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Damir Sharipzyanov rewrote the KHL record books. His assist in Avangard’s overtime victory at Dinamo Minsk gives him the most productive season for a defenseman in the KHL. His 66 points this term beat Chris Lee’s 65 for Metallurg in 2016/2017. Earlier in the day, Lada came from 0-2 to beat Amur.

Sibir clinched the 16th and final playoff spot with a 3-2 victory over CSKA in Monday’s early game. The Siberians cannot finish higher than eighth in the East, meaning the first playoff pairing is also confirmed: regular season champ Metallurg, a 4-3 winner over Avtomobilist today, will start against Sibir. Neither SKA nor Torpedo were able to close on fourth-placed CSKA in the West. Traktor won 2-1 at home to SKA, Torpedo fell 3-6 to Neftekhimik. An entertaining Moscow derby ended in a shoot-out win for Dynamo at Spartak. Severstal beat Ak Bars 4-2 in Monday’s other action.

A last-minute goal from Danil Yurtaikin gave Amur the win it needed to stay in playoff contention. The Tigers’ 3-2 success at Sochi means Sibir must win tomorrow to confirm its playoff spot. Elsewhere, Sam Anas moved to 86 points for the season with an assist in Dinamo Minsk’s 2-1 shoot-out victory over Lokomotiv. Anas is chasing Nikita Gusev’s 89-point record for a KHL regular season. Sunday’s other game saw Salavat Yulaev beat Shanghai Dragons 5-3.

Saturday’s solitary KHL game brought a road win for CSKA, halting Avtomobilist’s seven-game winning streak.

With nine games on Friday’s card, this was the most action-packed day of the KHL season. The focus was on the Eastern Conference, where Sibir and Amur are fighting for the last remaining playoff spot. And the outcome was inconclusive as both teams suffered overtime losses. Sibir fell at home to Metallurg, while Amur stumbled at Spartak. There were big victories for Avangard (6-1 vs Dragons), SKA (5-0 vs Severstal) and Admiral (6-2 vs Barys). Traktor came from behind to beat Torpedo in overtime, Dynamo recovered twice before winning a shoot-out in Ufa. Maxim Shalunov potted a hat-trick as Lokomotiv won 4-2 at Lada and Dmitrij Jaskin’s 200th KHL goal helped Ak Bars to a 2-0 win over Sochi.

Thursday’s only KHL game was a basement battle in the Eastern Conference.

An overtime victory in Ufa, coupled with Lokomotiv’s defeat against Avtomobilist, means Metallurg will finish top of this season’s regular season standings. It’s the first time Magnitka has claimed top spot: in 2021/2022 the Steelmen topped the standings for points and ppg, but the regular season was not played to a finish after the Olympic break and the trophy was not awarded. Wednesday’s other action brought wins for Avangard, Severstal, CSKA, Dynamo Moscow and SKA.

Fifteen out of 16 playoff spaces are now full. Amur’s loss at home to Barys in Tuesday’s opening game was enough to confirm Traktor’s post-season spot despite the Chelyabinsk team’s loss to Neftekhimik later in the day. Meanwhile, Neftekhimik’s victory means that Igor Grishin has steered the Wolves to the playoffs in his first full season as a KHL head coach. Elsewhere, Ak Bars eased to victory at home to Spartak, while CSKA moved to fourth in the West with a win over Sochi.

An overtime success at home to Severstal secured first place in the Western Conference for Lokomotiv. Georgy Ivanov snapped a 3-3 tie after late drama in Yaroslavl. Second-placed Dinamo Minsk can no longer catch the defending champion after its 4-6 loss at Dynamo Moscow. In the East, Sibir held its nerve to beat Avangard in a shoot-out and open a five-point gap over ninth-placed Amur. The Tigers will hope to reduce the deficit in tomorrow’s home game against Barys.

Sunday’s three KHL games began in Magnitogorsk, where Traktor blew a 2-0 lead against Metallurg and, with it, the chance to confirm its playoff place. Spartak won 5-2 on the road at Lada and Torpedo took a 4-3 verdict at home to Sochi.

