Novosibirsk celebrates All-Stars
The big news of the week came from Siberia, where the 2025 Fonbet KHL All-Star Game was a huge success. Back in regular-season action, we have our first confirmed playoff contender.
Team Chernyshev wins All-Star gold
Playing “home” ice in Novosibirsk, Team Chernyshev came out on top in this year’s All-Star tournament. After defeating Team Kharlamov in the semi-final, Chernyshev recovered an early 0-3 deficit in the final against Team Bobrov to win 9-8. Trevor Murphy hit a hat-trick in the final, as his team held off a late rally to take the verdict. In the bronze medal game, Team Tarasov won in a shoot-out following an action-paced 12-12 tie.
Home favorites shine in Novosibirsk
It was a good weekend for Sibir’s representatives at the All-Star Game. Murphy’s hat-trick in the final came after he won the Hardest Shot competition in the Skill Show. Team-mate and captain Sergei Shirokov potted the game-winner in the final and also triumphed in the penalty shot contest. And youngster Yegor Klimovich, a Sibir prospect who plays in the JHL with Sibirskiye Snaipery, had 3 (2+1) points for Team Bobrov in its semi-final win. With both days of the All-Star Weekend attracting a capacity 10,381 crowd to the modern Sibir Arena, it was a great celebration of Novosibirsk hockey.
Parody penalty shots
The penalty shot competition went Shirokov’s way after he grabbed the head from Sibir’s mascot, Snegovik, and took his shot disguised as a giant snowman. But that wasn’t the only Sibir-themed shot in the contest. CSKA’s Ruslan Iskhakov produced a homage to Vladimir Tarasenko’s 2012 “fishing rod” shot; Tarasenko, a Novosibirsk native, was a junior star with Sibir before moving to SKA and then the NHL, where he has won two Stanley Cups. That wasn’t the only attempt to draw inspiration from other players’ tricks: Sochi’s Timur Khafizov produced a parody of Evgeny Tarasov’s trademark slow approach in a shoot-out. Along the way, he found time to stop for a selfie before completing his attempt.
Lokomotiv confirms playoff spot
The first participant in the 2025 playoffs is confirmed – and to nobody’s great surprise, Lokomotiv was the first team to punch its ticket for post season. Igor Nikitin’s team has been out in front almost from the start, and holds a commanding 13-point lead in the Western Conference. More importantly, the 33-point gap to ninth-placed Kunlun Red Star, established by Thursday’s 2-0 win over Dinamo Minsk, means that no team outside the top eight came overhaul the Railwaymen.
Battle for second place hots up
Behind Lokomotiv, there’s a huge battle brewing for second place in the West. At present, Severstal leads the way on 69 points. Next come the three Moscow clubs, locked together on 68. Then, in sixth, SKA has 67 points. In all likelihood, four of those teams will face blockbuster playoff first-round match-ups against each other; whoever finishes in second place should face a significantly easier assignment.
Big wins for Ak Bars
In the Eastern Conference, the week’s major winner was Ak Bars. Things started in St. Petersburg with an incredible 8-3 victory over SKA. The visitor was up 6-1 after the first period, paced by Artyom Galimov’s first KHL hat-trick. Then, back on home ice, came a 4-1 victory over Avtomobilist. That halted the Motormen’s 11-game hot streak and lifted Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team up to second in the East.
Record completed
Alexei Zhamnov is Spartak’s winningest coach in the KHL era. A 5-4 win over Lokomotiv took him to 76 victories behind the Red-and-White bench, overtaking Milos Riha. While the Czech won his 75 games in 140 games, Zhamnov set a new record in his 129th game in charge.
Record pursuit
Salavat Yulaev forward Josh Leivo is in with a real chance of improving on Sergei Mozyakin’s KHL goals record. Mozyakin had 48 goals in 2016/2017 setting a record for a regular season tally that has yet to be beaten. However, Leivo is up to 40 this season with, potentially, 16 games left to find nine more markers. However, the Canadian missed the All-Star Game over the weekend due to injury, which might slow his pursuit of Mozyakin’s record.
