Goal-happy league leaders in town

Following a successful road trip, SKA have returned to Saint Petersburg to host table-topping Metallurg Magnitogorsk this Sunday in what promises to be a pulsating showdown.

GOALS GALORE FOR STAR-STUDDED VISITORS

Goals, goals and more goals! That’s the best way to describe this current Magnitogorsk side. Boasting an incredible array of attacking talent, Metallurg are blowing the league away with their ruthless play, scoring goals for fun and tearing opposing defences apart at will.

102 goals from a mere 26 matches forms a scarily-good statistic, even more so when you consider that no other league club has even netted 90 markers yet! Coached by the charismatic Andrei Razin, the 2024 Gagarin Cup champions always stick to their principle of displaying attack-minded ice hockey, causing their opponents an all manner of problems with their intricate approach which focuses on conjuring numerous intelligent passing plays up.

Vladimir Tkachyov, Dmitry Silantyev and Roman Kantserov have been simply unstoppable in Metallurg’s first line, amassing a combined total of 88 points! 27 of Tkachyov’s 33 points have been assists, with the gifted ex-SKA forward taking a starring role with his technical, clever play, while 21-year-old Kantserov has become a true leader for Metallurg much earlier than expected given his young age and leads the way in goals with 17 on the board.

It isn’t just their first line which we have to watch though. Razin also has the likes of Sergei Tolchinsky, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Daniil Vovchenko, Nikita Mikhailis and Ruslan Iskhakov at his disposal, forwards who are all entitled to refer to themselves as elite forwards at KHL level. Familiar faces Tolchinsky and Kuznetsov have admittedly struggled to find their feet since transferring to Magnitogorsk, but they both possess the unique ability to single-handedly win matches on their day.

On the back of a five-game winning streak, Metallurg are coming into today’s duel with a six-point lead in top spot of the Eastern Conference and a four-point advantage when it comes to the overall standings. However, while they’re firing on all cylinders in the attacking zone with notable help from Robin Press, Yegor Yakovlev, Valery Orekhov and Artyom Minulin at the blue line, they do have a worrying goalkeeping problem on their hands.

Colorado-bound Ilya Nabokov has been horribly out of form since the campaign began. Playing for Metallurg on loan from the Avalanche, the highly-rated Nabokov hasn’t found any kind of consistency between the Magnitogorsk pipes and currently holds an underwhelming save percentage of 89%. Fellow 22-year-old Alexander Smolin has largely been solid, but even he concedes on average more than two goals per game. It’s also worth pointing out that Metallurg have actually conceded more goals (66) than SKA (63).

LEADERS

GOALKEEPERS

Alexander Smolin: 15 matches, 11 wins, 92.1% save percentage, 2.14 GAA, 0 shutouts

Ilya Nabokov: 14 matches, 9 wins, 89.3% save percentage, 2.63 GAA, 0 shutouts

DEFENSEMEN

Robin Press: 19 (1+18) points, +12

Yegor Yakovlev: 17 (4+13) points, -2

Valery Orekhov: 11 (3+8) points, +10

FORWARDS

Vladimir Tkachyov: 33 (6+27) points, +13

Roman Kantserov: 29 (17+12) points, +13

Dmitry Silantyev: 26 (11+15) points, +14

SPECIAL TEAMS

PP

110 attempts, 29 goals, 26.4% conversion rate, 4^th place

PK

72 penalties, 83.3% success rate, 3 shorthanded goals, 3^rd place

WHERE TO WATCH

Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:30 local time. You can purchase a live video broadcast on the KHL’s official website, whereas text updates are available on our official X account.