Dragons prepare for CSKA, Barys tests

17 December 2024

After a short pause for international action, the Dragons return to action with two games this week. Mikhail Kravets, fresh from coaching with the KHL World Team at the Channel 1 Cup, takes his men to CSKA on Tuesday before hosting Barys on Thursday.

CSKA Moscow (a), Dec. 17, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: There was no shortage of action in October’s 3-3 tie in Mytishchi. Unfortunately, though, CSKA took the verdict in OT.

Familiar faces: None

Setting the scene: At home, the Dragons have given CSKA plenty of problems in recent seasons. The last five meetings in Mytishchi brought three wins for our guys, and the most recent loss came in overtime. Unfortunately, it’s been a different story on the road. A 3-4 loss back in January is the closest we’ve come to any reward, and there have been a couple of maulings along the way.

But CSKA in 2024/25 is a different beast. With Ilya Vorobyov at the helm in place of Sergei Fedorov, the Muscovites have yet to take off this term. Fourth place in the west with 45 points from 33 games is by no means a poor return. However, it’s some way short of the kind of result we might anticipate from a club that always expects to be in the Gagarin Cup conversation each season.

Things are improving. After just seven wins from the first 18 games of the – albeit with a lot of OT action along the way – CSKA has won 12 of its last 15. The most recent game before the international break was a 2-1 win at Lokomotiv, the runaway leader in the Western Conference. That said, while early in the season Vorobyov’s men struggled to see tight games over the line, now there’s a sense that they are inching ahead in close calls. Of the current five-game hot streak, four games were decided by a single goal, two were tied at 60 minutes and the win over struggling Barys needed a 58^th minute goal to seal a 3-1 scoreline. Outwardly strong, CSKA might be a little more fragile than a casual glance suggests.

Barys Astana (h), Dec. 19, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: Jeremy Smith posted a shut-out and Doyle Somerby scored his first goal of the season in a 2-0 win in Kazakhstan.

Familiar faces: Back in 2020/21, Ivan Nikolishin played his first full KHL season with the Dragons. He finished with 23 (8+15) points from 59 games before moving on to Amur, Avangard and now Barys. Among the current Dragons, Tomas Jurco began his KHL career in Kazakhstan in 2021/22, playing 22 games for 13 (5+8) points on a playoff-bound roster.

Setting the scene: It’s a long time since we’ve won at home to Barys. The Kazakh club’s last five visits to us have ended in defeat, although it’s worth noting that four of those five games went to overtime. Moreover, it’s quite a long time since Barys has won anywhere: a 2-1 victory over Metallurg on Nov. 20 was followed by eight successive losses prior to the international break.

This season has been a turbulent time for Barys. We’ve seen three head coaches in Astana already, with David Nemirovsky briefly replaced by Vyacheslav Butsayev before Galym Mambetaliyev finally moved into position full-time. That coincided with an import exodus and the current roster draws heavily on home-grown talent looking to step up from the Kazakh national championship. There is some quality to be found there: in recent seasons, Kazakh clubs have performed strongly in the IIHF Continental Cup and the national team has secured its place among the elite despite jettisoning dual-nationals. However, there’s a lack of experience which has been costly at times. Tight games have  habit of going against Barys at the moment, and there’s often a tendency to ride big performances from goalies Andrei Shutov and Nikita Boyarkin.