Season finale. Who is the odd one out in the KHL playoffs? What is the KHL: characteristics, teams, season structure, trophies Who played in the KHL

In October "SE" runs a special section, dedicated to Russian hockey. In this material we present our own version of the 10 best teams in the history of the Kontinental Hockey League

Two Gagarin Cups in a row is a record. So far only Dynamo Moscow has been able to repeat it. Kazan dominated in the first years of the KHL's existence - fortunately, the strong core that achieved success back in the days of the Super League has not gone away.

The most important thing is that it was a great connection and worked like a clock. In the first final, Lokomotiv had a game advantage throughout the entire series, but Ak Bars managed to pull out a victory on character. Just look at the second match, when the Kazan team was losing at home 0:3 by the 14th minute, sent the match into overtime 74 seconds before the end of regular time, and in the very first attack in extra time they brought the game to victory with a score of 4:3.

But there was also the fifth match of the quarterfinal series with Avangard, when the Omsk team lacked 15 seconds to advance to the next round. Nikulin equalized the score after a throw-in won by Niko Kapanen, and the veteran scored the winning goal in overtime.

The second title was remembered for the fact that Ak Bars stopped the powerful Salavat, led by , in the semifinals, and in the decisive series put the squeeze on HC MVD, losing 2-3 and losing Alexei Morozov due to injury.

The first club trophy of the coaching tandem of Vyacheslav Bykov was wonderful in everything - both with a dramatic background (defeat to Ak Bars in the playoffs in the 2009/10 season) and a joyful ending. In the fall of 2010, the duo narrowly avoided retirement when the team was feverishly ill. But from the middle of the season, the Ufa team, led by the team and, gained impressive momentum.

In a head-to-head confrontation in the second round of the playoffs, they dethroned the two-time Cup winner and their number one rival in the KHL in the person of Kazan Ak Bars, which makes the final success even more significant and brighter. The toughest final of the East and the 1:0 victory in the seventh match over Magnitogorsk became a real test. In the decisive series, the sensational team of that playoffs, Atlanta, simply did not have enough strength and emotion to stop Salavat.

Head coach Vyacheslav Bykov, brilliant, a crazy trio - -, Norwegian scorer Patrick Thoresen and a dozen other KHL stars - with such a wonderful set, SKA had no right to lose in that playoffs.

Although in previous years the St. Petersburg team were also considered favorites, they stumbled over and over again on the way to the main trophy in their history. The brightest series that went down in the history of Russian hockey came in the Western Conference finals. SKA managed to get even, having suffered defeats in the first three matches from CSKA, where Alexander Radulov himself went on a rampage. After that, Vyacheslav Bykov’s team dealt with “Ak Bars” in the final without any problems.

It’s hard to imagine when we’ll be able to see such a “Traktor” again, playing classic Soviet hockey with an emphasis on rolling, the ability to play a pass and create a masterpiece of combinational rather than power play.

We have to remember those times with nostalgia. The classic story about hockey’s Cinderella looked especially impressive five years ago, given the fact that this squad under the leadership of Oleg Znark didn’t even make it to the playoffs the season before!

The team of “downed pilots,” as the club’s general manager Andrei Safronov put it, stopped one step away from the loudest sensation in the history of Russian hockey. Character and willingness to fight for each other turned out to be stronger than the individual skill of the Yaroslavl Lokomotiv stars. In the Western finals, the team from Balashikha beat a formidable opponent in seven matches. And I fought with dignity against Ak Bars and even led the series 3-2.

HC MVD was disbanded the following season, and its management, coaching staff and leaders formed the backbone of the renewed Moscow Dynamo. Two years after that success of the “policemen,” the blue and white, betting on all the same trump cards, won the Gagarin Cup. And then another one.

Before the appearance of the HC MVD, “Atlant” performed for a year in the rank of Cinderella, which did not reach the queen of the ball. To be fair, the Moscow region team had in its ranks such eminent players as Sergei Mozyakin, Dmitry Bykov, Zbynek Irgl, . The team started the season neither shaky nor weak. Nikolai Borshchevsky was dismissed in October.

