This Week In The KHL

We have now added a weekly update of the Kontinental Hockey League and this is the first installment. For those of you that don't know, the KHL is the most elite level of hockey in Russia. Most Russian players in the game today played in the KHL before they moved to the NHL. More recently, several Russian players have chosen to leave the NHL in favour of the KHL.

The Russian League is currently in the Conference quarterfinal stage of the playoffs. Many of the teams have already booked their trip to the Conference semi-finals but many battles rage on. The battle for the Gagarin Cup is just beginning!

Western Conference,

(1) SKA St. Petersburg vs (8) CSKA Moscow
(SKA wins series 4 - 1)

Lead by D Kirill Koltsov, who had 1G 6A in 5 games, SKA managed to roll through to the next round. CSKA put up a good fight, but in the end they just didn't have the offence to win games. Moscow could only manage 6 goals in the 5 game series with 3 of them coming in their only win of the series (3-2OT). SKA had no trouble scoring goals in the series, with three players tied for team lead at 3 ( Tarasenko, Kalinin and Kucheryavenko). SKA G Jakub Stepanek was solid throughout the series putting up a .939 SV% over the four games he played in.

(2) Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod vs (7) Dinamo Riga
(Torpedo leads 3 - 2)

Torpedo has jumped out to a 3 - 2 series lead thanks to the help of F Mikhail Varnakov who has put up a playoff leading opts through 5 games. Riga has fought hard throughout the series averaging 38 SOG/G and will not go down easy even though they are the #7 seed. The Goaltending has been superb for Torpedo while it has been somewhat of a problem for Riga. Torpedo G Vitaly Koval has registered a .932 SV% and has been the difference in the series. Mikelis Redlihs have kept Riga in it with 8 pts and 7 pts respectively. Game six runs tomorrow in Riga at 1:30pm EST.

(3) Dynamo Moscow vs (6) Dinamo Minsk
(Moscow wins series 4 - 0)

This was a very low scoring series with only one game going over 5 goals. Moscow won every game by 2 goals or less including a thrilling 2 - 1 OT victory in game one. The difference in the series was Moscow G Alexander Yeryomenko who stopped 100 of 104 shots in 4 games, for a .962 Sv% as well as a league leading 0.99GAA. Minsk went through all 3 of their goaltenders in the series and had a 3 way tie for point leader at 2pts. Overall it was quite a frustrating series for Minsk who could have done much better.

Dynamo Moscow G Alexander Yeryomenko

(4) Atlant Moscow Region vs (5) Severstal Cherepovets
(Atlant leads 3 - 2)

Arguably one of the better first round battles, very back and forth. Atlant won a thriller in game one with F Nikolai Zherdev scoring the 1 - 0 winner with 48 seconds remaining in the third. This series has been the definition of a goalie battle. Atlant G Konstantin Barulin has a .956 SV% with a 1.55 GAA, while Severstal G Vasily Koshechkin has a .963 SV% and a 1.18 GAA. Game 6 is Thursday in Cherepovets at 9am EST.

Eastern Conference,

(1) Traktor Chelyabinsk vs (8) Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk
(Traktor wins series 4 - 1)

Traktor F Vladimir Antipov has scored 7 goals and leads the KHL in that category in the playoffs. This has been a high scoring series with the clubs combining for 34 goals in just 5 games. Traktor knocked out Yugra in the return of F Evgeny Kuznetsov on Wednesday with a 1 - 0 win. Kuznetsov did not record a point on the loan goal. Yugra backup G Edgars Masalskis was terrific in game 5 stopping 33 of 34 shots. The difference in the series was simply a more powerful #1 seeded team.

Evgeny Kuznetsov of Traktor Chelyabinsk

(2) Avangard Omsk Region vs (7) Amur Khabarovsk
(Avangard wins series 4 - 0)

Avangard sweeps Amur easily in the first round of the Gagarin Cup. With help from F Roman Cervenka, who had 7pts and terrific goaltending from Karri Ramo and Alexei Kuznetsov, the series was over in a hurry. Amur had the goaltending they needed but failed to have a leading point getter. The lack of an offensive star proved to be their downfall in the end.

(3)Metallurg Magnitogorsk vs (6) Barys Astana
( Barys leads 3 - 2)

Metallurg find themselves hanging on by a thread as elimination looms over them. They managed to pull out a crucial OT win today to force a game 6. Barys has been lead by G Vitaly Yeremeyev who has posted a .929 SV% over 5 games. A diverse offence has been a key to success for the club who are lead by F Dustin Boyd with 5 points. 15 players on the Barys roster have recored a point so far in the series. For Canadian fans, a point of interest would be the former WJHC goaltender Jeff Glass is the backup for Barys. Game 6 is Friday at 9am EST @ Barys.

(4) AK Bars Kazan vs Salavat Yulaev Ufa
(AK Bars leads 3 - 2)

A blown chance on Wednesday has allowed Salavat back into the series after being on the brink of elimination. This back and forth series has seen 3 one-goal games including 2 overtime contests. Ak Bars is running on all cylinders with terrific all around play. G Petri Vehanen has posted a .948 SV% over 5 games while their high powered offence is being lead by F Alexei Morozov with 5 pts. Salavat is playing just as well with Erik Ersberg doing his fair share between the pipes and F Alexander Radulov with 6 pts. The series could go either way as Game 6 is Friday at 7am EST.

This is great hockey and its only getting better as the league is improving every year. Many of these players could be in the NHL very soon so its worth a look.