SKA Saint Petersburg, on September 15th, dropped their third straight game in a 3-1 defeat at home to Dynamo Moscow. Despite a strong start, opening the scoring with Arseni Gritsyuk putting a pass from Alexander Nikishin home early, the home team fell yet again. This time, they were able to win the shots on net battle, outshooting Dynamo 38 to 29, but their poor special teams play was their undoing. The team allowed two goals while down a man (to an admittedly good Dynamo power play, but the number of chances and poor execution did not help). Meanwhile, they had a considerable amount of time with a man advantage and even some 6-on-4 time with G Sergei Ivanov pulled for an extra attacker, but it did not help. While it was refreshing to see SKA have more possession and shots in this game at the Ice Palace, it did not translate to goals scored. This will be another game that Roman Rotenberg and his team will be disappointed with, and try to learn from.

In the meantime, the reason why Ivanov was in net is worrisome. After being removed during the first intermission, Johan Mattsson was not seen on the bench. Third stringer Kirill Obyskalov was seen sitting in his spot. It is very possible that he is dealing with a severe injury. The nature of Mattsson’s physical condition does not appear to be known at this time. SKA and their fans will be awaiting news on his state with bated breath. While the team is off to a difficult start, now being 2-4 (with all four losses coming in regulation), it is definitely not his fault. He has been putting very good performances in, and the team is now in a precarious position with regards to depth at an essential spot. Hopefully for Saint Petersburg, he will not be kept out long.

Matvei Michkov’s HC Sochi squad, meanwhile, having played on the same evening in a game that started half an hour after that of the club that cuts his checks, celebrated their 2023-24 home opener by emerging victorious for the third consecutive match. Sochi defeated Sibir 4-2 on the back of goals by RW Artur Tyanulin, C/LW Michal Kristof, and RW Borna Rendulic in the first frame and F Artyem Nikolayev in the final stanza. The shooting battle was quite close, with Sibir outshooting Sochi 37 to 35, but G Mikhail Berdin turned away 35 of those shots in an excellent performance and the team in front of him executed on enough goal chances and were capable enough helping him in their own zone to get the W. Sochi’s record now sits at 4-3 (all three losses in regulation). Respectively, Sochi and SKA Saint Petersburg now sit at 3rd and 4th in the Bobrov Division, and 4th and 10th in the KHL’s Western Conference (with only Vityaz behind SKA). In the Continental Cup race, HC Sochi are placed 7th, with SKA Saint Petersburg in 19th. It is early on in the season still, but a very curious reversal of expected roles. That said, it is a 68-game regular season, so there will be many ebbs and flows, and given the strength of their respective rosters, the fortunes of these two teams will likely change as it goes on.

With regards to Michkov specifically, however, he continues to be an Energizer Bunny for Sochi, making his presence known all over the ice. He registered ten shots on net in Sochi’s home opener, a body check, came close to a physical confrontation (demonstrating that he possesses some of the spirit that the Philadelphia Flyers organization that drafted him at seventh overall this year is associated with), and very nearly scored on the open net in the final seconds. He continues to shine when given meaningful minutes. He and his team will be looking for him to continue his/their performance in their next game, another home matchup, against Severstal on Monday, the 18th. To this point, Sochi and Severstal have split their two games, with Sochi falling 6-3 in their season opener but defeating Severstal 5-4 in the rematch, which served as the second win in this three-game streak that began with a 5-0 pummeling of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Let us see how this grudge match goes. SKA, meanwhile, are searching for answers, and will try to find them with a victory against Sibir at home on Sunday, the 17th.