Through West to East: what intrigues are expected in the KHL playoffs

For the first time in the entire history of the KHL, before the start of the Gagarin Cup, it is impossible to single out one or two clear favorites. Wasn't this what everyone was waiting for when the KHL was launched on a grand scale many years ago? These happy times have finally arrived. There has never been such an incredible intrigue in the league. None of the teams looks 100% ready to win the championship. Weaknesses can be found in everyone. This is neither good nor bad. But that's exactly what you need for unpredictability. For more information about the teams' chances before the start of the playoff games, see the Izvestia article.

West

Lokomotiv guaranteed victory in the regular season long before it ended, but it's difficult to call Yaroslavtsev the obvious favorite. Igor Nikitin's team looked like a machine in the first half of the regular season, but Lokomotiv's slump coincided with an injury to the main goalkeeper Daniil Isaev. The Yaroslavl team became more experienced — the skilled Radulov, Freize, and Panik were added, but the game went wrong closer to the end of the season. And the current "Locomotive" is seen as no stronger than the "Tractor" or the Moscow Dynamo.

At the same time, Torpedo has a slim chance of success in the first round. Nizhny Novgorod head coach Igor Larionov has modified his team's hockey, making it more balanced and rigorous. But this did not have a positive effect on the results — Nizhny Novgorod had no chance to rise above eighth place, and even if Kunlun had been a little stronger, problems could have arisen with getting into the playoffs. The progress of the young stars Konyushkov and Atanasov has slowed down. The maximum that Torpedo can count on in the series is to take one match from the favorite.

Dynamo Moscow could have avoided meeting SKA in the first round, but lost on the road to Severstal. Considering how Cherepovets dominated the face-to-face meeting, it's even better for the blue and white that they avoided the series with Severstal. At the same time, the Army team was a convenient opponent for Dynamo in the regular season — Alexey Kudashov's team won five of the six face-to-face meetings.

Evgeny Kuznetsov returned to SKA before the last match of the regular season, but so far it looks frankly difficult — it is obvious that the star striker lacks playing tone. Ivan Demidov is back in the lineup. But the chances of the Army team's success are hardly high — the team has been playing unstable all season, and the goalie's line is in doubt. Perhaps the main hope of SKA is the high performing skills of the leaders. If Kuznetsov, Grigorenko, Plotnikov, Nikishin, Khairullin, Gritsyuk, Vorobyov show their best hockey, then it will not be easy for the opponent.

Spartak will face Severstal for the second year in a row, and it is unclear why quite a lot of experts rate the chances of Cherepovets higher. Yes, everything is not all right with the red and white goalkeepers — Zagidulin missed the end of the regular season, and Nikolaev looked uncertain. But the leading three have gained momentum — Ordin and Goldobin are approaching the playoffs with long productive streaks, and strikers Pashin, Galimov, Rubtsov, and Maltsev are having a great season. Spartak should have enough margin of safety to pass at least the first round.

Severstal, unlike Torpedo, has retained its corporate identity and is not going to abandon it in the playoffs. But lace hockey, with a ban on power techniques and a requirement not to block shots, is not very suitable for cup matches. The series with Spartak will be bright in any case, but the outcome is predictable for the residents of Cherepovets. Such a team should be in the league, but neither the philosophy nor the selection of players contribute to winning trophies.

Dinamo Minsk played the best regular season in the club's history — for the first time, the team will start the playoffs at home. The lack of a limit on legionnaires allowed Minsk to assemble three high-quality pairs of defense from North Americans, and the local youth played out in attack, led by the skilled Shipachev, Volkov, Enes and Tierney. And Vasily Demchenko, who strengthened Dynamo during the season, solved the team's goalkeeper problem. But now the main task for Dmitry Kvartalnov is to overcome the first round for the first time in history.

