Leivo’s a record breaker! March 22 round-up
Josh Leivo scored his 49th goal of the 2024/2025 campaign, breaking Sergei Mozyakin’s record for markers in a regular season. He struck midway through the third period to set the record and help Salavat Yulaev to a 4-1 win at Barys. That result confirms Ufa in second place in the East. Metallurg finished third, going down in Yekaterinburg as Avtomobilist secured fourth place. Magnitka will start the playoffs at home to Avangard, 5-1 winners over Kunlun; Avto entertains Ak Bars, OT winners at Sibir. SKA won a shoot-out at Torpedo to climb to sixth in the West, while Traktor eased to a 2-0 victory at home to Amur.
Fiore hits hattie for Hawks
Kunlun Red Star 1 Avangard Omsk 5 (1-3, 0-0, 0-2)
A hat-trick from Giovanni Fiore – including two short-handed goals – led the Hawks to victory in its final regular season game of the season.
Fiore opened the scoring in Mytishchi in the second minute. However, Red Star responded well. Backed by a 5,000+ crowd for its last action of 2024/2025, Kunlun created a couple of chances to tie the game before Spencer Foo found the net midway through the first period.
But when the Dragons got the first power play of the game, it all went wrong. Fiore capitalized on a turnover to make it 2-1 for Avangard and, just before the intermission, Nail Yakupov marked his 70th appearance of the regular season by making the score 3-1. How did Yakupov managed 70 games in a 68-game season? Well, he started with Kunlun and, at the time of his move to Omsk, the Dragons had played two games more than Avangard.
The second period was goalless, but Avangard sealed the win in the third. Reid Boucher struck on the power play to make it 4-1 before, in the final moments, Fiore scored his hat-trick into an empty net as another Red Star PP went awry.
The Hawks finish in sixth place in the East and will start their playoff campaign against third-placed Metallurg. Kunlun failed to make the playoffs after finishing ninth in the West.
Jaskin gives OT verdict to Ak Bars
Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Ak Bars Kazan 3 OT (0-1, 1-1, 1-0, 0-1)
An overtime win for Ak Bars secured fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and sets up a playoff contest with Avtomobilist. Sibir, currently seventh, will only learn its fate tomorrow. If Admiral manages at least a point at Neftekhimik, Vadim Yepanchintsev’s team will face Traktor; if not, Salavat Yulaev will be the opposition.
It didn’t take long for Ak Bars to get in front. Albert Yarullin’s long shot found the net in the second minute, aided by home defenseman Nikita Korotkov losing his stick and struggling to block the shooting lane. The visitor looked to build on that start, outshooting Sibir 13-3, but subsequent chances didn’t do enough to excite the xG boffins.
Sibir improved after the intermission. Pavel Gogolev drew a penalty, and the subsequent home power play saw Maxim Sushko hit the post from close range. However, instead of tying the game, the host fell further behind. Artemy Knyazev’s pass cut open the Sibir defense and Stepan Terekhov’s shot beat Denis Kostin.
The game came back to life towards the end of the middle frame when Vladislav Kara pulled a goal back. He almost fashioned a tying goal, setting up Gogolev but Amir Miftakhov made the save.
Early in the third period, Sibir captain Sergei Shirokov tied the game with a redirect to claim his 19th goal of the season. That ties a record set by Jaromir Jagr for the most goals scored by an over 38-year-old in a single season.
Sibir might have won it, but after choosing rest its imports, the home power play suffered in the absence of Taylor Beck and Trevor Murphy. Ak Bars, too, failed to score in regulation but settled the outcome thanks to Dmitrij Jaskin’s overtime effort.
Motormen clinch top-four finish
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (1-0, 2-1, 0-1)
It’s Avtomobilist vs Ak Bars at the start of the playoffs, while Metallurg will face Avangard. The Motormen’s victory here secured fourth place for Nikolai Zavarukhin’s team, while defeat ended Magnitka’s outside chance of taking second place from Salavat Yulaev.
The home team named a roster with victory – and home advantage at the start of the playoffs – very much in mind. The only change to the roster was the return of Maxim Denezhkin in place of Stepan Khripunov.
The home team made a bright start to the game, and after Anatoly Golyshev forced a turnover, it took a great save from Ilya Nabokov to keep the scores level. Metallurg struggled to make an impression and eventually fell behind to Artyom Kashtanov’s goal in the 17th minute.
To be honest, a 1-0 lead was a poor return for Avto’s control of the game. After the break, though, Kashtanov struck again to give the scoreline a more realistic look. Then Nabokov got a delay of game penalty and Golyshev made it 3-0 on the power play.
Nabokov ended up in the net alongside the puck, sparking a fight in front of his net with Danila Palivko and Nick Merkley the main antagonists. Once the hurly-burly was done, Nabokov left the game to be replaced by Alexander Smolin.
