One more week at home

10 February 2025

It’s the final week of our longest home stand of the season. By the time the Dragons play on Sunday, we’ll have had eight games in a row here in Mytishchi. So far, though, home has not delivered much comfort and our guys are looking to snap a four-game skid when Salavat Yulaev comes to town. After that we face Torpedo and Vityaz, the teams directly above and below us in the standings: two games that will do much to shape what we can play for in the final weeks of the regular season.

Salavat Yulaev (h), Feb. 11, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: Our October visit to Ufa was lots of fun. Down 0-2 at the second intermission, our guys hit five unanswered goals in the third period to secure a memorable win. Tyler Graovac scored twice to tie the game, then Hudson Elynuik and Danny O’Regan scored their first goals for the club.

Familiar faces: None

Setting the scene: Right now in Ufa, it’s all about Josh Leivo. The Canadian forward is up to 40 goals this season and, if he continues at his current pace will break Sergei Mozyakin’s record of 48 in the 2016/17 campaign. However, Leivo had to miss the All-Star Game at the weekend due to injury, prompting concerns that fitness might frustrate his record push. Viktor Kozlov’s team is in a race for first place in the East, currently five points and two places behind leader Traktor, but has three games in hand on the conference leader.

Prior to the All-Star break, Salavat Yulaev won its last three games. That includes some high-profile successes against Avangard and Metallurg. While Leivo’s injury has kept him in and out of the team, Sheldon Rempal has stepped up with 7 (5+2) points in the last five games.

Torpedo (h), Feb. 13, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: Despite losing our previous home meeting 2-4, our most recent clash with Torpedo brought on OT victory to wrap up 2024 in style. Yaroslav Likhachyov potted the winner as part of our club record winning streak.

Familiar faces: Our December signing Ziyat Paygin spent two seasons with Torpedo from 2020 to 2022 before moving to Avangard early in the 2022/23 campaign. It’s unlikely that we’ll face former Dragon Igor Larionov Jr, who is currently on the injured list.

Setting the scene: This looks like a crucial battle in the playoff race. At the time of writing, Igor Larionov’s team has a nine-point lead over us. With games running out, this is a key chance to close the gap on our rival for eighth place.

For a time, Torpedo was struggling for form. In the last couple of games, though, the team has found a way to win. It hasn’t been convincing: back-to-back shoot-out successes accounted for Vityaz and Spartak without looking 100% persuasive.

Vityaz (h), Feb. 15, 1700 Moscow Time

Last time out: Red Star’s last two meetings with Vityaz have ended in victory. Our opening game of 2025 brought an OT win on home ice with Spencer Foo settling the outcome. Then on Jan. 25, we won 2-1 in Balashikha with Adam Clendening blasting the late winner.

Familiar faces: From 2017-2021, our defenseman Yury Pautov divided his time between Vityaz and Dynamo St. Petersburg. In the opposition camp, goalie Dmitry Shikov and defensemen Ruslan Pedan and Mikhail Sidorov are former Dragons.

Setting the scene: With two wins from three games against Vityaz, we’ve been enjoying our clashes with the Balashikha-based club this season. Currently we’re five points ahead in the standings and will be looking to consolidate that advantage here. Our visitor leans heavily on scoring of Dmitry Buchelnikov – the pacey youngster has 40 (13+27) points in 47 games, and won the speed skating contest at the weekend All-Star Game.

Recent form doesn’t much favor Vityaz. Pavel Desyatkov’s team hasn’t won in five, a cold streak that began when we visited Balashikha. Games have often been tight – notably a shoot-out loss to Torpedo – but the net result is that the Moscow Region club is losing ground in 10^th.