Top goalie jets in, streaks come to an end

It was a week of changing fortunes. A big-name signing halted a nine-game skid, while two high-flyers saw impressive hot streaks turn cold. Elsewhere, a seventh player reached 900 KHL games and Sochi got a new head coach.

Hot streaks ended

This week saw Ak Bars and Severstal defeated at the end of record-breaking winning streaks. Ak Bars won all 11 of its games in October, but fell to an overtime goal at home to Lada on Nov. 1. That halted the winning run, but the point from tying in regulation was enough to put Anvar Gatiyatilin’s team on top of the KHL standings, albeit in a tie with Metallurg.

Severstal, which flirted with the Western Conference summit, saw its eight-game streak end with a 0-3 loss at home to Dynamo Moscow. And Andrei Kozyrev’s team lost its next game as well, falling 3-6 at home to Shanghai Dragons as the Chinese franchise claimed its 200th KHL victory. 

Mamin’s big moment

After moving from CSKA to Dynamo Moscow in the summer, forward Maxim Mamin hasn’t enjoyed much success. Injury disrupted his season and it wasn’t until November that he scored his first goal for his new team. But what a goal it was. Returning to action in a Moscow derby against his former club, Mamin snapped a 2-2 tie with 90 seconds remaining to give the Blue-and-Whites a dramatic victory.

Coaching change at Sochi

After allowing eight goals in two of its previous three games, HC Sochi reshuffled its coaching staff. Vladimir Krikunov moved upstairs to become the club’s coaching consultant, with Dmitry Mikhailov taking over behind the bench. That move brought an immediate reward, with Mikhailov’s first game in charge producing a 5-2 win over Spartak and ending a nine-game skid.

Winning start for Samsonov

Goaltender Ilya Samsonov stepped off the plane and made his first KHL appearance since 2018 to help Sochi to that victory. Just three hours after touching down, he was on the ice against Spartak, playing a big role in his new team’s success. The 28-year-old played the first two periods against Spartak, stopping 30 shots as Sochi built a 3-1 lead. Not a bad way for the former Washington, Toronto and Vegas goalie to return after seven years and 200 games in the NHL. Samsonov, who began his KHL career with hometown club Metallurg, has a two-year deal with the Leopards.

Ellis arrives in Sochi, Josephs joins Shanghai

Samsonov wasn’t the only trade involving Sochi last week. The Leopards acquired forward Max Ellis from Shanghai Dragons with Troy Josephs going the other way. Josephs previously played for Lada and Metallurg in the KHL but didn’t get off to a strong start with Sochi. Ellis, meanwhile, came to the league this summer as part of the Dragons’ revolution. The American forward scored four goals at the start of the season but then failed to find the net for six months. Sochi will be hoping that, much like Will Bitten last term, Ellis can unleash his potential in new surroundings.

Goalie switch in Ufa

Salavat Yulaev said farewell to first-choice goaltender Alexander Samonov and brought in Ilya Konovalov as his replacement. Samonov, 30, is off to CSKA where import Spencer Martin has made an uneven start to life in the KHL. Samonov’s form this season failed to reach the level of his previous two campaigns in Ufa, and he was facing increased competition from Semyon Vyazovoi for the starting role. Konovalov, meanwhile, impressed in his early days with Lokomotiv but faced criticism at Dynamo after some disappointing playoff numbers. Last season he played 18 regular-season games for Admiral but the 27-year-old was without a club until agreeing his move to Ufa last week.

Lada rebuilds offense

It’s been a busy week of trading in Togliatti, where Lada acquired four new forwards. Imports Tomas Jurco and Tyler Graovac led the signings: both are used to working together from their spells at Kunlun Red Star. In addition, Anton Burdasov – most recently with Barys – is continuing his hockey career alongside a burgeoning reputation in Esports and Nikita Setdikov also joins after spending much of last season on Burdasov’s line in Kazakhstan. Import Josh Lawrence, who arrived in the summer, has been placed on waivers.

Amur snaps skid

Sochi wasn’t the only struggling team to end a losing streak. Amur’s 3-2 derby win over Admiral ended a five-game slump, and handed the Sailors a seventh straight loss. Sibir is also on a seven-game losing streak and those Eastern Conference strugglers are now at the foot of the KHL form table.

Both Tkachyovs score on former clubs

Both the KHL’s Vladimir Tkachyovs visited their former clubs last week, and both managed to score on their former colleagues. First, Metallurg’s Tkachyov converted a five-on-three power play in Omsk as Magnitka defeated Avangard. He chose not to celebrate the goal, later explaining it was a mark of respect towards the fans in Omsk. Then, on Sunday, Sibir’s Tkachyov returned to Chelyabinsk and found the net in a 3-4 loss to Traktor.

900 games for Shirokov

That Sibir game at Traktor saw Sergei Shirokov suit up in the KHL for the 900th time in his career. The visiting captain also potted the opening goal of the game but could not complete the celebration with a win. The forward has 564 (247+317) points and won the Gagarin Cup with SKA in 2017. Shirokov, 39, is the seventh player to reach 900 appearances. The all-time leaders are Vadim Shipachyov (1081 games), Ilya Kablukov (1027), Evgeny Biryukov (1001), Sergei Plotnikov (962), Andrei Stas (954) and Grigory Panin (930).