Happy travels

Not even a tough travel schedule could daunt this week’s leading teams. Back-to-back wins with a five-hour flight in between lifted a free-scoring outsider to the Eastern summit, while a Western powerhouse reeled off five straight victories on the road.

Neftekhimik leads the way

The Eastern Conference has an unexpected leader. At the end of week four of the season, Neftekhimik is in first place, ahead of Metallurg by virtue of more wins in regulation. The teams are locked on 15 points, two ahead of Ak Bars. The Wolves also share the lead for goals this season, matching Barys on 37, albeit from one game more than the Kazakhs. Igor Grishin’s team reached the top the hard way, winning back-to-back games at the weekend. Usually, teams play twice in two days at the same venue, reducing overall travel time. But for Neftekhimik, things were different: Friday’s trip to Barys was postponed to Saturday and after a 6-3 win in Astana, the team flew direct to Vladivostok – about five hours in the air – and rallied from 0-2 to beat Admiral.

Belozyorov, Zhafyarov on the goal trail

A league-leading contribution from captain Andrei Belozyorov has spearheaded Neftekhimik’s charge. He currently heads the scoring race with 13 points, sharing top spot with SKA’s Nikolai Goldobin (1+12) ahead of two rivals on 12. That chasing pack includes his Nizhnekamsk team-mate Damir Zhafyarov, who has scored four goals in his last three games, and Barys’s summer signing Justin Bailey. This week, Neftekhimik’s three games produced 27 goals – an average of nine each – with wins over Lada (7-3), Barys (6-3) and Admiral (5-3).

Happy travels for CSKA

This week saw the Muscovites complete a five-game road trip – and they did it in style. A 5-0 victory at Lada clinched a flawless five-game hot streak from games at Sochi, Torpedo, Admiral, Amur and finally the Motormen. Moreover, Igor Nikitin’s team had three shut-outs along the road. That run puts CSKA up to third in the west, four points behind leader Lokomotiv.

Severstal ends drought

Goals are starting to flow for Severstal after the Cherepovets club suffered three successive shut-outs. Ilya Ivantsov ended the drought after 235:12, scoring on Amur and paving the way for a first win in four. That triggered a rush: 4-1 in Khabarovsk , 5-2 and 3-1 at home to Avtomobilist and Sochi, as the Lynx moved up to seventh in the West.

Barys matches record

The Barys offense has grabbed the headlines this season, but Mikhail Kravets’ team also showed off its defensive capabilities in a 4-1 win at Dynamo Moscow. With 41 blocked shots in 60 minutes, the Kazakhs equalled a KHL record. Goalie Andrei Shutov contributed 37 saves on the night to frustrate the Blue-and-Whites.

Smith’s flying start

Dinamo Minsk defenseman Ty Smith is the last remaining player to have a point in each game this season. The 26-year-old Canadian, in his second season in the KHL, has made a fantastic start to the campaign with 10 (1+9) points in his first eight games. That hot streak puts him top of scoring amongst blue-liners this season, two points clear of Shanghai Dragons’ Brennan Menell, Jake Massie of Barys, Salavat Yulaev’s Alexander Alexeyev and CSKA’s Yegor Zamula.

Hayes hangs ‘em up

One of the shortest KHL careers came to an end on Monday. Kevin Hayes, who joined Ak Bars at the start of the season after more than 800 games in the NHL, announced he was retiring from the game. In a statement the American forward admitted that he was no longer able to play at the highest level. Hayes moved to Kazan in the summer, but managed just five games for his new club and did not score a point.

Avto impressing in anniversary challenge

Avtomobilist’s 4-2 win at Spartak on Saturday snapped a four-game skid. It also means the Motormen remain the only undefeated team in this season’s on-going 80th anniversary tournament. The six KHL teams that featured in the first Soviet hockey championship back in 1946 are contesting a mini-league, due to conclude in December of the anniversary of the opening games. Avtomobilist is one of those clubs, and has won both of its games against fellow ‘Original Six’ opposition this season. Thus, Alexei Kudashov shares the lead in the tournament with CSKA (two wins from three games) and Spartak (two from four). SKA and Torpedo have one win apiece, while Dynamo Moscow has two losses so far.