No 10-in-a-row?

16 October 2023

The Dragons go into the coming week determined to avoid an unwanted 10-game losing streak. Saturday’s OT loss to Neftekhimik was a much-improved performance, but the guys could not escape a ninth successive loss. To prevent an imperfect 10, we’ll have to win at defending champion CSKA – a daunting test, but a team we’ve beaten already this season. After that, we renew acquaintance with Dinamo Minsk before hosting Barys. KRS also has a couple of milestones in view. Ryan Sproul is one game away from 200 KHL appearances for the Dragons, while new signing Teemu Pulkkinen will bring up 100 goals in the league next time he hits the net.

CSKA Moscow (a), Oct. 16, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: We do enjoy a game against CSKA, at least at home. On Sep. 10 we welcomed the defending champion to Mytishchi and grabbed a 3-2 OT verdict. Jack Rodewald got the decider to seal our third successive home victory against the Muscovites.

Familiar faces: None

Background: When we met at the start of the season, the Dragons were challenging at the top of the standings while CSKA was some way off the pace. Today, things are a little different. A nine-game losing streak has Red Star in trouble. However, CSKA is far from the powerhouse we’ve seen in recent seasons.

Sergei Fedorov’s team has struggled for consistency all season and is sixth in the Western Conference. Recent form has CSKA alternating wins and losses and that has been the story of much of the season. There was some evidence of a revival as September rolled into October: three successive wins, beating Sochi 7-1, Vityaz 9-1 then Barys 4-0. Since then, though, it’s been back to usual: loss, win, loss, win. Konstantin Okulov is currently the player to watch. With six assists in the last five games, he’s the man who orchestrates the offense.

Dinamo Minsk (a), Oct. 19, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: We’ve already played the Bison twice this season. First time out went well with a 4-3 win. The second time, not so much, as fatigue contributed to a 0-4 loss last week

Familiar faces: We mentioned Teemu Pulkkinen’s quest for his 100^th KHL goal. It could come against the team where he scored his first. The Finn began his time in the league with Dinamo, before moving to Dynamo Moscow, Lokomotiv and then Traktor. On-loan defenseman Nikita Parfenyuk is still awaiting his first point in the KHL and could get it against his parent club.

Background: Since we last met, Dinamo has suffered back-to-back losses. However, Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team will take comfort from battling performances against some of the league’s toughest opponents. The Bison led twice before falling to a 2-3 loss at SKA, then rallied from 0-2 before falling to a couple of late goals in Ufa. Roman Gorbunov is the forward in form, and his shorthanded tally against Salavat Yulaev moves him to 6 (5+1) points in the last six games

Barys (h), Oct. 21, 1700 Moscow Time

Last season: The Dragons took three points from a possible four against our friends from Kazakhstan. An early-season visit to Astana yielded a thumping 5-0 victory – Rodewald, Yipper and Zac Leslie among the scorers, Smitty with the shut-out. Then we suffered an OT loss on home ice in January.

Familiar faces: None

Background: This hasn’t been a great season for Barys. Indeed, results have been poor enough to persuade the Kazakh club to dispense with head coach Andrei Skabelka. At the time of writing, Galym Mambektiyev is interim chief. He’s done a decent job in his first four games, winning two and taking Metallurg to overtime but also losing 0-6 at home to Lokomotiv.

The issue seems to lie on defense. That Lokomotiv game wasn’t the first time Barys has allowed six in a game this season. Even in victory, there have been some dicey defensive moments – check out a 6-5 OT win over Neftekhimik. It adds up to 63 goals allowed, the worst in the Eastern Conference. Scoring is less of a problem. Riley Barber, an American forward signed this summer, has 20 (8+12) points so far and is the most productive import in this year’s KHL. Czech defenseman David Sklenicka is the leading scorer among D-men this season, with 14 (1+13) so far.