August – Kornoukhov fired, Datsyuk arrives, Metallurg keeps winning
The season began in Magnitogorsk, where the Opening Cup was contested in traditional style between last year’s Gagarin Cup finalists. CSKA’s Dmitry Kugryshev got the first goal of the campaign, and finished with two on the night, but Metallurg skated to a 3-2 victory with Sergei Mozyakin getting the first goal of what would prove to be a record-breaking season.Prior to the opening game, excitement ahead of the new season was growing all over the KHL. The return of Pavel Datsyuk after 14 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings was a thrill for SKA fans … and the Magic Man didn’t forget his roots in Yekaterinburg. On the eve of the new season he opened a new rink – described as a ‘temple of hockey’ – in his home town; the facility is already helping to develop future generations of Urals stars. On the ice, he wasted little time making an impact, with a goal just 30 seconds into his home debut in Petersburg as SKA crushed Salavat Yulaev 7-1.
August also saw the first coaching change of the season – and in record time. Avangard Omsk surprised everyone by replacing head coach Evgeny Kornoukhov before the action was even underway. Happiness at seeing the popular Fyodor Kanareikin back in the game after recovering from serious illness was tempered by concern that coaching was an ever-more precarious position – something that many other clubs would demonstrate as the season unfolded.
September – exploring new territory, breaking old records
The KHL explored a new frontier when Beijing’s Kunlun Red Star took to the ice for the first time. The Chinese capital, due to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, had never seen pro hockey prior to this season, but league newcomer Kunlun made an instant impact. The dress rehearsal, away to Amur, went well: Sean Collins got the first ever goal for the franchise; Tuukka Mantyla grabbed a last-minute winner. Then came the grand opening at Beijing’s LeSports Center, and a 6-3 win over Admiral. For the 8,000 or so fans, it was a game with a bit of everything – goals, drama, new heroes and, best of all, a home win. The big experiment of the season was off to a promising start.From new faces to old favorites, Sergei Mozyakin scored the tying goal against Dinamo Minsk, helping Metallurg Magnitogorsk to a 5-4 victory on September 13. Nothing so unusual in that, but it was Mozyakin’s 429th career goal in Russian hockey, setting a new All-Time record. The previous record-holder, Boris Mikhailov, got his 428th goal in October 1980, five months before Mozyakin was born, and in a much-changed hockey environment his total had looked unbeatable in the modern era … until Metallurg’s captain emerged to claim the crown of Russia’s greatest goal machine.
September also saw international action. There was Olympic qualification in Minsk and Riga, but there was disappointment for the KHL countries involved. Belarus lost out to Slovenia – with the Balkan nation helped by Robert Sabolic, Ziga Jeglic and Jan Mursak on its path to a second successive games; Latvia was denied by Germany. Kazakhstan also came up short, missing out in Norway. In the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto, Oleg Znarok selected SKA’s Evgeny Dadonov, Pavel Datsyuk and Vadim Shipachyov, as well as CSKA’s Ivan Telegin. Other KHLers in the competition included Tomas Kundratek and Vladimir Sobotka (Czech Republic) and Mikko Koskinen (Finland). Russia lost out to Canada in the semi-final.
October – Yuen and Mozyakin score goals, Shestyorkin denies
There was more good news from Kunlun, where Zach Yuen became the first Chinese player to get among the scorers in the KHL. Red Star had used four Chinese-eligible players in the early stages of the season, giving priceless experience to young, local talent, and Yuen repaid that faith. The 23-year-old, a versatile player who can operate as a center or a D-man, got his first point of the season when he assisted on Max Warn’s game-winner at Spartak Moscow. Then he went one better, grabbing the only goal of the game against Amur on October 28 in Shanghai.Sergei Mozyakin’s scoring feats were destined to be a recurring theme this season, and October saw him overtake Evgeny Korshkov as Metallurg’s record scorer. Korshkov spent 10 seasons in Magnitogorsk, and reached his tally of 421 in 2004; Mozyakin topped it in his fourth full season with Magnitka.
