Fastest goals, last-minute drama and a coaching record

Round 1 of the playoffs is done. From eight series, we saw one sweep and one pair go to six games. But every contest produced drama and special moments, with a sprinkling of KHL records along the way.

Nikitin beats Bilyaletdinov’s record

CSKA’s success in its first-round series against SKA saw head coach Igor Nikitin claim his 91st victory in a KHL playoff game. That overtakes Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s 90 victories behind the bench at Ak Bars and sets a new league record. After reaching that landmark, Nikitin spoke warmly of three-time Gagarin Cup-winner Bilyaletdinov’s achievements. “I have great respect for the maestro who I overtook, and I greatly value his opinion. Back then I was fortunate that Zinetula Khaidarovich invited me to work with the national team. I may have won more games, but it’s the number of trophies that counts. And compared to him, I still have work to do.”

Galimov’s fastest goal

The first round of the playoffs also brought the quickest goal in playoff history. Artyom Galimov scored for Ak Bars just seven seconds into game five of its series against Traktor. That was even quicker than the 11 seconds Konstantin Pushkaryov needed to score for Barys in 2017 – oddly enough, also on Traktor. Galimov’s goal didn’t trigger a high-scoring game: the teams were locked at 1-1 through 60 minutes, before Dmitrij Jaskin’s overtime marker secured both game and series for Ak Bars. The OT goal was also pretty quick; Jaskin struck 57 seconds into the extras.

Dramatic finish in Ufa

From scoring early, to scoring late. Maxim Kuznetsov got his first goal of this year’s playoffs – and could hardly have picked a more important moment. Salavat Yulaev, up 3-2 in its series against Avtomobilist, was in the final minute of game on home ice in Ufa. Avto’s Roman Gorbunov scored with 33 seconds to play – surely the winner? – only for Kuznetsov to set his big bird cellie flying with a last-gasp equalizer. Sheldon Rempal assisted on that and finally potted the winner at the start of a second period of OT. Salavat Yulaev took the series 4-2, Rempal’s hot streak extends to five game with 3+4 points.

Prokhorkin steers Avangard through

There was a similar finale in Omsk as Avangard got over the line in five games against Neftekhimik. Here, too, the visitor was seconds away from extending the series. However, Nikolai Prokhorkin tied that game with eight seconds remaining. At the start of the extras, Avangard got a power play and Prokhorkin popped up again with the game winner. His two tallies came just 70 seconds apart and propelled the Hawks into round two.

Defending champ advances in five

Lokomotiv got past Spartak in five games – but Bob Hartley’s team was tested before wrapping up the series. The Red-and-Whites jumped to a 2-0 lead in Yaroslavl and looked capable of bringing the action back to Moscow for a sixth game. But three-and-a-half second-period minutes saw Loko haul the game back to 2-2. After that, it was a question of who would blink first: Spartak offered up an opportunity, and Alexander Radulov set up Georgy Ivanov to win it for the Railwaymen.

Minsk claims first-round sweep

Dinamo Minsk was the only team to make it through the opening round without losing a game – while Dynamo Moscow failed to a register a first-round victory for the first time. The Muscovites never managed more than one goal in a playoff game this season and, despite holding a 1-1 scoreline into 2OT in game four, fell on home ice to two goals from Stanislav Galiyev. Galiyev celebrated his 300th KHL point along the way and can add to that tally against Ak Bars in round 2.

Goalie battle for Sibir and Magnitka

Sibir goalie Mikhail Berdin produced the performance of a lifetime to keep his team in its first-round series against Metallurg. Down 0-3 to the regular season champ, Berdin’s 41 saves helped keep game four scoreless until 99:99. Then Anton Kosolapov scored, giving Sibir the win and taking the series back to Magnitogorsk. But in the Urals, it was Magnitka’s goalie, Alexander Smolin, who got the vital shut-out. He made 24 saves, and Daniil Vovchenko scored the only goal to send Andrei Razin’s team through.

Tkachyov to face Tkachyov

Torpedo’s victory over Severstal in the first round owed much to forward Vladimir Tkachyov. In particular, his double in game five helped secure a 4-2 victory that finished the job for Alexei Isakov’s men. He has 3+1 from that series, just behind scoring leaders Sergei Goncharuk (3+2) and Vladislav Firstov (1+4). As a result, Torpedo advances to face Metallurg, where another Vladimir Tkachyov is one of the pass masters. He has five assists in the playoffs, after a league-leading 58 helpers in the regular season. Whichever team comes out on top, it’s likely that Tkachyov will be a key name in the upcoming series.

First hat-tricks

After waiting more than a week for a playoff hat-trick, we had two on the same day. Avtomobilist’s Stepan Khripunov was the somewhat surprising claimant of the tournament’s first treble this year. Khripunov, 30, is one of those workhorse forwards more noted for hard graft than high scoring in his 500 KHL games. Yet in game 499 of a career that began in Ufa, he slowed Salavat Yulaev’s march into round two with a vital hat-trick that kept the Motormen in its series. Later the same day, Denis Guryanov’s hattie in Moscow helped CSKA complete its series win over SKA. Guryanov currently leads the playoffs with six goals and is one of a group of players on seven points. 

Coming up

Round 2 of the playoffs gets underway tomorrow – and we start with a rematch of the 2019 and 2021 Gagarin Cup finals with Avangard facing CSKA. Later on Tuesday, Lokomotiv continues its title defense against Salavat Yulaev. Regular season champ Metallurg begins its series against Torpedo on Wednesday before Dinamo Minsk takes on Ak Bars.