With the arrival of the charismatic Milos Rzhiga, Atlant got out of the tournament swamp and made some noise in the playoffs. In first place is the victory over SKA in the second round. Then the Moscow region team fought back from a 1-3 score in the series, losing 1-2 in the seventh game a little over five minutes before the end of the third period. The defeat of Yaroslavl's Lokomotiv led at the next stage was impressive, and the 8:2 score in the sixth match, which became the final one, is impossible to forget. Another thing is that victory in the final over a fully staffed Salavat Yulaev turned out to be an impossible task.

This team did not win the Gagarin Cup, but forever won the hearts of picky and demanding Omsk fans. The head coach of that Avangard, with all his frantic character, became the favorite of Omsk until the end of his life. Even now they are ready to welcome him with open arms in any popular place in this city. Under him, the team, with such stars as a Finnish goalkeeper and a Czech striker, played flashy hockey with an emphasis on attack and pressure. In the 2010/11 season, the Omsk team became first in the regular season, reaching the conference finals in the playoffs, and a year later they led the decisive series with Dynamo Moscow 3-1, but missed out on the title, believing in their ultimate success too early.

Teams in the KHL continue to develop and become stronger. AND you have a chance to see live the formation of new legends from VIP -Lock. For this register V program Mastercard Priceless Cities from 3 to 30 October 2016 and get the opportunity to win an invitation to two in the Mastercard VIP box at exciting game of the KHL championship between Dynamo and CSKA, which will take place on 13 November 2016 on arena "VTB Ice Palace" in Moscow. Get an unforgettable experience at one of the most anticipated games of the hockey season along with Mastercard!

The KHL regular championship is gradually entering the home stretch. The teams have already completed approximately 2/3 of the entire tournament distance. In the West and East, leaders, outsiders, as well as those clubs that will continue to fight for a place in the coveted cup eight have been identified. Let's try to assess the current position of the teams and predict which of them will still manage to make it to the playoffs at the end of the season.

West

In the Western Conference, the leaders on paper became leaders in practice. SKA, under the leadership of Oleg Znark, managed to cope with the high pressure in the post-championship season and is rightfully in 1st place. The team from the banks of the Neva, which had the best start in the history of the KHL and set a record for the number of matches won in a row, continues to confidently gain points. The only inconvenient opponent for the St. Petersburg team was Sochi, to which they lost in both head-to-head matches.

CSKA, which replaced its head coach in the off-season and entrusted the management of the team to Igor Nikitin, spent a long time searching for its game and deciding on combinations of players, which could not but affect the club’s performance. The difficult period seems to be behind us. “Army” has gained a confident momentum, winning 14 victories in the last 15 matches, and is firmly in 2nd place in its conference.

Compared to last season, Jokerit made a significant leap forward. The Finnish team, which qualified for the playoffs last year only from 8th place, is demonstrating very meaningful hockey this year. It seems that the change of coach and a fair amount of roster changes have benefited the Jokers. Jukka Jalonen continues to amaze and, at the same time, is not afraid to trust young people. The club from Helsinki features the best newcomer of the 10th KHL season - the inimitable virtuoso Eli Tolvanen, who scored 31 points in 38 matches. It's only the beginning!

Lokomotiv, which acquired a new head coach during the regular season, very quickly returned to its former reliable game and returned to its usual high place in the standings. Dmitry Kvartalnov revived a train that had gone astray and had slowed down. The club from Yaroslavl is currently in 4th place and continues the race behind Jokerit.

Trying to keep up with the top four and Torpedo. The Nizhny Novgorod club, which is experiencing problems with financing, despite the difficulties, continues to amaze with its stability. Yes, the game of Peteris Skudra’s team can hardly be called bright and effective; goals are given to them with great difficulty. But, most importantly, there is a result. With a negative difference in goals scored and goals conceded, the Volga team has 71 points and ranks 5th in the West.