In St. Petersburg, there was another club record to celebrate when young goalie Igor Shestyorkin went 272 minutes and eight seconds without allowing a goal. Nikita Ustinenko of Dinamo Minsk ended the shut-out streak in the second period of SKA’s 6-2 home win on October 10; Shestyorkin, just 20, was barely half-an-hour away from breaking Alexei Murygin’s KHL record from last season.
November – Russia’s youngsters impress, SKA dominates
The focus switched to the international arena at the start of the month as Team Russia triumphed in the Karjala Cup. Oleg Znarok selected a young, experimental roster, allowing proven stars like Kovalchuk and Datsyuk to rest at home, and was rewarded with wins over Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Valery Nichushkin, recently returned to Russia after a spell with the Dallas Stars, was a key part of the offense, forging an effective partnership with his one-time schoolmate Anatoly Golyshev. On defense, Magnitogorsk’s Alexei Bereglazov translated his solid start to the domestic season into the international arena, while the young goaltending talents of Ilya Sorokin (CSKA) and Igor Shestyorkin (SKA) were solid between the piping.Back in league action, SKA was in imperious form at the top of the table, and a 9-0 victory over Barys made it 15 wins on the spin. Ilya Kovalchuk chipped in with four points to reach 250 for the club. Elsewhere in the Western Conference, a lively battle for the playoff places was developing. Jokerit and Dynamo Moscow, two teams expected to be confidently plotting post-season campaigns, were struggling for consistency and got caught in a mid-table morass. Emerging from the pack, Vityaz, under the guidance of Valery Belov, was showing signs of making a serious bid for the top eight and reaching its first ever KHL playoff.
And that Mozyakin milestone for the month? November 19, and a hat-trick away to Spartak saw the master marksman become Magnitogorsk’s all-time record goalscorer.
The second half of the regular season brought more moments of history. Sergei Mozyakin set more individual scoring records, SKA set a new marker for team scoring. Chad Rau got the first ever winner in 3-on-3 overtime, while his Kunlun Red Star team qualified for the playoffs at the first attempt. Vityaz also reached its first playoff in the KHL era, ending a nine-year wait. And a new-look All-Star Game delivered a brand-new star in the form of 18-year-old Andrei Altybarmakyan.
December – Kareyev denies, Kaprizov dazzles
Andrei Kareyev isn’t a household name, but there’s evidence to suggest that the young goalie might be soon. On December 9, he made 52 saves for Metallurg Novokuznetsk against Avangard, setting a new KHL record. It wasn’t enough to claim the win, though: the visitor took the verdict in a shoot-out after a 2-2 tie.A rule change introduced on December 13 meant that tied games would be settled by a period of 3-on-3 overtime, mirroring amendments made by the NHL and the IIHF for tournament play. Four days later, Chad Rau claimed a small piece of history by grabbing the first game-winner in that format for Kunlun Red Star, snapping a 3-3 tie with Avtomobilist. Nigel Dawes had a memorable Christmas, celebrating December 25 with a hat-trick as Barys defeated Magnitka 5-3. His treble was the eighth of his KHL career and made him the leading scorer of hat-tricks in the league’s history. Dawes also became the highest scoring import in the KHL earlier in the season, overtaking clubmate Brandon Bochenski.
Elsewhere, the World Junior Championship got underway in Canada … and Kirill Kaprizov was one of the brightest stars on display. The Salavat Yulaev youngster cemented his burgeoning reputation with a powerful performance on the international stage. He started with a goal and an assist in Russia’s 3-5 loss against Canada, and kept on scoring to finish with 9 goals and 3 assists from seven games as Russia took bronze. His clubmate Mikhail Vorobyov weighed in with 10 assists in the tournament
January – Altybarmakyan shines among the stars
Salavat Yulaev’s slump became the talking point of the New Year. Expectations were high in Ufa, especially after the success of the team’s juniors in the World Championship. But 2017 was hardly a happy new year for the club as a long losing streak plunged its playoff prospects into doubt. But there were happier times in the capital of Bashkiria when the 2017 All-Star Game came to town. This year’s event had a new format, with showcase games featuring the best players from Russia’s Youth, Women’s and Sledge Hockey teams as well as the KHL. The main event was also a bit different – instead of a head-to-head clash between the Eastern and Western Conferences, the climax was a four-team showdown between teams representing the KHL’s four divisions. Each team was supplemented by a rising star selected from the Junior All-Star Game earlier that week.Victory went to the Chernyshev Division, but the game-winning hero was a surprise. Young Andrei Altybarmakyan made the most of his wild-card pick with the decisive goal in a 3-2 victory over the Tarasov Division.