And, belatedly, Metallurg woke up. Robin Press pulled a goal back midway through the second period and the game came back to life. The third period saw more attacking intent from the visitor but for too long the pressure didn’t amount to anything much. Only in the last minute, playing with a sixth skater, did Magnitka get a second goal. Troy Josephs’ effort made the final scoreline look close, but in reality this always looked like Avtomobilist’s game.
Comfortable win in Chelyabinsk
Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 Amur Khabarovsk 0 (1-0, 1-0, 0-0)
Eastern Conference leader Traktor wrapped up its regular season with a routine win over Amur. Goalie Sergei Mylnikov enjoyed his second shut-out of the season.
With little riding on this end-of-season affair, Traktor rested several players. First-choice goalie Zach Fucale sat this one out, as did Maxim Shabanov, Vitaly Kravtsov and Grigory Dronov.
Not that a below-strength roster produced a below-par performance. Inside five minutes, Vasily Glotov had the home team in front. After that, Traktor had the better of the first period without adding to its lead. Amur refused to sit back and defend, and created a few decent chances at the other end.
Much of the second-period play took place in center ice and, to be honest, it didn’t make for much of a spectacle. However, patience paid off late in the frame when Benoit Groulx’s team produced a highlight reel play to double the lead. A beautiful combination involving Artyom Udot and Alexander Kadeikin dismantled the visiting defense to set up Kadeikin’s 25th goal of the season. Udot claimed his first point in the KHL.
After that, the home team continued to dictate the play. Visiting goalie Damir Shaimardanov did well to prevent any further scoring as Traktor eased to victory.
Leivo breaks Mozyakin’s record
Barys Astana 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 (0-2, 1-0, 0-2)
This game was all about Josh Leivo. The Canadian arrived with 48 goals, needing one more to set a new KHL record for regular season goals. And, while he had to wait for his big moment, he potted his 49th with 10 minutes to play. That puts him ahead of Sergei Mozyakin’s haul for Metallurg in the 2016/2017 season and establishes a new high-water mark for KHL forwards.
With a record to pursue, Barys would be the preferred opponent for any attacking player this season. The KHL’s basement team is often prone to defensive errors and lived up to that unfortunate reputation today. Midway through the third period, another mistake enabled Leivo to move into a dangerous position and wire a wrister past Artyom Shestakov. Goal #49, and Ufa’s players spilled off the bench to celebrate the record-breaking moment.
Leivo’s goal also removed any lingering doubt about the outcome of the game. Salavat Yulaev jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals from Alexander Chmelevski and Sheldon Rempal. Each assisted the other to establish a lead.
Barys responded in the 26th minute through Aslan Zhusupbekov’s first KHL goal. And although Salavat Yulaev enjoyed more possession, it remained a one-goal margin until Leivo’s historic moment. In the 56th minute, the record man turned provider with an assist as Scott Wilson made the final score 4-1. Ufa takes second place in the East and will start its playoff campaign at home against either Sibir or Admiral.
Khairullin leads SKA to narrow victory
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 SKA St. Petersburg 3 SO (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
A late goal from Ilya Karpukhin saved SKA from defeat at Torpedo and means Roman Rotenberg’s team could yet take sixth place in the West. At the end of its schedule, SKA is one point clear of seventh-placed Severstal. The Lynx play Dynamo Moscow tomorrow and a Blue-and-White win in regulation would see that pairing continue in the playoffs. Torpedo, meanwhile, remains eighth and faces Lokomotiv in post season.
SKA made a good start to the game, taking the lead through Marat Khairullin after three minutes. However, the visitor did not build on that and spent much of the first period on the back foot. Torpedo outshot its guest 22-8, but Yegor Zavragin got everything right to preserve the Petersburg advantage at the intermission.
The second session saw SKA pose more of an attacking threat. The visitor had more time on offense (5:54 vs 3:57) and led 13-7 in shots on goal. But, as in the opening frame, possession was no indicator of potency. The only goal came at the other end when, late in the frame, Slava Voynov tied it up against one of his former clubs.
Early in the third, SKA got a penalty shot. Evgeny Kuznetsov stepped up to take it, but Ivan Kulbakov has clearly been studying Kuzya’s famous shoot-out showreel and made the save. Midway through the frame there was more joy for the home team when Andrei Svechnikov made it 2-1. The visitor was in trouble, but got a lifeline when Nikita Artamonov was assessed a tripping minor in the 57th minute. Playing six-on-four, SKA stormed forward and Karpukhin potted the tying goal to take the game to the extras.
In overtime, Torpedo had a power play but could not force the winner. Then a long shoot-out was settled at the 14th attempt when Khairullin added to his two-point game with the winning effort.