From 6th place to 9th, the density of teams in the West increases significantly. The Moscow Dynamo team, located behind Torpedo, has 65 points. Next come Spartak, Sochi and Severstal, 4-5 points behind the Blue and White. Considering the fact that the teams still have about a third of the regular season to play, all four clubs have a chance of reaching the playoffs.

Much will depend on how the teams will conduct head-to-head meetings with each other, in which, in fact, 6 points will be played out at once. In the meantime, Spartak and Sochi have higher chances of getting into the playoffs. They, unlike Severstal, have more points scored in fewer meetings.

But Dynamo Minsk and Vityaz seem to have dropped out of the fight for a place in the eight cup zone. The club from Belarus missed too much time at the start of the championship. The reason for this is the drastic changes in the composition and on the coaching bridge. The team from Minsk lost in the last four meetings. But, if away defeats from Salavat Yulaev, Ak Bars and Neftekhimik can be attributed to the high level of competitors, then a home failure in the confrontation with Riga is a real nightmare for both the team itself and its fans.

Not everything is going smoothly this season for Vityaz either. The Podolsk team, left without key players in the off-season, could not find an equivalent replacement for them. None of the foreign players signed in the summer, with the exception of Czech defender Mozik, was able to strengthen Valery Belov’s team. Finnish forwards Rissanen and Mankinen, considered KalPa's leaders, quickly faded into the shadows, and Swedish defensive player Burström made mistakes too often. The management of the Moscow region club invited other foreigners to replace the legionnaires who did not live up to expectations, but there was practically no time left to correct the current situation.

“Slovan” and “Dynamo” Riga have firmly settled at the very bottom of the standings and, it seems, have already resigned themselves to their sad fate as outsiders. Neither Eduard Zankovets nor Girts Ankipans managed to radically change the situation in the distressed clubs. In Bratislava and Riga, work has already begun on forming teams for the next season. This year turned out to be a bad year for European teams.

East

In the East, unlike the West, even at the very top of the standings there is still intrigue. Most recently, “Barys” was in first place, but after the November break, it seriously declined and ended up in seventh position. Ak Bars stands out from other teams. First of all, its stability. Zinetuly Bilyaletdinov’s team has a very strong and well-played squad, reinforced by the experienced Danis Zaripov. It is the Kazan team that is the main favorite of the Eastern Conference.

Starting from second place the fun begins. “Avangard”, located behind “Ak Bars”, has 66 points, and “Amur”, occupying the 9th position, got 57 points, having played one match less than the Omsk team. Two or three defeats in a row can push any team beyond the playoffs and deprive it of the opportunity to compete in the knockout round. It is for this reason that the struggle for a place in the sun in the East seems hotter than in the West.

“Avangard” under the leadership of Skabelka shows dynamic hockey. The team always tries to act as number one and dictate its terms to any opponent. But this doesn’t always work out. The young Omsk team lacks stability and composure. It is still in the intermediate stage of maturation. The Siberians miss too many scoring chances and are in dire need of leaders. The Swedish legionnaires, from whom Andrei Skabelka clearly expected more, are also far from their best.

“Avtomobilist” is in 3rd place and continues to stick to its line. Vladimir Krikunov’s team plays very nice hockey, which cannot but please the fans from Yekaterinburg. The Ural club this season boasts an enviable depth of roster and the signing of a number of quality foreign players. The Ekaterinburg team had a fruitful pre-season and are not slackening during the physics meetings. If things continue to go just as well for Avtomobilist, then Krikunov will have a good opportunity to make some noise in the playoffs and end his coaching career on a positive note.

Following the Urals, Neftekhimik settled down. In Nizhnekamsk, Andrei Nazarov's coaching hand and his ability to squeeze the maximum out of players are very clearly visible. The off-season selection was carried out very well. All the legionnaires have come to the Tatar team’s court and are making a difference in it. It is likely that the current 4th place is not the limit for Nazarov’s team.