In the championship, the race for the regular season title was down to a two-way fight between SKA and CSKA, while Metallurg Magnitogorsk was out in front in the East. The playoff battle was intriguing. In the East, newcomer Kunlun Red Star was fighting it out with Sibir, Neftekhimik and Admiral, while the West saw Vityaz continue to press the likes of Jokerit and HC Sochi.
February – Mozyakin tops the scoring, Kunlun and Vityaz celebrate playoff spots
History was made at both ends of the KHL map as the regular season came to a thrilling close. First, Vityaz reached the playoffs for the first time ever, claiming seventh place in the West and helping to condemn HC Sochi to an early finish for the first time since the Black Sea team joined the league in 2014. In the East, though, the battle went to the final day as Admiral, Sibir and Kunlun jousted over two remaining spots after Salavat Yulaev rallied to win its final two games and end its miserable run of form.Ninth-placed Sibir was first up, needing a regulation-time win at Avtomobilist to put the pressure on its rivals. Andrei Skabelka’s team had overcome serious injury problems to remain in contention, and led 1-0 thanks to a second-period goal from Yegor Milovzorov. But a goalie error in the third period handed Avto a tying goal and the shoot-out win wasn’t enough. That meant that Kunlun already knew it was safe, despite a 2-1 loss at Dynamo Moscow. Admiral won 3-1 at Vityaz to take seventh place.
The final week also brought drama at the top of the table, where CSKA overhauled a three-point deficit to claim the regular season crown for the third season running – but by the narrowest of margins. The Muscovites finished level with SKA on 131 points, taking top spot by virtue of a greater number of victories in regulation. CSKA’s reward was a first-round playoff series against Jokerit, while SKA would face Vityaz.
Among the individual stats, the race between Sergei Mozyakin and Ilya Kovalchuk to top the scoring charts was the key battle. Mozyakin came out on top, with 85 points (48+37) establishing a new KHL best. He improved on Steve Moses’ 36 goals for Jokerit in 2014-15 and Alexander Radulov’s 80 points for Salavat Yulaev in 2010-11. But he finished the season tantalizingly short of next big milestone: his career points tally was 999 ahead of the playoff series against Kunlun. Kovalchuk could not overtake his rival, but his 78-point haul still helped SKA to 249 goals in regular season – another KHL scoring record.
Uniquely, this year there wasn’t a single series that went to game seven … but don’t go thinking anyone found progress easy. Even where teams swept their series, the individual games tended to be hard fought. And, in a season studded with scoring records, it’s no surprise that the 2017 playoffs continued to set new marks for goals and assists along the way.
Round one – Mozyakin’s millennium, playoffs in China and bragging rights for Ak Bars
At first glance, there were few surprises at this stage. Of the eight series across two Conferences, only one – Barys’ victory over Traktor – overturned the end-of-season rankings. But there was still plenty to note.In the Eastern Conference, playoff hockey went to China for the first time ever as Kunlun Red Star faced defending champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Magnitka, as expected, prevailed, but the series produced one of the goals of the season from Kunlun’s Linus Videll and a memorable victory for the Chinese team in Game Four. That 3-1 win on February 28 was a real highlight for the league’s newcomer.
Kunlun brings playoff to China
Beijing was also the venue for one of Sergei Mozyakin’s most memorable achievements of a record-laden campaign. His goal in the 39th minute of Magnitka’s 3-2 win on February 26 brought up his 1,000th career point in Russian domestic hockey, a mark never before reached by any player in Soviet or post-Soviet times. Typically, it didn’t take long for the master marksman to start work on his second millennium, assisting on Danis Zaripov’s game-winner.
