Playing at home [due to the schedule listing format, I mistakenly believed and stated that the Severstal game was their final home game of the season – This has since been corrected] in front of yet another impressive crowd at the state of the art SKA Arena, SKA Saint Petersburg wrapped up their accomplished but sometimes uneven season with a frustrating loss similar to a fair number of ones they have had this year. In the final statline, they out-shot Kunlun Red Star 50-24 and crushed them in the puck controlled time category 21:44 to 10:19, but were down 3-0 after Spencer Foo scored just 13 seconds into the third period. They would lead a spirited comeback effort, with Borna Rendulic having an answer seven minutes later, and Alexander Nikishin (Carolina Hurricanes) scoring with netminder Nikita Serebryakov pulled for the extra attacker. However, they would come up short to the Dragons, 3-2, in their second straight home loss. As a consequence, Roman Rotenberg’s squad dropped the Continental Cup championship and the first playoff seed to Dynamo Moscow and will face Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in round one of the Yuri Gagarin Cup playoffs. While they won the Bobrov Division crown somewhat decisively (as they are guaranteed to be at least five points ahead of Spartak Moscow), I would not be surprised if there was some frustration in the room at this last gasp failure and evasion. The next chapter starts in four days, with the postseason’s beginning taking place on Thursday, the 29th.

Elsewhere in the Bobrov, HC Sochi were looking to finish their campaign and young phenom Matvei Michkov (Philadelphia Flyers) was looking to make history one more time by tying or breaking Kirill Kaprizov’s KHL U-20 points record. It did not quite happen, as while he was tenacious (particularly in the third period when he fully found his game) and registered 7 shots on goal, the points did not come, and he would ultimately end the season just one point shy. Dmitry Kokorev’s group, as a whole, also were simply out-classed in this game despite being even with Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in shots (37 each) and having both the puck controlled time (22:44 to 15:12) and distance travelled (68.43 km to 66.84 km) advantages. Ultimately, “The Team With the Bear”, as this brand endearingly calls them, would win 5-2. Michkov accomplished a lot this season despite the adversity he faced and time that he missed and should still hold his head high despite just barely missing out on this final milestone. However, HC Sochi as a franchise have a lot to do to take the next steps. The defensive core needs more players with puck moving capabilities, and while there is some skill within the forward group, it needs to be configured in a manner that does not necessitate a 19-year-old who has been dealing with the long-term effects of pneumonia doing the near entirety of facilitation. We should see what changes they make going forward.