But “Magnitka” and “Traktor”, which are in 5th and 6th positions, are surprising this year with a minus sign. Metallurg has already gotten rid of former head coach Ilya Vorobyov. But, as time has shown, the reason for the team’s unsuccessful performance clearly did not lie in the weak work of the specialist. The losses of a number of key hockey players cost the club its place among the leaders of the East and added even more gray hairs to Gennady Velichkin’s head. But whether Viktor Kozlov will be able to become a new Sparrow for Magnitogorsk – time will tell.

The Chelyabinsk team, who pleasantly surprised us last season and showed beautiful hockey, got off to a rocky start this year. The team's head coach, Anvar Gatiyatulin, seemed to be shocked by this result and could not explain the reasons for the failure. Fortunately, in the last matches “Traktor” began to gain points and slightly improved its position in the standings. For now, the main problem of the club is the lack of stability.

Just a month ago, everyone praised Barys and called the Kazakh club the main discovery of the 10th KHL season. The November break, spent in the Emirates, played a cruel joke on the Astana residents. After him, the team suffered 7 defeats in 8 meetings and found themselves on the verge of the cup eight. Yes, Astana still has excellent foreign players led by Nigel Dawes, but in the fight for the Cup, a successful game by one top five team may not be enough. Too much in Evgeniy Koreshkov’s team depends on foreigners.

The main disappointment of the season is “Salavat Yulaev”. General manager Leonid Weisfeld has been working in Ufa for three years, and during this time he has not been able to find an intelligent head coach for the team. The composition of the Bashkir team is one of the best in the East, there are no problems with financing. There was plenty of time to build the club's game. What prevents Weisfeld and Westerlund from showing results is a big mystery. But with such hockey in the playoffs, the Ufa residents have nothing to do.

“Amur” and “Siberia” are located outside the eight, but the teams have completely different chances of getting into the cup eight zone. The Khabarovsk team is within walking distance of Salavat and is quite capable of displacing it from 8th position, and the Far Easterners are only three points behind Barys.

Andrey Martemyanov, unlike his predecessors, managed to cope with two tasks simultaneously at Amur. The coach continues to trust Russian young players with a place in the lineup, and Amur, under the leadership of Martemyanov, shows aggressive and fast hockey. If they make it to the playoffs, the Khabarovsk team will become the main discovery of the KHL anniversary season.

But Siberia’s chances of getting into the playoffs against the background of Amur look illusory. A change of coach will not save Novosibirsk residents. Still, the team’s problems do not lie in Pavel Zubov, but rather in the failed summer selection and lack of depth in the squad. Vladimir Yurzinov Jr., of course, will try to jump above his head with his new team, but, in the conditions of the current high competition in the East, this seems unlikely.

“Kunlun”, “Admiral”, “Lada” and “Ugra” are performing too poorly this season. In all four clubs, with the exception of Tolyatti, the managers decided to change head coaches, but this did not help them either. Moreover, Khanty-Mansiysk and Volzhan are the main candidates for relegation from the KHL, so talking about getting into the playoffs in their case is somehow not entirely appropriate.

The regulations of hockey competitions have some features that were formed in the homeland of the popular game. There is no need to explain what the playoffs in hockey are to the residents of Canada and the United States, everyone knows it there. And when the Continental Sports Organization was established, the basic organizational principles of the NHL were adopted - as the experience of holding large tournament competitions, proven in many years of practice.

How does a hockey tournament work in the KHL?

In order to answer the question “What are the playoffs in hockey?”, you need to understand the system by which competitions for the KHL championship title are held every year. The annual championship draw of the Kontinental Hockey League consists of two parts. The game calendar is drawn up in such a way that all teams in the league have the opportunity to meet each other on their own field and on the opponent’s field. This is the first part of the championship - the regular season. In the first years after the creation of the hockey organization, all teams had the opportunity to sort out the relationship with each other. Then their number increased, and the Continental Hockey League had to be divided into two conferences - Western and Eastern. Based on the results of the regular season, the standings are compiled. And then the answer to the question of what the playoffs in hockey is becomes relevant. To put it very briefly, this is the second, final part of the KHL championship.

