The Eastern conference is as equally strong as the one in the West with some big teams holding Gagarin Cup honours all in there, particularly in the Kharlamov Division.
Kazan giants, Ak Bars, will be expecting to challenge for the Gagarin cup once again and with three very strong lines it is no wonder. Andrei Chibisov/Vladimir Tkachyov/Artyom Lukoyanov,
Justin Azevedo/Mikhail Zhukov/Jiri Sekac and Anton Glinkin/Andrei Popov/Mikhail Varnakov provide the fire-power which will help the Tatarstan club at the top end of the standings. They have already led the East this season and there is nothing to suggest they can’t finish their again come the end of the season. However they will face some tough opposition in the form of Divisional rivals Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
Last season Champions will be looking to claim a third Gargarin Cup in four seasons next spring and with Sergei Mozyakin in record-breaking form in front of goal who could possibly discount it. His usual line mates are Jan Kovar and Danis Zaripov and they are a formidable trio when played together.
Wojtek Wolski/Tomas Filippi/Alexander Semin form a great second line to support Mozyakin while Dmitry and Denis Kazionov with Denis Platonov are also on hand to take the goal-scoring burdon off the top marksmen. Not that Mozyakin needs it. Top Defensive pairing Viktor Antipin and Evgeny Biryukov are strong while Sergei Tereshchenko adds some experience alongside either Alexei Bereglazov or Yaroslav Khabarov. Goaltending duties are left up to Artyom Zagidulin and Vasily Koshechkin.
Both Ak Bars and Metallurg have two Gagarin Cups each, can one of them claim a third this season?
Avtomobilist from Yekatarinburg get stronger each season and Rok Ticar’s line with Evgeny Chesalin and Andrei Alexeyev has been productive so far. The Jan Buchtele/Petr Koukal/Artyom Gareyev line has also been useful, while Alexei Vasilevsky and Niclas Andersen are the top D Pairing. Whilst Avto don’t have the history or prestige as their divisional rivals, they are certainly making good progress and I would expect them to make the play-offs in March. Their closest challengers for that play-off berth will come from, Traktor Chelyabinsk and Neftekhimik Niznekhamsk however both teams look like they are some way behind Avto’s quality at the minute.
Aside from Kharlamov pair Ak Bars and Metallurg, Avangard also look capable of leading the charge from the East. The Omsk-based side can rely upon Alexander Perezhogin and Valentin Pyanov to get goals and they are usually partnered with either Anton Burdasov or Maxim Pestushko to form a productive first line. They also have top Defensive pairing Yegor Martynov and Evgeny Medvedev that form a fairly solid backline.
Behind Avangard in the Chernyshev Division is Sibir Novosibirsk who can never be discounted as contenders for the cup. They use two very settled lines with Sergei Shumakov/Maxim Shalunov/Stepan Sannikov working well as a trio and Evgeny Artyukhin/Joonas Kemppainen/Eero Elo also linking up to good effect.
Salavat Yualev Ufa will complete a trio of sides fully expected to make the post-season from the division, and at one point it was pretty much guaranteed these sides would occupy those places. However, there has been an emergence of other sides this season that may just give the big teams something to think about.
Admiral Vladivostok have looked good so far and may well be a good bet for a play-off spot, while far-east neighbours Amur will have to punch well above their weight this season if they want to make the post season. Kristian Kuusela and Teemu Ramstedt have worked well together and often find themselves on the same line with either Tomas Zohorna or Kirill Kapustin. Amur are one of the smaller teams in the KHL so it would be heart-warming to see them doing well against some of the so called bigger sides.
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