KHL Regular Championship – that’s it! The playoffs are ahead and many pairs were decided only on the last day of the match. We’ll tell you who will play who in the first round.
Western Conference
“Dynamo” Moscow (1) – “Dynamo” Minsk (8) Matches: 1, 3, 5, 7 and, if necessary, March 9, 11, 13 (matches are likely to be postponed to 2, 4, March 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)
Only in the regular season, Dynamo can count this season as its advantage, which, of course, does not negate the fact that the team’s goals go much further. Nikita Gusev broke Sergei Mozyakin’s points record and the blue and white won the Continental Cup, which for the past nine years had been contested exclusively by army teams. After being eliminated in the first round last year, Alexey Kudashov certainly felt a lot of pressure, which must now go away.
Dynamo Minsk spent the first season under the management of Dmitry Kvartalnov, who replaced Craig Woodcroft, who had worked in the Belarusian capital for four years. The composition also underwent major changes, the leaders (Spooner, Paquette, Alistrov) left, but new ones were found to replace them. The residents of Minsk may not have enough stars in the sky, but they came to the playoffs quite confidently, the difference with the ninth place in the West was 13 points.
SKA (2) – Torpedo (7) Matches: 1, 3, 5, 7 and, if necessary, March 9, 11, 13
From the beginning of the season, SKA fell happily, but with the same joy and in time managed to correct the situation and confidently launched itself upwards. The transfer of Nikita Serebryakov from Admiral became a great strengthening: after getting used to the new team, he began to consistently show a high level of play, giving confidence to the last line of defense. Alistrov has revealed himself in a new way, Gritsyuk, Glotov and others are conquering new frontiers. Until the end, SKA bet on the Continental Cup, but unexpectedly lost it to Dynamo, losing to Kunlun in the last match of the regular season.
Torpedo, which began the season as one of the leaders, ended with 12 defeats in 14 games. On the one hand, the injuries of the leaders affected, on the other, a terrible game in defense, and on the third, internal conflicts. Igor Larionov’s team took seventh place and will play again against SKA in the first round. Last year they finished the series 0-4.
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Lokomotiv (3) – CSKA (6) Matches: February 29, 2, 4, 6 and, if necessary, March 8, 10, 12
Lokomotiv’s main strength is stability. Although many Yaroslavl players do not like hockey, its effectiveness cannot be taken away. While other top teams in the West (not counting Dynamo) were hot or cold, Igor Nikitin’s team went through the season without problems and fought for a long time to win the regular season, eventually taking third place.
For the first time in the last 10 years, CSKA fell below third place in the West in the regular season. After two Gagarin Cups in a row, the military team seemed exhausted and lost the motivation that previously allowed it to overcome the most difficult matches and even the finals. Many have been waiting all year for Sergei Fedorov’s team to wake up and return to their previous form, but this never happened. However, thanks to the victory over Dynamo in the final match, CSKA avoided facing SKA in the first round.
“Spartak” (4) – “Severstal” (5) Matches: February 29, 2, 4, 6 and, if necessary, March 8, 10, 12
Alexey Zhamnov transformed Spartak beyond recognition, creating one of the main sensations of the first half of the season. The newcomers not only successfully joined the team, but at the pace of Stakhanov began to break personal performance records, like Goldobin, Morozov and Poryadin (one of the best trios in the league this season). The impressive advantage gained in the first months allowed Spartak to survive the crises without worrying about their place in the playoffs, and even secure home field advantage.
After the departure of Andrei Razin, Severstal did not lack brilliant hockey and did not weaken. Andrei Kozyrev, who took charge, began to build a young team that values the puck and takes its toll through movement, drawing fits in attack, without forgetting about defense. After the New Year, Cherepovets played so much that they won 16 wins in 23 matches.
“Spartak” – “Severstal”
Photo: Alexander Korkka, foto.khl.ru
Eastern Conference
“Metallurg” (1) – “Amur” (8) Matches: 1, 3, 5, 7 and, if necessary, March 9, 11, 13
The icing on the cake of Metallurg’s regular season was the victory in the first place match in the East against Avangard, and this was done without leaders and with captain Grebenkin. The team, in its first season under the leadership of Andrei Razin, brilliantly passed this stage of the championship. They were seriously updated, rejuvenated, the same Yurov and Grebenkin took on the main roles, they were able to avoid serious recessions by solving emerging problems in a timely manner, and in the playoffs they were on a great streak.
Andrey Martemyanov returned to Khabarovsk and with him the playoffs. It was this specialist who last led Amur to the Spring Cup championship in 2018. Throughout the year, his players stayed afloat, snatched points from Magnitogorsk, Dynamo and Ak Bars, among others, and in the end put together a powerful series of seven victories, thanks to which they were able to leave Siberia and Ak Bars behind. “.
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“Avangard” (2) – “Lada” (7) Matches: 1, 3, 5, 7 and, if necessary, March 9, 11, 13
In the summer, revolutionary changes occurred in Avangard: Alexander Krylov, the man who built these “hawks”, left the club, Gritsyuk, Tolchinsky left for St. Petersburg, Knight left for Europe, the head coach decided only more Near the summer, the team was recruited on a residual basis. It is not surprising that at the beginning of the season the Omsk team suffered a strong shock and was almost eliminated from the playoff zone. But largely thanks to Tkachev’s team (the most productive in the KHL this year) and active work on the deadline (only the Zhafyarov trade is worth it!), they got out of the tailspin and in the end were already fighting for the victory. in the conference, but in the end they came in second place.
Lada’s return to the KHL after a five-year break can already be considered a great success. In a club without big budgets and without big stars, they knew how to form a strong team that produced one successful series after another and became a sensation in the first half of the regular season. For some time, Oleg Bratash’s team even led in the East, but, of course, it could not maintain these positions, and in February it even suffered a series of seven defeats.
“Avant-garde” – “Lada”
Photo: Dmitry Loshkarev, photo.khl.ru
“Salavat Yulaev” (3) – “Traktor” (6) Matches: February 29, 2, 4, 6 and, if necessary, March 8, 10, 12
“Salavat Yulaev” during this season was able to turn from a boring and uncomfortable team into a more than combat-ready team, where the leaders prove to be true leaders and the young people continue to confidently progress. At the same time, the Ufa team has a great arsenal of styles: it can play an overwhelming attack and put barriers in front of its goal. Viktor Kozlov’s team passed the regular season generally without problems (only once did they lose more than two games in a row) and eventually took third place.
In sixth place is Traktor, which at the beginning of October fired Anvar Gatiyatulin and entrusted the leadership to Alexey Zavarukhin. Under the new coach, the Chelyabinsk team perked up and relaxed noticeably. In the end there was a serious decline (six defeats in seven games), so that even the management had to intervene in the training process. But we finished the regular season with three wins.
“Ak Bars” (4) – “Avtomobilist” (5) Matches: February 29, 2, 4, 6 and, if necessary, March 8, 10, 12
This year, Ak Bars is no longer the conference leader, but instead finished in fourth place, but far-reaching conclusions should not be drawn from this. It’s still the same old Ak Bars, and Zinetula Bilyaletdinov hasn’t gone anywhere. Experienced and battle-tested fighters who reached the final of the Gagarin Cup a year ago.
The automobilist, as usual, spent most of the season dancing from the stove, that is, from defense (and finished the regular season in the top 5 in terms of goals conceded and the best in short play). The hockey of the Yekaterinburg players does not always look attractive, but they secured a place in the playoffs. In addition, we managed to get through a calm championship without a prolonged series of defeats, as was the case last year, and finally finished in fifth place.