From the rules of the game of hockey - playoff games

Let's take a closer look at the features of the regulations of the second part of the hockey championship. Only those teams that took the first sixteen places in the standings, eight in each of the two conferences, advance to the playoffs. These teams split into pairs and continue to sort things out among themselves. Games are played separately in the Western and Eastern conferences. The team that takes first place plays against the eighth in the table, the second against the seventh, the third against the sixth, and the fourth against the fifth. This is the first stage - the quarterfinals.

Teams meet each other until one of them achieves four victories. Only the winners advance to the next stage, the semi-finals. There are only four of them left. This principle is the answer to the question “What are the playoffs in hockey?” This is followed by the conference finals and the super final, a series of games between the strongest teams in the West and East. There will only be one winner.

Features of playoff games

To achieve a clean result in playoff games, such an element of hockey as shootouts is excluded. In the regular part of the championship, they are thrown at the opponent’s goal to overcome a draw when it is not possible to sort things out in regular and extra time of the match. And in the playoffs, the game continues until the winning goal of one of the teams, no matter how many additional periods, the so-called “overtimes,” are required for this. Often the game becomes protracted and lasts for a very long time. This is due to the fact that everyone is afraid to make a mistake and give the enemy a chance.

Is this principle justified?

During the playoffs, attention to hockey increases sharply. The result begins to interest everyone, even people who are indifferent to big-time sports. Both news releases and newspaper pages begin to be full of headlines: “Big hockey, KHL, playoffs...”. But hockey was played in Soviet times for decades, and somehow they managed to get by without the American word “playoffs.” Some people still doubt whether this principle of play should have been adopted from the NHL. But elimination games, or playoffs, give hockey a special dynamism, sharpness and entertainment. And only for this reason the answer to the question about the advisability of such competitions can be given unequivocally positive.

8 teams at once continue to fight for getting into the KHL playoffs. Two losers won't get a seat.

Match between the teams “Spartak” and “Severstal” / Photo: Vasily Ponomarev / Edgar Breshchanov / Sportbox.ru

8 KHL teams continue to fight for getting into the playoffs. In the West, they are trying to identify the “weak link” of the capital’s Dynamo and Spartak in company with the Cherepovets Severstal, and in the Eastern Conference, Amur intends to push one of the following four out of the playoff zone: Salavat Yulaev, "Metallurg" (MG), "Avangard", "Sibir". Who will end the season early, who will be higher in case of equality of points? Let's figure it out.

Western Conference

Photo: © Vasily Ponomarev / Edgar Breshchanov / Sportbox.ru

" ". 7th place, 80 points

Remaining matches:"Spartacus"

On January 22, the blue and white were one step away from losing all chances of participating in the Gagarin Cup ahead of schedule. Spartak led at home in the game with Severstal, the Muscovites lost in St. Petersburg... However, everything ended up exactly the opposite, but Dynamo are still dependent on their competitors, even with a hypothetical victory in the last game of the regular season.

" ". 8th place, 79 points

Remaining matches: Dynamo (Riga), Lokomotiv, Dynamo (Moscow)

The brightest season of the red-and-whites in the last six years has not yet guaranteed them a place in the coveted eight. However, unlike Dynamo, Vadim Epanchintsev’s team has everything in their own hands: there are three whole matches ahead, and all are at home.

" ". 9th place, 79 points

Remaining matches: CSKA, SKA

Amid questions about the need for the club to be in the KHL, Cherepovets continue to fight with all their might so that such conversations do not arise at all. “Spartak” is defeated in Moscow, but ahead is a test by the army team of the capital and St. Petersburg.

