In the first official installment of this series being a tale of two teams/in a sense, a tale of a team and a player on the outs, we have what some might perceive as karmic retribution. In their home opener after spending the first four games on the road, SKA Saint Petersburg was defeated 3-0 by Spartak Moscow, dropping their record to 2-3 (all losses in regulation) on the season. This was their first game since loaning 7th overall NHL Entry Draft pick/Philadelphia Flyers prospect and young phenom Matvei Michkov back to HC Sochi, where he spent much of last year. In my last installment, I covered why this move has been met with some controversy and apprehension, and has been perceived of by some hockey observers as a sign of disrespect. I will not take a firm stance on that matter, but I will say that the result seemed somewhat poetic when considering Michkov and his loan team’s exploits in his first game with the team he posted the most impressive NHL draft eligible year in modern Russian hockey history with last season.

With regards to SKA, they were out-shot yet again, with Spartak putting 35 shots on net (when including the empty netter with 11 seconds remaining by Ansel Galimov that put the game away) to Saint Petersburg’s 28. It is a shame for G Johan Mattsson that he put in yet another great performance only to seemingly be let down by his team once more (though that it is not to diminish what Spartak G Patrik Rybár did on the other end in his 28 shutout outing). One bright spot is that D Alexander Nikishin continues to demonstrate aggressiveness and consistency as the team’s best player to this point, registering six shots on net, a team high, and second for the game behind only Spartak RW Pavel Poryadin (Poryadin did not score, either, with Spartak’s goals being tallied by Ivan Morozov and Andrei Loktionov, in addition to the aforementioned Galimov). Nikishin was selected as the best defenseman in the KHL for the first week of the 2023-24 season, and if he keeps this level of play up, he may receive yet more accolades this year. The 21-year-old is definitely a SKA player worth keeping an eye on. That said, the team needs more out of its forward group, and to put more pucks on net if they are going to improve their record and expand upon the successes of last year. Their next game is another home outing, this time against Dynamo Moscow, the team they opened their season by defeating 2-1 in their own barn.

The next day, HC Sochi improved their record to .500 (3 wins and 3 losses, all defeats in regulation), emerging victorious against Severstal on the road in the final game of a season-opening six-game road trip. Last season’s cellar-dwellers entered the last frame trailing 3-1, but drew closer about midway through the stanza, and actually led 4-3 fairly late into the game before Severstal drew level. With 1:21 remaining in the 5 minute overtime frame, Sochi winger Sergei Popov made a defensive takeaway just below his own blue line and got an effective 2-on-0 breakaway chance with no Severstal players in position to disrupt the play in any real manner, then capitalized by putting the game away on a backhand shot past Severstal G Dmitri Shugayev. Sochi were outplayed for most of the game and the numbers reflect that (Severstal had the advantage in shots on net 42-26, faceoff wins 37-34, and hits 6-4). However, the team showed up when it mattered most, and got a satisfying W over the team who they were defeated by 6-3 in that same venue in their season opener. For Michkov, this was also a perfect demonstration of what he can do when given meaningful minutes, as he has shown throughout his career when granted the opportunity. The 18-year-old tallied two assists in this game, 2 shots on net and registered a blocked shot on defense, a takeaway, a hit and forced a turnover in the offensive zone that set up a goal by Sochi in 18:04 TOI (courtesy of Flyers writer Dylan Robillard of BrotherlyPuck.com). He will be seeing increased minutes on his new team throughout this season and we will see plenty more of all year. Matvei is at a point in his development where he has shown tremendous growth with regards to his two-way game and physical capabilities, in addition to his already tremendous hockey IQ and skill in the attacking zone. There was already considerable excitement regarding the Flyers prospect, and it is clear his trajectory is continuing in an upward trend. Anyone with any interest in good hockey, regardless of who they root for, should be paying attention to Michkov. There is plenty to be impressed and entertained by in his game already, and it will only grow from here.