Title for Loko, record for Leivo
The KHL regular season is done – complete with a new name at the top of the standings and a long-standing record broken. Plus, we’re all set for the 2025 Gagarin Cup playoffs, with some intriguing pairings to come this week.
Playoff match-ups set
Sunday brought an end to the regular season, and with it confirmation of the first-round playoff pairings. Stand-out contests include Dynamo Moscow vs SKA, recalling the semi-final tussles of the early 2010s at an early stage after SKA’s lowest ever regular season finish. In the East, new scoring record holder Josh Leivo’s Salavat Yulaev faces Sibir, while the battle between defending champion Metallurg and Guy Boucher’s in-form Avangard looks like a series to savor.
Wednesday, March 26: Spartak vs Severstal, Dinamo Minsk vs CSKA, Metallurg vs Avangard, Avtomobilist vs Ak Bars.
Thursday, March 27: Lokomotiv vs Torpedo, Dynamo Moscow vs SKA, Traktor vs Admiral, Salavat Yulaev vs Sibir.
As usual, each series is a best-of-seven affair with the last games (if needed) scheduled for April 7 and 8.
New name on Continental Cup
Lokomotiv began the week by securing top spot in the regular season standings. Having twice finished second, this was the first time the Railwaymen finished top of the pile. Loko is the seventh team to win the cup, joining CSKA (six wins), SKA (three), Dynamo Moscow (two), Salavat Yulaev (two), Traktor and Avangard (one each). The Railwaymen were also the only team to reach 100 points this season, finishing with 102, six ahead of Eastern Conference leader Traktor.
Leivo breaks Mozyakin’s record
It went to the last 10 minutes of the season, but Josh Leivo got his 49th goal of the season to break Sergei Mozyakin’s record for goals in a KHL regular season. The Canadian scored twice on Sibir during the week to join Mozyakin on 48 and it all came down to the trip to Barys on Saturday. Leivo’s team-mates did all they could to get chances for their man – he had five shots on goal in the game – and in the 51st minute he grabbed Ufa’s third goal of the game to set a new record.
... and so does Shipachyov
The regular season goal record wasn’t the only one that Mozyakin relinquished at the weekend. Dinamo Minsk’s Vadim Shipachyov had two assists in a 6-2 win at Sochi to finish the campaign with 57 points. That makes Shipachyov the most productive player aged 37+ in a KHL regular season. In similar vein, Sergei Shirokov’s 19th goal of the season for Sibir, at the age of 38, tied the record for 38+ players set by Jaromir Jagr back in 2010/2011.
70 games in a 68-game season
Avangard’s Nail Yakupov set an unlikely record when he completed 70 appearances during the 2024/2025 regular season. With teams playing 68 games each, this is a record that’s going to be difficult to beat. Yakupov got there thanks to a trade. He began the season at Kunlun Red Star, where he played 27 games. Then he moved to Avangard, which had only played 25 games at the time, and remained ever present through 43 remaining fixtures to reach 70 appearances and 42 (23+24) points.
200 goals at each end
SKA’s season brought a seventh-placed finish in the West – and a unique goal record. Roman Rotenberg’s team is the only one in KHL history score and allow 200 goals in the same season. With 236 goals scored, SKA was the most prolific team in the league, well clear of Traktor on 223 and Spartak on 221. On defense, though, things were less impressive: SKA allowed 205 goals, with only four teams – Barys, Kunlun, Sochi and Amur – conceding more.
Scoring leaders
It’s no surprise that record-breaking Josh Leivo finishes the season as the leading KHL scorer. The Salavat Yulaev man had 80 (49+31) points from 62 games, 11 points clear of Dynamo’s Nikita Gusev. Sibir’s Trevor Murphy was the highest-scoring defenseman, with 58 (13+45) points. Murphy also led the league in assists. Semyon Chistyakov of Avangard had 19 goals, the most among defensemen this term.
Top goalies
Vladislav Podyapolsky finished the regular season with a 93.8% save ratio from 42 games for Dynamo Moscow and Lada. That was matched by Salavat Yulaev youngster Semyon Vyazovoi, but he played just 28 games and spent 1,000 fewer minutes in action. Lokomotiv’s Daniil Isayev had the best GAA with 1.61 (Vyazovoi again close on 1.80), while Traktor’s Zach Fucale led the way with nine shut-outs, one more than Isayev.