The restructuring of CSKA, which the club started before the start of this season, is still difficult to call successful. The Army team relied on fairly young players who stayed in the AHL, but Guryanov, Afanasyev, Iskhakov, Samorukov have not yet been able to become stars. Vitaly Abramov's injury also crippled the team — it was not possible to replace him in the top three with Sorkin and Poltapov. There is information that Ilya Vorobyov will leave the post of head coach of the team in case of failure, but it is likely that a second consecutive relegation in the first round may cost some army leaders a place.

East

The dismissal of Alexei Zavarukhin, who won bronze medals in his debut season, seemed strange, but Canadian specialist Benoit Groux quickly instilled in Traktor a high-quality game that brings results. Chelyabinsk were the most stable in the East, and the deadline acquisitions made the team even stronger: forwards Glotov, Korostelev and Safin, defenders Day and Koromyslov confidently fit into the squad. Shabanov and Kravtsov are having a great season, Kadeikin has restarted his career in Chelyabinsk, and goalkeeper Fukale is reliable. The only thing that bothers me is Kaempffer's injury, but his recovery won't take long.

Admiral failed at the end of the regular season, defeating Neftekhimik. Leonid Tambiev's team is on the decline before the start of the playoffs. And in optimal condition, Primorye would have few chances against the leader of the Eastern Conference, and in the current round, the first round should be an easy ride for Traktor. The task for Chelyabinsk residents is to manage in a maximum of five matches, so as not to fly to the Far East twice. But the example of the Salavat Yulaev two years ago shows that the Admiral cannot be underestimated.

Ufa residents have been eliminated in the first round for two years in a row, being "seeded" higher, but they should not repeat mistakes this time. Salavat head coach Viktor Kozlov has created a balanced team, which is being dragged by the foreign players, led by Josh Livo, the top scorer of the regular season. Only the goalkeeper's position raises questions — Alexander Samonov looked worse than Semyon Vyazov this season, but is an inexperienced goalkeeper capable of dragging him into the playoffs? However, Ufa residents should pass the current "Siberia" in any condition.

Most of Sibir became the best in the regular season, but this is where Novosibirsk's superiority over their upcoming opponent ends. And as good as Trevor Murphy and Taylor Beck are at creating, they're just as terrible at playing without a puck. The combined skill of the Ufa legionnaires is higher, so the Siberians can only hope for a miracle. They have been playing poorly for the last month and a half, and it was only the groundwork created earlier that prevented them from falling out of the top eight.

Metallurg was in a fever for quite a long time, but Magnitogorsk gained momentum in the second half of the regular season. Magnitogorsk has won nine of the last 11 matches, however, behind Andrei Razin's brilliant press conferences, the quality of the team's game went unnoticed. Just like last season, it's difficult to single out one player from the Urals: Robin Press, the team's top scorer. But do you remember how it ended a year ago? Nabokov is still phenomenal in goal, the team is balanced. But there was no luck with the opponent in the first round.

Guy Boucher's Avangard makes no less vivid impression than Bob Hartley's team did a few years ago. It was hard to imagine that the Canadian would restore order in Omsk so quickly, but the Hawks now seem to be a team without weaknesses. The club has already extended the contract with several leaders, and now the main task is to keep Reed Boucher in the squad, who is being closely watched by other top clubs. Avangard also intends to extend the agreement with defender Chistyakov, whose contract expires next spring.

Avtomobilist would probably have remained in second place if it hadn't been for the virus that struck the team in early spring. The leaders dropped out of the squad or went out on the ice not in the best condition one after another, and the coaching staff sometimes overdid the workload. Yekaterinburg residents are one of the main contenders in optimal condition.

Before the break for the All-Star Game, Ak Bars was more often admired than disappointed, but after a stellar weekend, everything changed. Individual glimpses from Lyamkin, Galimov, Yashkin, Barabanov helped the team not to fall very low (and it was difficult to do it below the sixth line). Bilyalov got in shape, and by the playoffs he had won the place of the main goalkeeper from Miftakhov. But Kazan residents do not make a complete impression.

The playoff games will start on March 26.