The second of this season’s KHL World Games encounters produced a 12-goal thriller. Barys came out on top in Shanghai thanks to a hat-trick from Michael Vecchione and a busy evening for Reilly Walsh. In the race for the last remaining playoff spots, Amur closed to within three points of Sibir thanks to a 6-3 win over Salavat Yulaev. Sibir lost to Ak Bars by the same scoreline. Sergei Plotnikov made his 1,000th KHL appearance, and proved to be the architect of a victory at Dynamo Moscow. Elsewhere, Neftekhimik ended a four-game skid with victory at Admiral and Spartak thrashed Lada 7-1.

The top two in the Eastern Conference both suffered 3-1 losses. Leader Metallurg fell at home to Avtomobilist, while second-placed Avangard fell to a surprise defeat in Sochi. CSKA edged a 1-0 win over Traktor, preventing the Chelyabinsk club from securing its playoff spot this week.

Amid the celebrations for the Chinese Year of the Horse, the Dragons returned home for the first time since 2020. Shanghai hosted the first of two KHL World Games encounters and a near-capacity crowd saw the Dragons fall to a narrow 1-2 loss against playoff-chasing Sibir. Elsewhere, Salavat Yulaev confirmed its post season spot with victory at Amur, while Admiral’s hopes were ended despite victory over Neftekhimik. In the Western Conference the only game of the day went to overtime before SKA took a 2-1 verdict at Dinamo Minsk.

Wednesday’s KHL action brought four wins out of four for road teams – three of them with shut-outs. However, one of today’s winners, Lokomotiv, was playing in its own arena after its game at HC Sochi was moved to Yaroslavl. The Leopards battled hard but fell to a 51st-minute goal. Elsewhere, Josh Leivo picked up four points as Traktor won 5-0 at Torpedo, Avtomobilist took a 4-0 verdict at Dynamo and Avangard beat CSKA 2-0.

Dinamo Minsk’s in-form offense was halted by Metallurg goalie Alexander Smolin. He made 42 saves in Belarus to help the league leader to a 3-0 win. In the playoff race, Amur moved to within three points of eighth-placed Sibir with a 3-1 win over Neftekhimik. Tuesday’s other action saw Evgeny Kuznetsov led Salavat Yulaev to a shoot-out win at Admiral, and Lada came from 0-2 to beat Ak Bars at home.

Sunday’s action was all about the race for the Eastern playoffs. Amur moved to within five points of eighth-placed Sibir with a 3-2 win over Neftekhimik. Admiral defeated Salavat Yulaev 4-2, meaning the Ufa men must wait a little longer to clinch their place. At the other end of the standings, Eastern Conference leader Metallurg suffered a third straight loss, falling 1-4 at Dynamo. Third-placed Ak Bars took a 1-0 verdict from Chelyabinsk. In the West, Sochi thumped Torpedo 5-1 in a game disrupted by the threat of a drone attack, and Shanghai Dragons edged Lada 2-1.

Georgy Ivanov scores twice as Lokomotiv moved five points clear in the West with a 5-2 win at SKA. That loss saw the home team drop to eight as Spartak moved ahead with a 5-3 win over Barys in Moscow.

The West is done. All eight playoff spots in the Western Conference are now filled. CSKA’s high-scoring win over Shanghai Dragons confirms Spartak as the eighth and final qualifier. At the top of the Western Conference, Dinamo Minsk tightened its grip on second with a 3-2 win at Sochi while third-placed Severstal fell at home to Torpedo. In the east, Avangard edged Metallurg in overtime, while Avtomobilist defeated Ak Bars in a shoot-out.

Seven out of eight playoff places in the West are now full after Dynamo Moscow won 4-1 at SKA to secure its post-season spot. The remaining gap is almost certainly Spartak’s: Yegor Filin’s hat-trick led the Red-and-Whites to victory over Admiral, and the gap to ninth-placed Shanghai is now 17 points. In the East, Salavat Yulaev defeated Traktor in a shoot-out, remaining clear of its visitor in fifth place.