Eastern Conference

Sergey Mozyakin / Photo: Vasily Ponomarev

"" (Magnitogorsk). 6th place, 89 points

Remaining matches:"Yugra", "Neftekhimik"

Magnitogorsk has not yet guaranteed itself the playoffs, but getting there is more of a formality. The scenarios in which Mozyakin and Co. could be left out of the Gagarin Cup are too incredible.

" ". 2nd place. 86 points

Remaining matches:"Yokerit", "Sochi", "Ak Bars"

Another team that can guarantee itself the playoffs in the next game if a competitor misfires. The Ufa team is leading in the Chernyshev division, and will play the remaining matches at home, although the opponents will be serious.

" ". 7th place, 84 points

Remaining matches:"Sibir", "Barys"

The Omsk team is still in a fever even after the change of coach, and there will be hot meetings ahead - a direct competitor and a trip to Astana.

" ". 8th place, 82 points

Remaining matches:"Lada", "Avangard", "Tractor"

Novosibirsk, unlike Avangard, has an advantage over Amur in terms of lost points. Not that they are not in danger, but at the end of the season this little thing can make a difference.

" ". 9th place, 78 points

Remaining matches:"Kunlun" (twice), "Admiral" (twice)

Khabarovsk residents are in the simplest and most difficult situation at the same time. It’s difficult to understand why: catching up is always difficult. What's simple? Paired matches with “Kunlun” and “Admiral” - teams that, by and large, no longer need anything - are not the worst option for the most important part of the season, where attitude and desire often come to the fore. None of the listed teams should compete with Amur in this; the Tigers definitely need to be stronger now.

KHL Regulations

Here is an excerpt from the league rules:

To determine the current and final distribution of places between teams in divisions, conferences and the overall championship table, in the event of a tie in points between two or more teams, the team receives an advantage:

• having a greater number of victories in regular time in all matches of the First Stage;
• who has won the most overtime victories in all matches of the First Stage;
• who has the most shootout victories in all matches of the First Stage;
• having the best goal difference in all matches of the First Stage;
• having the most goals scored in all matches of the First Stage.

The above criteria are applied sequentially. If all indicators are equal, the distribution of places between teams is determined by lot.

In the East, Amur is significantly inferior (18 – 21/22) to other teams in terms of the number of victories achieved in 60 minutes. For this reason, Khabarovsk residents don’t have to look at the regulations; they need to beat their opponents solely on points.

Prepared by Roman Shevchenko

The next season of the Continental Hockey League has ended. Ak Bars took their third Tatar Gagarin Cup, while CSKA has a tradition: while giving their all in the regular season, they are characterized by chronic bad luck in the playoffs.

It's time for hockey clubs. This year, the KHL management finally presented the official rating: it consists of eight indicators with different weights (sports achievements, player salaries, TV demand, government funding, occupancy, etc.) and is calculated over three seasons - well, they know better. Last year, he himself began to evaluate the strength of clubs solely by sporting achievements - the results of the KHL. I will duplicate the calculation method:

Focusing on the official international IIHF World Ranking, I took the “Olympiad” as the calculation period - 4 years. The rating is updated after each season, and is applied to the results of different seasons aging factor- 1:2:3:4 in chronological order.

1) For the regular season the team that takes X place is awarded 31 X points (30 to the winner, 29 to second place, etc.)

2) For the playoffs: those who participated but were eliminated in the 1/8 are given 4 points, those eliminated in the 1/4 - 8, in the 1/2 - 12, in the final - 16 points, the winner - 20 points. That is, 4 points for completing each stage.

You can earn a maximum of 50 points per season if you complete the “golden double” - winning both parts of the championship.

The only change is that I proportionally increased the odds by 10 times. Now the “weights” of the results of the last 4 years are 2, 4, 6 and 8(integers, not tenths), and accordingly the total rating is distributed in the range not from 0 to 100, but from 0 to 1000. To get a thousand, you need to make 4 golden doubles in a row, but in the 10 seasons of the league’s existence there hasn’t been one yet.

Below are the results for individual seasons (Reg - regular season, PO - playoffs, Sum - guess). The leader for each column is highlighted.