Elsewhere in the East, the ‘Green Derby’ between Ak Bars and Salavat Yulaev went decisively in favor of the team from Kazan. The 4-1 series sweep led to the dismissal of Salavat head coach Igor Zakharkin. Admiral took two games from Avangard before going out, while fifth seed Barys surprised four-placed Traktor in six games.
In the West, it was all about overtime. Regular season champion CSKA might have swept Jokerit, but the Finns took three of the four games to extras without managing to force a victory. Dynamo Moscow beat Torpedo 4-1, but the series featured five additional periods. Two of those came in game one before Maxim Karpov won it; game five was the only one settled in 60 minutes. Life was less stressful for SKA, which swept playoff debutant Vityaz, and Lokomotiv, which dropped just one game against Dinamo Minsk.
Jokerit - CSKA
Round two – hat-trick kings, red line kings and CSKA hitting the buffers
The match-up between CSKA and Lokomotiv provided the shock of the playoffs. The Army Men, fresh from a third straight regular season title, were favorites to overcome a Loko team that had rather more potential than experience. But Alexei Kudashov’s team rose to the challenge to win it in six. The key moment came in Game Four. CSKA was 2-1 up in the series and tied at 1-1 in Yaroslavl as the game went into the third period. Then Loko blasted home four unanswered goals, winning 5-1 and decisively tipping the momentum of the series.
Lokomotiv
The other pairing in the West saw SKA and Dynamo Moscow come together for the fifth time in six seasons. At the start of that run, Dynamo had the edge, winning in 2012 and 2013 on the way to lifting the cup; subsequently, it’s been the Petersburg team that has dominated. When Maxim Karpov hit an overtime winner for the Blue-and-Whites in Game One, some fans recalled Dynamo’s 2012 triumph. Then, Denis Mosalyov completed a hat-trick in overtime; this time Karpov repeated the trick. But SKA was in no mood to repeat history, powering through the next four games to progress. Even the loss of Pavel Datsyuk, who suffered the first game misconduct of his career and then picked up an injury that ruled him out of the rest of the campaign, could not halt Oleg Znarok’s progress against his former club. For Dynamo, the only small consolation was the fame of defenseman Andrei Kuteikin, who twice scored from the red line in this series after achieving a similar feat against Torpedo in round one. But SKA was able to draw a red line through its rival’s hopes once again.
SKA - Dimamo Moscow
In the East, Danis Zaripov was the main man for Metallurg. He scored back-to-back hat-tricks in games two and three of the series against Barys, helping Magnitka to a sweep. Moreover, he claimed the title of ‘Hat-trick king’, the first man to get three post-season trebles in the KHL. D-man Chris Lee also set a new record, getting the highest number of playoff assists from a blue liner with two more series to come.
Also in the East, Ak Bars got the better of Avangard in six games. That ensured a celebration for Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, as the head coach of the Kazan team marked his 1,000th game behind the bench in Russian hockey with victory. Progress wasn’t always assured: Ak Bars’ 3-1 win in Game Four was marked by cruel deflections that beat Avangard goalie Dominik Furch, but it was good enough to deflate a potential fight-back in Omsk and ultimately send Ak Bars to a showdown with Metallurg in the Eastern Conference Final.
