Rare scoring records
Last week, two KHL forwards achieved something done only once before in the KHL. Take a bow, Daniil Seroukh and Vadim Shipachyov.
Five-goal Seroukh
Sochi forward Daniil Seroukh scored all five of his team’s goals at Dynamo Moscow on Wednesday, powering his team to a 5-3 victory. The 27-year-old is enjoying his career best season, with 30 points already, but hitting five in one game is something special. It’s only the second time in KHL history that this has happened, and the first that any player has scored all five goals for his team in one game. The previous five-goal game was way back in Nov. 2008, when current KHL president Alexei Morozov scored five in Ak Bars’ 7-0 win over Barys. And Morozov had his own message for Seroukh: “I remember my feelings when I scored five in a game for Ak Bars, so I know how he’s feeling right now. You get days when everything goes in the net and I’m happy for Daniil that today was one of those days for him. It’s great that we found a player who not only equalled that record, but scored all his team’s goal in one game.”
Two new playoff contenders, one more out of contention
Four of the eight playoff contenders in the East are now confirmed after Avtomobilist and Ak Bars joined Traktor and Salavat Yulaev. Avto got there with an overtime win over Sibir on Monday, while Ak Bars punched its ticket on Friday thanks to an OT success at home to Neftekhimik. At the other end of the table, Amur’s hopes are mathematically over.
In the West, meanwhile, there are no new confirmed playoff participants. On Saturday, SKA could have sent four teams – Spartak, Severstal, Dynamo and SKA itself – to the playoffs with a win over Kunlun. However, the Dragons had other ideas, exploding for three goals in two second-period minutes to win 6-4.
Sharov continues to haunt his ‘ex’
Avtomobilist’s key player in that win over Sibir was forward Alexander Sharov. He scored twice in a 3-2 success – and kept up a remarkable record. Since leaving Sibir in in 2023 after six years, he has faced his former club seven times for either Salavat Yulaev or Avto. In that time he has never failed to score points on his previous employer. Monday’s goals move him to 8 (4+4) points against his old colleagues.
Shipachyov hits 300th goal
Vadim Shipachyov’s record-breaking season continues with another milestone. The Dinamo Minsk forward scored his 300th KHL goal in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Spartak. He’s only the second man to reach that figure behind Sergei Mozyakin. Admittedly, he’s some way behind the former Metallurg star, who finished his career with 419 goals in the league. But it still represents a major landmark in Shipachyov’s impressive career.
Minsk marches into Western battle
That win at Spartak was Dinamo’s fourth in a row – and it puts the Belarusians into the thick of the Western Conference log-jam. What was a five-way race for second place behind Lokomotiv is now a six-team scramble. Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team is up to sixth, ahead of SKA, and just three points behind second-placed Spartak. It’s likely that all six of these teams – Dynamo, CSKA and Severstal complete the group – will be paired against one another at the start of the playoffs. And that promises the most open first round ties for years.
100 goals for Yakupov
Avangard forward Nail Yakupov potted his 100th KHL goal during the Hawks’ 2-1 victory at home to Amur. Yakupov, who has also played for Neftekhimik, Amur and SKA, is up to 22 goals this season, divided between spells in Omsk and at Kunlun Red Star. That’s one short of his career best 23-goal haul in St. Petersburg in 2018/2019.
