 win at CSKA and a 5-2 success at Spartak, the latter coinciding with Razin’s 500th game as a KHL head coach.

CSKA fires blanks

Typically, CSKA is among the leading contenders in any given season. However, the last couple of games for Ilya Vorobyov’s team have been alarming. First, the Muscovites lost 0-7 at home to Metallurg – particularly painful for Vorobyov, who won the 2016 Gagarin Cup as Magnitogorsk’s head coach. Then, at home to Traktor, the Red-and-Blues again failed to score and suffered a 0-4 loss. Leaving aside a shoot-out in a derby win over Dynamo, CSKA has now gone 133 minutes without scoring a goal.