The home straight

17 March 2025

It’s almost the end of another KHL season. This week’s home games against Severstal and Avangard will complete our 2024/25 campaign. And there’s still plenty to play for even if the playoffs are out of reach. First, there’s a race to stay ahead of Vityaz and finish as far up the Western Conference table as possible. Then there’s a chance to set our second-highest points tally from any KHL season: our current haul of 61 is level with the total from 2018.

Severstal (h), March 18, 1930 Moscow Time

Last time out: It’s our sixth and final game against Severstal this season. Apart from a 3-0 win on the road – our first victory in Cherepovets – it’s been a tough series. A 0-3 reverse in January was the fourth time in five games that we lost to this opponent.

Setting the scene: These are tricky times for Severstal. After securing its playoff place, the Cherepovets club has hit some indifferent form. Where once a top-four finish in the West looked possible, now Andrei Kozyrev’s team seem likely to finish seventh and face a tough first-round match-up with Dynamo Moscow. Sunday’s 2-4 loss at Spartak was the third in four games. Moreover, after a strong run in late January, Severstal has won just four times in the past month.

That loss of form has also affected the team’s leader. Kirill Pilipenko, always an unpredictable performer, has just 2 (1+1) points in six games. Prior to that run, he had 52 from 57 games this season – an untimely loss of form. Fellow forward Danil Aimurzin, who missed the Spartak defeat, has gone seven games without a goal since he netted in a 4-0 road win at Avtomobilist. Like Pilipenko, his production has tailed off abruptly: 52 points in the first 57 games, but just three assists in his last seven appearances. The Steelmen will hope for a resurgence in the final week of the season to try and rebuild some form ahead of the playoffs.

Avangard (h), March 22, 1300 Moscow Time

Last time out: Our trip to Omsk this season produced a battling performance, but no reward. Despite goals from Danny O’Regan and Yaroslav Likhachyov, we suffered a 2-3 reverse back in January.

Setting the scene: Avangard could be the most dangerous outsider in this year’s playoffs. The Hawks made a poor start to the season, not helped by a lack of confidence in the coaching staff. Indeed, it felt like something of a revolving door behind the Avangard bench up until the New Year.

However, the arrival of Guy Boucher seems to have changed everything. In 2025, few teams have matched Avangard’s form. Qualification for the playoffs – which once seemed doubtful – was achieved with relative ease. Now the focus is on securing a strong finish, with a top-four spot by no means out of reach. Although the Hawks’ recent 12-game hot streak came to an end in dramatic fashion at home to Traktor, this is a team with in-form players: Reid Boucher has six points from his last five games, Nikolai Prokhorkin and Konstantin Okulov have five apiece. Then there’s the welcome return of Vladimir Tkachyov after long-term injury – effectively giving Avangard a new signing as the season enters its decisive phase.