On Wednesday, January 17th, SKA Saint Petersburg put on a performance wherein they effectively never let their foot off the gas pedal against Amur Khabarovsk. They tallied 2 goals in each period to come away with a 6-2 victory. Alexander Nikishin (Hurricanes), Vasily Glotov, and Sergei Tolchinsky all had two point nights. Between the pipes, Nikita Serebryakov turned away 28 of 30 for another clutch win.

This was followed up by a victory that was less comprehensive, but showed strong signs of dominance. SKA struck twice in the second period against Kunlun Red Star and effectively controlled play in that stanza after the first saw the teams deadlocked, with Marat Khairullin and Borna Rendulic potting goals in the second frame. Ultimately, this would be the difference maker (with Valentin Zykov scoring an insurance goal) as Pavel Moisevich stopped 25 of 26 for a 3-1 victory.

After an arduous start to the season, SKA became just the second team in the KHL (after Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) to clinch a berth in the Gagarin Cup playoffs. The club was ultimately not to be denied and had the season they were looking for both from their returning mainstays and their big name acquisitions. With the heat they’ve been bringing the last couple of months and their roster depth not only being present, but clicking, they appear as they are poised go on a run in the postseason. We shall see just how far they go.