Eastern high-flyers, western struggler

27 January 2025

It feels like a long time since we’ve played in Mytishchi. This week, to make up for it, we have three home games. There are visits from Traktor and Ak Bars, both pushing for the lead in the Eastern Conference. And, in between, we welcome Sochi, currently propping up the West.

Traktor Chelyabinsk (h), Jan. 28, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: Two-point games from Jan Drozg and Spencer Foo, along with two goals from Rourke Chartier led KRS to a 4-1 in in Chelyabinsk back in November.

Familiar faces: It’s a big day for our recent signing Alexander Sharov. The Chelyabinsk native has played most of his KHL career on his hometown team after breaking into the team in the 2015/16 season. Since joining the Dragons, this physical center has one goal and one assist from 12 games.

Setting the scene: Under Benoit Groulx, Traktor has spent most of the season on top of the Eastern Conference. Currently the team is five points clear of Avtomobilist and Salavat Yulaev, albeit having played three games more. Yet, despite that impressive form, Traktor’s progress has gone a little under the radar this term. Groulx’s team has a habit of winning tight games, rather than dominating the opposition: four of the last five were one-goal verdicts.

In addition, there were extensive changes on the roster in the run-up to the trade deadline – not always a sign of a team that’s comfortable with itself. Nine players left Chelyabinsk in December, including our own Alexander Sharov. Leading defenseman Ilya Karpukhin went to SKA, while import forward Dylan Sikura headed to Dynamo. Coming the other way, Vasily Glotov’s arrival from St. Petersburg was one of the more eye-catching trades of the season and the capture of Ostap Safin from Lada makes sense. Many other new faces felt like makeweights rather than real enhancements to the roster, though. In recent games, it’s notable that the bulk of the scoring is coming from established players like Vitaly Kravtsov and Maxim Shabanov, rather than the new faces.

HC Sochi (h), Jan. 31, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: Historically, we have a winning record against Sochi. However, we had to wait until December to beat the Leopards this season. Two goals from Tyler Graovac and two assists from Tomas Jurco paced a 5-3 win, avenging a couple of earlier losses.

Familiar faces: Another heavyweight acquisition, defenseman Ziyat Paigin, made his debut for the Dragons in the 2-1 victory over Vityaz. The much-travelled 29-year-old   had two spells with the Leopards, helping Sochi to the playoffs in 2016 and 2019. Fellow D-man Yury Pautov also had two stints in Sochi

Setting the scene: Sochi’s problems this season are well known. Sergei Zubov’s team has been rooted to the foot of the Western Conference throughout and has the worst defensive record in the west. It’s been almost impossible for the Leopards to generate any kind of form: isolated wins occasionally punctuate long losing streaks.

The early recall of on-loan goalie Yegor Zavragin, who is now back at SKA, clearly has not helped. Equally, import forwards Jeremy Bracco, Dmitry Timashov and Michal Kristof all moved on – controversially in the latter case – without really catching fire.

On the bright side, Will Bitten has been in good form since his arrival from Spartak last month. With the Red-and-Whites, Bitten struggled to contribute but at Sochi the 26-year-old Canadian has eight goals in 12 games – despite the team’s struggles.

Ak Bars Kazan, Feb. 2, 1700 Moscow Time

Last time out: Our trip to Kazan in November ended in a 0-5 loss.

Familiar faces: And Paigin features again. He began his career with Ak Bars in 2014 and returned from Sochi to play some of the 2016/17 season in Kazan. In total he played 60 games and had 7 (2+5) points in that time.

Setting the scene: When Anvar Gatiyatulin took over as head coach at Ak Bars, it took him some time to stamp his identity on the team. Now, though, things are started to tick over nicely. Ak Bars lies fourth in the East, but has games in hand that could lift it to the top of the standings. It also has the best defensive record in the conference and only Lokomotiv has allowed fewer KHL goals this season.

At the other end, summer signing Alexander Barabanov leads the team in scoring and is proving a key cog in the offensive machine. However Artyom Galimov has been the revelation of the season. He has 41 (22+19) points so far; last term he managed just 11. Gatiyatulin seems to have found the right role for this talented forward and is reaping the rewards.