Tsyplakov's poker and Nikolaev's 59 saves
The confrontation between Spartak and Dynamo in the current regular season has turned into a kind of sign of quality. It seems that there are simply no boring matches between principle rivals. Evidence of this is the incredible December meeting with 15 goals and a victory for the red and white in overtime. And already in 2024, the blue and white allowed their opponents to win back from a score of 0:2 and also put the squeeze on them in overtime.
At the end of January, the teams' paths crossed twice in five days. Alexei Zhamnov’s team, having found themselves in a serious crisis and having lost a number of leaders, at first glance looked like underdogs. In fact, they managed to gain the upper hand in both cases.
The first derby was a real benefit for Maxim Tsyplakov. The striker is already showing excellent performance this season and in terms of the number of goals (29) he is second only to Nikolai Goldobin (33) among his teammates. This time he outdid himself by mastering poker. Moreover, the guests completely failed the start, conceding already in the 55th second. But they quickly managed to break the hosts' resistance thanks to defensive errors.
For example, in the case of Shane Prince’s goal, Ilya Kablukov made a turnover on someone else’s blue line and allowed the American to realize a one-on-one with Maxim Motorygin. In the sixth minute, Alexei Kudashov's team missed the majority. And after the fourth missed goal, the goalkeeper went to the bench, whose place was taken by Ilya Konovalov.
Immediately after the break, Tsyplakov scored the third and fourth goals and, at the same time, scored the fastest poker in the history of the KHL - in 26 minutes and 58 seconds. Although the blue and white fought until the end and even reduced the gap - 3:6.
A few days later, Dmitry Nikolaev came to the fore. It is symbolic that it was his mark on the way out that turned out to be fateful in the derby at the beginning of the month. But now he has completely corrected himself for her. The goalkeeper made a mind-blowing 59 saves and set a personal best. And he was only three short of equaling the league's record holder Juha Metsola.
Nikolaev remembered a particularly striking rescue in overtime, when Brennan Menell made a sure shot from several meters, but his counterpart miraculously parried the shot with a falling trap. Next, he did not allow Eric O'Dell to realize a one-on-one opportunity. It is not surprising that he had no equal in the shootout. Dmitry saved shots from Cedric Paquette and Jordan Weal, and Nikita Gusev hit the post.
SKA's powerful stride
Well, the St. Petersburgers have become the leaders of the Western Conference, where there is a fight for getting to the top between SKA, Lokomotiv, Dynamo and Spartak. I can’t even believe that back in the fall they made misfire after misfire and were on the verge of getting into the playoffs. As it turned out, Roman Rotenberg’s numerous newcomers simply needed time to establish mutual understanding.
Already in November the team flew. In the new year, he suffered four defeats with eight victories. After an unexpected misfire in the home match with Dynamo Minsk, the two-time Gagarin Cup winner consistently left no chance for Barys, CSKA and Lokomotiv.
It was especially difficult for the Astana team, who conceded seven unanswered goals on the road. The best on the ice was Arseniy Gritsyuk, who distinguished himself and assisted his partners four times. But at the start of the season, the striker received little practice. But in 2024, he scored an incredible 19 points. And Marat Khairullin surpassed the 100-point mark as a member of the team.
Then the army team from the banks of the Neva routinely defeated their capital colleagues for the fifth time in a row, and again achieved defeat - 5:1. And the doubles were designed by the same Gritsyuk and Valentin Zykov.
Finally, after Vladimir Putin’s visit to the SKA Arena, Rotenberg’s team left no chance for one of the main competitors, Lokomotiv, in one of the last meetings at the Ice Palace - 3:0. It is noteworthy that the hosts took to the ice in a special uniform with the inscription: “Leningrad” in memory of the 80th anniversary of the lifting of the siege of the city.
On such a day they simply had no right to give in. Alexander Nikishin also managed to distinguish himself. Even during the first break, the hockey player emphasized that in the event of a goal, he would try to see the president more often, since his handshake would turn out to be lucky. As a result, in the remaining time he managed to upset Daniil Isaev twice. The defender’s performance is pleasantly surprising, because in terms of the number of points he has no equal among representatives of his role - 48. He also leads in the number of goals (15).
Finally, Nikita Serebryakov came to court, and it took him several months to adapt. In a duel with the Yaroslavl team, he parried all 28 shots and scored his second shutout in a few days. In total, he has four clean sheets in the current KHL season. Timur Bilyalov from Ak Bars is in the lead with six.
Losses of Metallurg in the Far East
Meanwhile, in the East, Metallurg and Avangard continue to stubbornly fight for first place. The Magnitogorsk team is still in the lead by one point, but they have played two more games.
At the end of the month, Andrei Razin’s squad went on a tour of the Far East, from where they were unable to return without losses. At first, Magnitogorsk sensationally failed to cope with Admiral. Before the final break, the guests had a minimal advantage in the score thanks to a rare goal by Yegor Yakovlev. But in the last segment the hosts turned the tide of the match. First, Libor Shulak restored the balance, and 84 seconds before the final siren, Giovanni Fiore put the finishing touches on. True, a day later, three points from the team’s top scorer Danila Yurov (1 + 2) helped her take convincing revenge.
The voyage to Khabarovsk also did not go without a misfire. In the first match, the guests were stronger - 3:2. The second was a real triumph of attacking hockey, because the teams scored 13 goals between them. But it was as if they had no protection at all.
