Goalie goal, bottom blanks top (twice)

It’s been a good week for goaltending. One netminder claimed a goal on the way to a shut-out win; another twice blanked the defending champion in the same week. There were also big moments for forwards, with two club scoring records and a productive import coming back to the KHL.

Lada blanks defending champ – twice

Despite being stuck at the foot of the KHL standings, Lada showed its fighting qualities twice this week. Home and away games against defending champion Lokomotiv brought a 1-0 road win in Yaroslavl, followed by a shoot-out success on home ice after a goalless tie through 65 minutes. That helped newly-appointed head coach Igor Gorbenko make a bright start to life after his interim role was elevated on Monday.

Goalie goal for Boyarkin

Nikita Boyarkin is the sixth goaltender to register a goal in the KHL. His big moment came late in Admiral’s 4-0 win over SKA. The visitor was on the power play and played with an empty net in a bid to get back into the game. But when Danil Aimurzin misread a pass from behind the net, the puck slithered away into the Petersburg net. Boyarkin was the last Admiral player to touch the puck and was thus credited with the goal. Oddly, this was the first time a home goalie has scored in the KHL. Boyarkin, who also made 39 saves for his shut-out, joins Ilya Proskuryakov, Edgars Masalskis, Vitaly Yeremeyev, Joni Ortio and Ilya Konovalov on the list of goalscoring goalies in the KHL.

Gusev sets club record …

Nikita Gusev’s two-point game against Dinamo Minsk took his hot streak to 11 games – and set a club record for Sochi. He’s collected 14 (2+12) points in that run, including the winning goal in Sunday’s 3-2 OT success against the Belarusians. Gusev also reached 800 KHL games this week, marking that occasion with his first goal for the Leopards in a 1-4 loss at Severstal.

… and so does Altybarmakyan

Lada’s winning goal in Yaroslavl on Monday was scored by Andrei Altybarmakyan. That was his 39th for the Motormen, setting a new club record in the KHL. Altybarmakyan, now 28, began his career in SKA’s system. He made his KHL debut with Sochi and joined Lada in 2023. He was one of the first players to earn a spot in the KHL All-Star Game by virtue of an MVP performance in the JHL’s Challenge Cup.

Da Costa to Belarus

Stephane da Costa is heading back to the KHL. The French center, one of the most successful KHL imports of all-time, left Avtomobilist in the summer and has been without a club since then. But after taking some time to enjoy life as a new dad – he and basketball star Ksenia Levchenko had a son earlier this year – it’s back to work for da Costa. Dinamo, struggling for goals this season, will be his fifth KHL team. In 11 seasons he has 627 games and 560 points from spells with Avto, Ak Bars and CSKA.

Khokhryakov joins all-timers club

Forward Pyotr Khokhryakov, a Gagarin Cup winner with SKA in 2015, is the latest player to feature in every KHL season. He began the current campaign in the VHL, but joined Sochi last week. His first appearance for the Leopards continued his record of featuring every year since he made eight appearances for Neftekhimik in the inaugural 2008/2009 season. In those 19 years, he has featured in 13 playoff campaigns. In total, he has 801 games and 186 points, representing Neftekhimik, SKA, Salavat Yulaev, Traktor and Amur. He joins Grigory Panin, Vadim Shipachyov, Andrei Stas and Dmitry Vishnevsky on the list of KHL All-Timers, having played at least once in every season since the league was formed.

Tight table in the East

It would be hard to have a tighter race than the KHL’s Eastern Conference. While leader Metallurg is some way clear, just seven points separate second-placed Neftekhimik from basement-dwelling Sibir. Within that, five teams – Amur, Barys, Salavat Yulaev, Avtomobilist and Admiral – are locked on 25 points. They occupy fourth through eighth places, with Traktor and Ak Bars a point adrift in their quest for a playoff spot. The margins are so fine that if Ak Bars – currently 10th – beats Torpedo on Monday, it will leap ahead of third-placed Avangard.

Russia dominates Cup of the Future

This weekend’s junior hockey tournament was dominated by Team Russia. The U20s won the four-team tournament ahead of Russia U18, with a 10-3 head-to-head victory ultimately deciding the fate of the title. Belarus U20 took third place ahead of Kazakhstan U20. Spartak forward Sergei Skvortsov, who has 1+1 in 11 KHL games this season, led the tournament scoring with 7 (4+3) in three games. CSKA’s 17-year-old forward Nazar Privalov, who scored two goals in the KHL last month, also had seven points.