Two Salavats and a Severstal …

8 January 2024

The Dragons are looking to snap a losing streak – and the coming week gives us three opportunities to do just that. Red Star continues on the road, visiting Ufa and Cherepovets, before returning to Mytishchi for our first home game since Dec. 26. The visitor is Salavat Yulaev, less than a week after our first meeting of the season.

Salavat Yulaev (a), Jan. 9, 1700 Moscow Time; (h), Jan. 14, 1400 Moscow Time

Last season: We’ve yet to play Viktor Kozlov’s team this season. Last term, the Dragons suffered a 1-4 loss on home ice in November before taking Salavat Yulaev to overtime in Ufa in February.

Familiar faces: Vyacheslav Leshchenko had 14 points in 33 games for Red Star in the 2020/21 season. Oddly enough, his stats for the current campaign are very similar: 14 points in 34 games at the time of writing.

Background: Red Star’s forwards will need to be at their best this week in two games against one of the best defenses in the KHL. Salavat Yulaev has allowed 100 goals in 47 games so far. That’s the best defensive record in the East, and only Lokomotiv (89 goals in 47 games) has been more parsimonious this season. Alexander Samonov’s 93.8% save ratio is the best in the league, helping him to a GAA of 1.73 (second in the KHL). His four shut-outs to date give him a share of the lead in that category alongside four rivals.

That success is based on an attitude that rates offense as the best form of defense. Salavat Yulaev is sixth in goals this season (and, moreover, is third in the league for shots on goal and has the third best strike rate). Alexander Chmelevski continues to lead the team in scoring with 42 (21+21) points and his partnership with fellow import Josh Leivo is improving week on week. Leivo is on a purple patch just now, with 9 (4+5) points in his last five games. Another in-form forward, 24-year-old Belarusian Ivan Drozdov, is enjoying his best season in the KHL with 31 (17+14) points, improving on 28 last year.

Severstal (a), Jan. 12, 1900 Moscow Time

Last time out: After three attempts, we’re still waiting for our first win over Severstal this season. The best so far was on Nov. 6 when we tied 3-3 before losing in a shoot-out. Teemu Pulkkinen scored twice that day. Two other meetings ended in 1-3 losses.

Familiar faces: none

Background: Like Salavat Yulaev, Severstal favors an attacking style. Only Spartak has more than the 148 goals Andrei Kozyrev’s men have potted so far. His team is also one of only three to boast a strike rate in excess of 10%. Considering the firepower that left the team after Andrei Razin’s departure for Metallurg in the summer, that’s some achievement. Kirill Pilipenko’s form this season has attracted plenty of attention, but in recent games Nikita Korostelyov has matched him point for point. Previously with CSKA and Metallurg, the 26-year-old forward never really established himself until he moved to Cherepovets earlier this season. Now, with 25 points in 40 games, he’s already enjoying his most productive KHL season – and there’s likely more to come as Kozyrev seems set to take the club into the playoffs again.

The Steelmen have a selection issue ahead of this game with first-choice goalie Konstantin Shostak injured. Dmitry Shugayev is the most likely replacement, although Alexander Samoilov has performed well when called upon.