Ak Bars - Avangard
Conference Finals – squeaky sweeps and an infamous water bottle
By this time in the season, it’s fair to expect tight series. With the four strongest teams duking it out, a game seven should be pretty much a lock in one or other match-up. Not this time. Neither series exactly played out like a sweep, but both of them ended up 4-0.SKA delivered a masterclass in finding ways to win as it ended Lokomotiv’s run. Down 2-4 in game one, with five minutes left to play, the Petersburg team rallied to win it in overtime. Patrik Hersley and Nikita Gusev were inspired in that one. Loko took the lead again in Game Two, only to fluff its lines and suffer a 1-4 loss. Then came the bottle of water. Game Three in Yaroslavl saw Loko in front thanks to a Pavel Kraskovsky goal. With 10 minutes left, Kudashov was ejected from the game for throwing a bottle from the bench. SKA converted the power play, took it to overtime and Alexander Barabanov popped up to win it with his first goal in 38 games. Lokomotiv could be forgiven for feeling the fates were conspiring. SKA got another 2-1 victory in Game Four and, for the first time in the series, did not fall behind at any point in the game. The stats show a 4-0 outcome, but it’s not just in Yaroslavl that many regard it as the squeakiest sweep possible.
SKA - Lokomotiv
In the East, Metallurg had a similar run of tight games to oust Ak Bars. Along the way, Danis Zaripov tormented his former team to take his goal tally to 15 and match Evgeny Dadonov’s KHL playoff record. But the 4-0 stat hides a double-overtime win in Game One, thanks to Sergei Mozyakin’s 86th-minute goal. Zaripov got his second of the series in the next one, but it took 30 saves from Vasily Koshechkin to secure a 2-0 victory. Then it was off to Kazan where Zaripov made it four goals in three games to swing this one around in the last four minutes: down 1-2, Danis’ double handed Metallurg a 3-2 margin. Only in Game Four did Ak Bars fade. Two Mozyakin assists helped Magnitka jump into a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes and not even a response from Jiri Sekac could halt the visitor Mozyakin scored again, and Denis Platonov wrapped it up to set up a long break before a final series to savor – Metallurg vs SKA.
Ak Bars - Metallurg Mg
The Gagarin Cup Final – forwards win games, defences win championships
Ahead of this showdown, the talk was all about the forwards. Would Mozyakin, Zaripov and Kovar continue their devastating form for Metallurg? How much damage could Gusev, Dadonov and Shipachyov do for SKA? Would defensemen on both sides end up suffering sleepless nights against such potent offenses?
SKA - Metallurg Mg
Game One seemed to justify the assumption that this would be a scorers’ final. SKA edged it 5-4, two goals from Dadonov bettered one from Mozyakin. The big guns seemed to be firing. Magnitka replied at once, winning 3-1 to level the scores before the game moved to St. Petersburg and the ding-dong battle seemed to be shaping up nicely. But one of the truisms of hockey is that it’s defences that win cups. Now SKA’s defense stepped up its game and proved that point. Lockdown. Game Three, played on Cosmonaut’s Day, saw the Mozyakin line fail to launch. It took 92 minutes to separate the teams, but the trio produced just three shots on goal between them. SKA’s victory was delayed by Vasily Koshechkin, who made 58 saves before Dadonov beat him in double overtime. Game Four was similar; the hot shots mustered just four attempts between them as SKA peppered Koshechkin with 50 more efforts. Dinar Khafizullin was the unlikely home hero with two goals, SKA won it 3-2 to take a grip on the series.
SKA - Metallurg Mg
That grip came in the form of a vice that strangled the Metallurg forwards. The defending champion was unable to unleash its formidable scoring power until it was too late and Magnitka was chasing Game Five – and the series, in the final stanza. This time SKA had clawed back a 0-2 deficit and briefly led 4-2. Metallurg turned on the style in the third, clawing a goal back immediately through Yaroslav Kosov and laying siege to Mikko Koskinen’s net. The first line was back in business – 13 shots between them, seven for Zaripov alone – but the goals did not come. Oskar Osala was millimeters away from salvaging overtime as his shot rolled along the goal line before bouncing to safety off a post; seconds later Sergei Plotnikov’s empty-net goal ended the season. Metallurg claimed a share of two scoring records – Zaripov’s 15 goals tied Dadonov’s mark from 2015, Lee’s 20 assists matched Mozyakin’s tally in 2014 – but SKA won 5-3 on the day, 4-1 overall, and lifted its second Gagarin Cup. Incredibly, Oleg Znarok’s team dropped just two games on the way to glory. The bar for next season has been set high.
SKA fans
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