First coaching changes and a 10-game hot streak

After completing the first full month of the season, some clubs begin to get anxious. So perhaps it wasn’t surprising that last week brought the first news of coaching departures. But it was a major shock when we saw one of the first names on the list, even if the official statement from a table-topping club said it would only be temporary.

Razin suspended at Metallurg

Coaching changes usually affect teams struggling at the foot of the table – and we’ll come to that in a moment. But Metallurg, top of the Eastern Conference, sprang a huge surprise with a temporary suspension for head coach Andrei Razin. The decision came on Tuesday, the morning after a 2-5 loss at home to Admiral, amid talk of discontent among the Steelmen’s players. Vladimir Vorobyov took interim charge and immediately secured a 3-0 win over the same Admiral team. Vorobyov remains unbeaten, Metallurg remains top of the standings – and Razin’s future remains unclear.

Zubov leaves Lada

Metallurg wasn’t the first team to make a move with its coaching staff. Lada, second bottom in the standings, acted on Monday to dismiss Pavel Zubov. The decision was announced a few hours before the team faced Shanghai Dragons – and under interim head coach Igor Gorbenko the Motormen suffered a 0-5 loss. Lada still has just one victory this season, but showed signs of improvement on Saturday when it took Admiral to overtime at the start of a Far East tour before suffering a ninth straight loss.

Outsiders fly high

Not many people expected to see the likes of Barys or Amur contesting the upper echelons of the Eastern Conference this season – but both clubs are currently in the top four. Amur jumped as high as third during the week following back-to-back wins at Traktor. The Tigers have an almost flawless penalty kill this season, allowing just one goal when shorthanded and leading the league by some margin. By the end of the week, Amur was in fourth place after Barys swaggered into the top three with a 5-1 thrashing of Avangard on Saturday. That took the Kazakhs to 52 goals this term, the most productive team in the KHL so far.

10 in a row

There’s not a doubt about the KHL’s form team right now. CSKA reeled off a 10th successive win on Friday, winning 5-2 at Dynamo in the latest Moscow derby. Igor Nikitin’s team is tied with Lokomotiv on 22 points at the top of the Western Conference and puts its winning streak to the test on Wednesday with a rematch against the Blue-and-Whites.

Dynamo halts skid

Dynamo, meanwhile, is celebrating the end of a six-game skid, and its first win over a First Cup opponent this season. The First Cup is an on-going contest between the six KHL clubs that featured in the inaugural Soviet hockey championship 80 years ago. Dynamo won that 1946 title, but the class of 2026 is struggling. Sunday’s overtime win against SKA halted the skid, and secured a first victory in the mini-tournament. But it was another struggle for Leonids Tambijevs’ team, which blew 2-0 and 3-1 leads before taking the overtime verdict.

Gusev’s first points

Nikita Gusev moved to 750 career points in the KHL as he opened his account for Sochi. But the forward’s pair of assists could not stave off a 2-5 loss at home to Spartak. Since signing with the Leopards, Gusev has played three games and been involved in every goal his new team has scored. The problem – two of those three games ended in blank losses and Sochi managed only two goals in total.