And we’re off …

The 19th KHL season got underway Saturday, with six games on opening night and no Opening Cup. The new format brought plenty of action from the off, with some milestone performances and a couple of new heroes introducing themselves to the big league.

100 goals for Kuznetsov, 350 wins for Razin

The first big milestone of the 2026/207 season went to Evgeny Kuznetsov. He marked his Sibir debut with a goal in a shoot-out loss to Ak Bars – and netted for the 100th time in the KHL in the process. Sunday saw another landmark achievement in Magnitogorsk, where Metallurg’s 4-2 win over Amur made it 350 for head coach Andrei Razin in the league.

Kotkov grabs first goal

Teenage forward Matvei Kotkov probably wasn’t high on anybody’s list to score the first goal of the new KHL season. The 18-year-old Lokomotiv prospect made his debut in the league on Saturday, and in the eighth minute he got the opener in a 5-1 win over Traktor. Not only had Kotkov never previously played in the KHL, his six pre-season appearances for the first team had not produced a goal. And he wasn’t the only rookie to celebrate a debut goal. Later that day, Torpedo’s Sergei Skvortsov, 17, claimed the only marker in his team’s 1-0 win at Spartak.

First shut-out goes to Kostin

That Torpedo victory brought the first – and so far, only – shut-out of the season. Denis Kostin made 29 saves to frustrate Spartak’s offense. Kostin, 31, had five shut-outs last season and moves to 17 in his 226 KHL games to date.

Kudashov defeats former club

Opening day threw up a clash between Alexei Kudashov’s Avtomobilist and Dynamo Moscow, the club that sacked him back in November. And the game went Kudashov’s way, with the Motormen claiming a 2-1 victory. Another former Dynamo man, Anton Slepyshev got the opening goal as the Blue-and-Whites’ new boss Leonids Tambijevs suffered defeat in his first game in charge.

Early scoring leaders

After the first weekend of action this season, three players lead the scoring race, each with three points. Riley Sawchuk, Lada’s leading scorer last term, was right in amongst it this time with a goal and two assists in a 3-4 loss to SKA. Then on Sunday, Metallurg’s Sergei Tochinsky matched that effort to pace a 4-2 win over Amur. And Dragons’ defenseman Brennen Menell had a hat-trick of helpers in his team’s thrilling 5-4 OT verdict at Neftekhimik. Jack Rodewald is the only player to score two goals in his first game of the season, lifting Salavat Yulaev to a 3-2 verdict at Severstal.

Juniors’ season starts

Sunday saw the start of the JHL season, with defending champion Loko at home to Avto. The Kharlamov Cup winner grabbed a 3-1 win, with the opening goal coming from Andrei Pustovoi, who featured for the first team in Saturday’s KHL game.

Quartet returns for 19th season

Vadim Shipachyov, Grigory Panin, Andrei Stas, Dmitry Vishnevsky. Four players linked by a unique achievement. As of Saturday, these are the only four men to play in every KHL season since the inaugural 2008/2009 campaign. Panin continues as captain of Salavat Yulaev, where he’s joined by Shipachyov this season. Stas moved to Ak Bars from Dinamo Minsk in the summer, and Vishnevsky continues on defense at Spartak.

Coming up …

The first full week of the season promises some heavyweight clashes. Perhaps the pick of the bunch comes on Sunday, when defending champion Lokomotiv takes on CSKA. The Muscovites are expected to be a major contender this season as Igor Nikitin continues to build the team in his image. Nikitin, of course, won CSKA’s first Gagarin Cup in 2019, then repeated the feat with Loko in 2025. Before that, Friday sees the latest instalment of the classic Eastern Conference rivalry between Metallurg and Ak Bars. And Magnitogorsk hosts another blockbuster on Sunday when Andrei Razin’s men face Avangard.