There were three contrasting games on Wednesday’s KHL card. The most exciting clash came in Kazan, where Lada rallied from 0-3 to beat Ak Bars in a shoot-out. The highest-scoring was in Sochi, as Dinamo Minsk won 7-2 over the Leopards. And the most complete defensive performance saw CSKA take a 2-0 verdict at home to Neftekhimik.

A 4-3 win at Torpedo lifted Dinamo Minsk to second place in the West, with KHL scoring leader Sam Anas collecting two more points to move to 76 (28+48) points. Traktor scored two late goals to beat Lada in Chelyabinsk. Sochi’s game at home to CSKA was abandoned for safety reasons.

Sunday was all about the Eastern Conference playoffs. Avtomobilist booked its place thanks to a 4-1 win over Shanghai Dragons – a result that leaves the Chinese franchise close to elimination. Amur’s win at Avangard, coupled with a 0-1 loss for Sibir at Neftekhimik, closes the gap to six points between eighth and ninth. Elsewhere, Spartak won an entertaining game at Salavat Yulaev, Severstal and Metallurg earned overtime wins over Barys and Admiral respectively.

Alexander Radulov became only the third man in history to score 800 points in the KHL. He had two assists in Lokomotiv’s 5-4 SO win over Dinamo Minsk to achieve that landmark. Team-mate Rushan Rafikov became Loko’s all-time most productive defenseman in the same game. There was another shoot-out at Torpedo, where Ak Bars blew a 2-0 lead and lost. Saturday’s other game saw SKA beat CSKA 3-0.

Josh Leivo scored his first goal in 11 games to help Traktor to a 5-2 win over Severstal. Fellow Canadian Nick Merkley also had a big day, picking up two assists as Shanghai Dragons won in OT at Barys. That sees Merkley overtake Brandon Yip’s club record 42 points in a KHL season. Avtomobilist failed to secure its playoff spot on Friday, crashing at home to Admiral. Sibir could not close out a win at Avangard, but a shoot-out loss still saw Yaroslav Lyuznekov move a point further away from Amur, beaten 1-3 at Metallurg. Neftekhimik wrapped up the day’s play with a 2-0 win at home to Spartak.

Thursday’s KHL action saw the Western Conference basement duo in action – and both lost out once again. Lada, already eliminated from playoff contention, fell 2-4 at home to Ak Bars, although the struggling Motormen kept this game tied until late on. Sochi, rooted to the foot of the Western Conference, could not lay a glove on Dynamo as the Muscovites won 4-0.

Evgeny Kuznetsov had never mustered a point on Traktor, his hometown team, until today. Now he has 4 (1+3) after leading Salavat Yulaev to a 6-0 win in Chelyabinsk. There was late drama in the West as Shanghai Dragons struck with six seconds to play at Torpedo, forcing a 3-3 tie. However, Vladimir Tkachyov won it for the host in overtime, securing a playoff spot. SKA tied Severstal at 2-2 with 15 seconds to play, but fell to the second-placed team in the West in a shoot-out. The big game in the East also went to overtime before Amur defeated Sibir to keep its hopes of a top-eight finish alive. And there was another six-goal show as Dinamo Minsk thumped Spartak 6-1, helped by four power play goals.

Lada’s 2-1 win at home to CSKA was the surprise of the day – and the defeat prevented the Muscovites from clinching their playoff place today. Andrew Poturalski stretched his hot streak to 13 games, but could not prevent Avangard from falling 2-5 at home to Ak Bars. Lokomotiv edged a 1-0 win over Neftekhimik to move seven clear at the top of the West, while Eastern leader Metallurg responded to Sunday’s 1-8 thrashing with an overtime win at Barys. Avtomobilist, which scored eight on the league leader, followed up with a 4-1 success at home to Sochi.

After three weeks on the road, SKA returned to St. Petersburg and enjoyed a 4-0 win at home to Salavat Yulaev. Monday’s other game was Amur win 3-0 at Admiral, with the Sailors losing on home ice for the sixth time in a row.

Severstal and Dinamo Minsk are the latest teams to confirm their playoff spots. The Lynx won 3-1 at home to Neftekhimik, securing a top-eight finish on their own merits. Dinamo fell to a 3-4 loss at Spartak, but Shanghai’s OT loss to CSKA means the Belarusians can also start preparing for post season. Elsewhere, Avtomobilist produced the performance of the day with an 8-1 thrashing of league leader Metallurg. Avangard enjoyed a 6-2 win over Traktor, and Dynamo won on the road at Torpedo.

