SKA Saint Petersburg:

Game 8: Monday, September 23rd

SKA 4-1 Avangard Omsk

Game 9: Friday, September 27th

SKA 8-5 Severstal Cherepovets

Game 10: Sunday, September 29th

SKA 4-5 Kunlun Red Star

Continuing what had occurred in Game 7 against Torpedo, Ivan Demidov saw decreased minutes against Avangard. He also seemed to be struggling with making proper reads. It wasn’t any sort of constraint for SKA as a unit, however, as four different goal scorers got on the board and RW Marat Khairullin had a two assist performance. The next matchup was significant, as it saw D Alexander Nikishin return to the top pairing after being eased in somewhat upon his return from injury, and marked D Tony DeAngelo’s debut. DeAngelo tallied three assists in this game, but the team was defensively inept and allowed Severstal some hope in this matchup. Demidov had a tap-in goal on one of DeAngelo’s apples, but was not too much of a factor overall. This game also notably saw his linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov suffer a bad shoulder injury which is expected to keep him out for quite some time. It was definitely a pyrrhic victory. I anticipated their subsequent matchup with Kunlun had the makings of a trap game and I was correct in a way beyond what I could have imagined. The team fell into a 5-1 hole and saw G Artemi Pleshkov pulled in favor of Nikita Serebryakov for the second game in a row. Demidov, who tallied an assist on their first goal (which stood after review for potential goaltender interference), was benched for the third period. SKA nearly crawled back in the final frame due in no small part to Nikishin’s Herculean effort in his first true workhorse game since his return. However, they ultimately fell short.

I do actually see some growth in Demidov in that his off-puck instincts are improving bit-by-bit (although the worst of his shifts against Avangard and Severstal wouldn’t have suggested that) and he does well when his game simplifies. However, he still has yet to develop that pro-level ability to play through contact and withstand pressure and his decision making still shows some trouble at a fair number of junctures. The next couple of months should be interesting, as it will be a trial by fire for him.

Next game:

@ Dinamo Minsk: Thursday, October 3rd – 12:10 PM EDT

HC Sochi:

Game 7: Tuesday, September 24th

Sochi 2-4 Sibir Novosibirsk

Game 8: Thursday, September 26th

Sochi 0-1 Barys Astana

Game 9: Saturday, September 28th

Sochi 1-3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

The first two games this past week were two different forms of frustration. The game against Sibir saw them be the better team, but Sergei Ivanov was inconsistent and shaky between the pipes in limited work, allowing 3 on 20 SOGs. The game against Barys could have gone either way but some on the wrong side of the proverbial coin flip. Meanwhile, in the matchup against Lokomotiv to close out their four game road trip which started last Sunday against Ak Bars Kazan, the “Leopards” did get on the board first but were visibly out of their depth. Zavragin posting 37 saves on 40 shots against was simply absurd when his team only mustered 13. He had every sort of highlight you could want with great displays of athleticism and post-to-post speed, as well as fantastic positioning. His .920 SV% on the year is absurd considering his youth at 19, but it is not an accident, either. He truly should be the starter on this squad.

Next game:

vs. Severstal Cherepovets: Tuesday, October 1st – 12:30 PM EDT