The success of "Amur" can be called natural, since it made many more shots than its opponents - 44:28. The main hero was Kirill Kapustin, who scored a double and assisted Dmitry Shevchenko. He is remembered for the most curious puck. After it was thrown almost from the center of the court and rebounded from its counterpart, the projectile flew into the net.
Metallurg tried to fight. So, in the middle of the meeting, Nikita Mikhailis scored just eight seconds after Kapustin’s effective click. And then Nikita Grebenkin equalized the score for the last time. But his partners were not enough for more. Perhaps it was just plain fatigue. Razin, at a press conference, unexpectedly criticized not his own wards, but the local operator. According to the expert, he approached him with a camera too close when he was scoring.
“Please remove this comrade. I have no other word - he's just crazy. He’s driving around with chewing gum and muttering something,” the coach was indignant.
Various Avangard matches
“Avangard” in a similar period won three victories with one defeat and came close to its competitor. And the most striking thing for him was the home confrontation with Ak Bars. It started out ugly for Omsk residents. Even before the break, Nikita Dynyak and Ilya Safonov twice upset Pavel Khomchenko during quick attacks.
But Mikhail Kravets’ team did not break. Moreover, at a difficult moment, the burden of leadership was shouldered not by the leading link of Reed Boucher, but by the defenders. First, Bilyalov’s view was blocked on the penny, and Sergei Boykov hit him with a powerful flick. And in the 43rd minute, Semyon Chistyakov scored with a powerful wrist shot almost from the blue.
The decisive goal was unexpectedly scored by the club’s young student Ilya Reingardt. In many ways, Vladimir Tkachev’s injury allowed him to get a chance. In the absence of the leader, the coaching staff assigned the forward to the second line and gave him 12 minutes. As a result, it was he who turned out to be the quickest on the coin. In addition, this goal was the athlete’s debut in the KHL.
But a day later, the “hawks” themselves unexpectedly gave the victory to Traktor at the G-Drive Arena. Even Tkachev’s long-awaited return to duty did not save them. Moreover, the striker opened the scoring in the first shift, taking advantage of Boucher’s pass. And by the tenth minute, Zach Fucale was upset by Tomas Jurcho and Damir Sharipzyanov.
But the Chelyabinsk team reduced the gap to a minimum even before the break, and then took the lead altogether. In the 41st minute, Boucher equalized the score, but Maxim Shabanov’s stunning lacrosse goal turned out to be fateful.
Masterpieces from Shabanov and Alalykin
The young striker truly created a masterpiece in Omsk. In the 47th minute, he received a pass behind the goal, confused Andrei Mishurov and unexpectedly threw a projectile into the near corner in front of the amazed Chistyakov. Perhaps it was the striker's cunning action that was decisive. Before scoring, he slightly tossed the puck and thereby disorientated the goalie, who crouched slightly and prepared to cover the bottom corners.
Surprisingly, just a few days later, Daniil Alalykin pleased the fans with another lacrosse goal. The hockey player of “Salavat Yulaev” distinguished himself in this way in the match with “Lada”. Having received the puck behind the goal, he paused and sent it into the near corner. Alexander Trushkov did not have time to intercept.
By the way, the young man dedicated this beauty to his former teammate Rodion Amirov, who died last year from the consequences of cancer. And Alalykin hit someone else’s goal for only the third time this KHL season.
Berdin's battle with Brosseau
Even less common than lacrosse goals in hockey are fights involving goalies. However, at the start of the week there was also such an episode. Moreover, it happened in an ordinary meeting between Sochi and Kunlun. It all started with the fact that Devin Brosseau, trying to push the puck into the net, roughly crashed into Mikhail Berdin.
The Russian suddenly lost his nerve. Perhaps the mocking puck that the Canadian scored a minute and a half earlier had an effect. The goalkeeper sent his opponent to the ice with several strong kicks and then finished him off. The judges did not immediately react. And the counterpart, it seemed, was in shock.
As a result, it was Berdin who was found guilty and given a “2 + 10” sentence. He was later fined by the league and Brosseau received a one-game suspension for his third fight of the season. However, representatives of the southerners insisted that it was the legionnaire who started first. Mikhail stated the same.
“There was no aggression towards him. He just flew into me, I pushed him a little, he hit me in the helmet, and there was no longer an option to back up,” he explained.
The club approached the incident creatively and expressed a desire to release a collection of T-shirts with the inscription: BFC - Berdin Fighting Club.
The battle for the last playoff spot in the East
There is less than a month left until the end of the regular season, and in the West six teams have already been determined that will take part in the playoffs. With a high degree of probability, Severstal and Dynamo Minsk will also be in the top 8.
But in the East, a desperate struggle for the last ticket to the Gagarin Cup unfolded between Neftekhimik, Amur and Sibir. But the competitors seem to be playing giveaways. Nizhnekamsk suffered three defeats in a row at the end of January, and then barely put the finishing touches on Lada.
The opponents had a great opportunity to push them back, but they didn’t take advantage of it. The Khabarovsk team lost nine matches in a row and broke the unsuccessful streak only in the aforementioned confrontation with Metallurg. Despite this, the contract with head coach Andrei Martemyanov was extended until the end of the 2024/25 season.
And the Novosibirsk team, who were deducted four points, fell apart. For example, after the defeat by Ak Bars, the team’s coach Sergei Krivokrasov reproached some of his players for the lack of proper dedication. In turn, the club's general director, Kirill Fastovsky, according to media reports, organized a dressing down in the locker room. However, Sibir does not lose hope of challenging the league's verdict. She filed an appeal, which the joint disciplinary chamber of the FHR and KHL will consider on February 6.