The first team to be eliminated from playoff contention is Lada. The Motormen had to get something from today’s game at Barys to retain a mathematical possibility of making the top eight, but lost 3-5. Sochi then took a point from its OT loss at home to Lokomotiv, sending Lada back to the foot of the Western Conference standings.

Metallurg saw its five-game hot streak ended in a shoot-out loss at Salavat Yulaev. The home team extended its winning run to six games. Dynamo Moscow celebrated back-to-back wins for the first time since December, edging a 2-1 verdict at Avtomobilist. There were also road wins in the Far East: Avangard scored six on Amur, Traktor proved clinical in a 3-2 result in Vladivostok.

Dinamo Minsk closed the gap on Western Conference leader Lokomotiv to four points thanks to a 4-2 win over the Railwaymen. Third-placed Severstal also won, keeping Shanghai at a distance from the top eight as SKA won comfortably at Barys. Spartak lost a second derby in three days, blanked by CSKA. In the East, Ak Bars edged an OT verdict over Torpedo, Sibir marked head coach Yaroslav Lyuzenkov’s birthday was a win over Lada and Neftekhimik fell at home to Sochi.

Wednesday’s action was all in the Far East. A high-scoring game at Amur saw Traktor win 6-5 and, consequently, guarantee Ak Bars a place in the playoffs. Avangard went to Admiral and rallied from 0-2 to win a shoot-out.

Taylor Beck scored a record seven points in a single KHL game, leading Sibir to a crushing 10-1 victory over Sochi. Among the players who had previously managed six-point games, Lokomotiv’s Alexander Radulov was rested today but saw his Lokomotiv team book its playoff spot thanks to victory at Shanghai Dragons. Dynamo got a morale boosting win at Spartak in the Moscow derby, easing some of the pressure on the Blue-and-Whites’s playoff bid.

Despite losing in overtime to Avtomobilist, Avangard secured its playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks join Metallurg in booking a post season berth. Avto’s win formed part of a clean sweep for road teams on the last gameday before the All-Star break. Dinamo Minsk went goal crazy in Togliatti, beating Lada 8-3. SKA won 3-1 at Severstal to build on Tuesday’s win at Spartak, and CSKA edged a tight game at Shanghai Dragons.

Lokomotiv is now five points clear in the Western Conference thanks to Wednesday’s 3-1 win at home to Spartak. In the East, Ak Bars missed a chance to secure its playoff spot with a 0-4 loss at Traktor. In the battle for the top eight in the East, there were home defeats for both Amur and Sibir against Torpedo and Neftekhimik respectively. Barys won the basement battle at Admiral 4-1.

A shoot-out win at Dinamo Minsk ended a seven-game losing streak for SKA. The result also saw Igor Larionov’s men move further away from Shanghai in the playoff race. The Dragons fell 3-5 at home to Avangard, with Mike McLeod getting his second double in two games for the visitor. Nikita Mikhailis also scored twice as Metallurg won at Lada, and Klim Kostin’s first goals of the season helped CSKA to victory over Sochi.

Severstal missed a chance to close the gap on Western Conference leader Lokomotiv, falling to a surprisingly comprehensive 1-5 loss to Spartak. In the East, Ak Bars edged back into second despite defeat at Sibir. The teams were tied after 60 minutes after the home team rallied from 0-2 and eventually won in a shoot-out. Admiral fell to an 11th loss in 12 games, Salavat Yulaev took a 2-1 verdict over Neftekhimik and Amur handed Barys a sixth straight loss.

Sunday’s play was all about the Western Conference, where two big names are finding life tough. SKA, currently in eighth place, suffered a seventh straight loss. A shoot-out defeat at CSKA at least brought a first point since Jan. 14. Dynamo Moscow, now down to seventh, suffered a third successive reverse and has just three wins this year after falling 1-4 at home to Avangard. Leader Lokomotiv moved three points clear with a 3-0 win over Sochi.