High-flyers come to town

3 February 2025

After a high-scoring loss against Ak Bars, we’re up against more tough opposition in Mytishchi this week. Our two games bring Avtomobilist and Dynamo to town, both teams jockeying for position at the top of their conferences. And when those games are done, the focus shifts to Novosibirsk for the 2025 All-Star Game.

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (h), Feb. 4, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: we don’t often get a win over the Motormen, especially not in Yekaterinburg, so November’s shoot-out success was one to remember. We might have got it done in regulation, but a late goal cancelled out Spencer Foo’s opener. Undaunted, the guys finished the job in the extras with Luke Lockhart getting the shoot-out winner.

Familiar faces: Just the one, with Avtomobilist defenseman Jesse Blacker revisiting the club where he began his KHL career.

Setting the scene: It’s time for the Alexander Sharov derby! Our recently-acquired center lines up against his namesake on the Avto forward line in a clash that has TV commentators pulling out their hair. More seriously, there’s plenty at stake for both teams in this game. Avtomobilist moved up to second in the Eastern Conference at the weekend and has a realistic shot of overtaking Traktor at the top of the table if it can make the most of its four games in hand. Meanwhile, the Dragons need points to eat into the six-point gap between ourselves and the playoff places in the West.

The Motormen are in terrific form right now, and Sunday’s 4-2 win at Lada made it 10 victories in a row for Nikolai Zavarukhin’s men. There are no big surprises among the scoring leaders, with Stephane da Costa, Brooks Macek and Anatoly Golyshev out in front as usual. In recent games, though, Alexei Byvaltsev has gotten hot: he had three points in the win at Lada, and has 6 (3+3) from his last five games.

Dynamo Moscow (h), Feb. 6, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: We opened the season with a 3-1 win at Dynamo, getting our first ever regulation-time victory against this opponent. Then, on Dec. 1, Yaroslav Likhachyov’s debut goal earned us a point despite a 4-5 OT loss in Mytishchi.

Familiar faces: None, following the departure of ex-Dynamo goalie Konstantin Volkov to Lada.

Setting the scene: After welcoming the second placed club from the East, we take on a Dynamo Moscow team looking to secure a similar position in the West. Although it’s hard to imagine anyone overtaking Lokomotiv at the top of our conference, there’s a five-way battle in the wake of the leader. Currently just two points separate second-placed Severstal from SKA in sixth. Coming out on top of that pile at the end of the season promises an easier playoff match-up than a round one showdown against the likes of Spartak or CSKA, and that will surely be Dynamo’s focus as the season approaches the final straight.

Alexei Kudashov’s team made an impressive start to 2025, reeling off five wins in a row. That included a 7-2 victory at Severstal and a 5-1 thrashing of Sochi. However, things have slowed a little since, and the last three games brought defeats to Lokomotiv and SKA either side of a 4-1 verdict over Torpedo. Although the Blue-and-Whites still look to Nikita Gusev to drive the offense, December signing Dylan Sikura is proving more effective in Moscow than he was in Chelyabinsk. The Canadian had a lukewarm 15 points in 29 games for Traktor, but is currently on 9 (4+5) from 11 appearances since joining Dynamo.

All-Star Game, Feb. 8 and 9, Novosibirsk

After the Dynamo game, most of us get a short break to enjoy the KHL All-Star Game. This year’s event comes from Novosibirsk, and your Dragons will be represented at the gala showcase. Goalie Jeremy Smith was selected for Team Bobrov, where he’ll share netminding duties with Vladislav Podyapolsky of Dynamo Moscow. It’s Smitty’s second All-Star appearance; he also featured last year.

A couple of ex-Dragons are also set to be involved. Defenseman Trevor Murphy, now with Sibir, was selected for Team Chernyshev. However, he’s missed the last couple of league games due to family circumstances and may be a doubt for the weekend. In addition, Nail Yakupov, who had 11 points in 27 games for Kunlun this season before moving to Avangard, was added to the line-up after Reid Boucher had to step down due to injury.