2017–18 KHL season
Sports season
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The 2017–18 KHL season was the tenth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 21 August 2017 and ended on 22 April 2018.
| 2017–18 KHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Kontinental Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration | 21 August 2017 – 22 April 2018 |
| Games | 56 |
| Teams | 27 |
| Regular season | |
| Continental Cup winner | SKA Saint Petersburg |
| Season MVP | Nikita Gusev (SKA Saint Petersburg) |
| Top scorer | Ilya Kovalchuk (SKA Saint Petersburg) |
| Gagarin Cup | |
| Champions | Ak Bars Kazan |
| Runners-up | CSKA Moscow |
| Finals MVP | Justin Azevedo (Ak Bars Kazan) |
The league accommodated a 33 day Olympic break, to allow its players to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics in February.
Team changes
The Croatian club Medveščak Zagreb relocated back to the Austrian Hockey League, and Russian club Metallurg Novokuznetsk was relegated to the Supreme Hockey League, to bring the total number of KHL teams to 27.
March 2018 KHL announced that two teams going to drop out after this season and next season have 25 teams. Yugra and Lada Togliatti are the teams that will not continue in KHL.
Divisions and regular season format
In this season, like in the 2016–17 season, each team will play every other team once at home and once on the road, giving a total of 52 games (26 at home, 26 on the road), plus 4 additional games (2 at home, 2 on the road) played by each team against rival clubs from its own conference. Thus, each team played a total of 56 games in the regular season.[1]
How the teams are divided into divisions and conferences is shown in the table below.[2]
League standings
Western Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SKA Saint Petersburg | 56 | 40 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 227 | 97 | +130 | 138 | Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs[a] |
| 2 | CSKA Moscow | 56 | 35 | 9 | 1 | 11 | 175 | 89 | +86 | 124 | |
| 3 | Jokerit | 56 | 29 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 151 | 108 | +43 | 103 | Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 56 | 26 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 148 | 129 | +19 | 99 | |
| 5 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 56 | 23 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 116 | 127 | −11 | 89 | |
| 6 | HC Sochi | 56 | 22 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 130 | 138 | −8 | 87 | |
| 7 | Spartak Moscow | 56 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 22 | 153 | 146 | +7 | 85 | |
| 8 | Severstal Cherepovets | 56 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 131 | 145 | −14 | 83 | |
| 9 | Dynamo Moscow | 56 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 23 | 134 | 139 | −5 | 80 | |
| 10 | Dinamo Minsk | 56 | 20 | 5 | 3 | 28 | 112 | 129 | −17 | 73 | |
| 11 | Vityaz Podolsk | 56 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 131 | 160 | −29 | 67 | |
| 12 | Slovan Bratislava | 56 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 31 | 119 | 187 | −68 | 58 | |
| 13 | Dinamo Riga | 56 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 31 | 105 | 153 | −48 | 50 |
Updated to match(es) played on 1 March 2018. Source: KHL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) a higher number of wins in the regular time; 3) a higher number of wins in overtime and shootouts; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots.
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) a higher number of wins in the regular time; 3) a higher number of wins in overtime and shootouts; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots.
Notes:
- Teams leading a division hold one of the first two places of their conference.
Eastern Conference
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ak Bars Kazan | 56 | 30 | 2 | 6 | 18 | 158 | 126 | +32 | 100 | Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs[a] |
| 2 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 56 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 20 | 151 | 139 | +12 | 93 | |
| 3 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 56 | 26 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 129 | 121 | +8 | 96 | Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | 56 | 25 | 6 | 8 | 17 | 165 | 137 | +28 | 95 | |
| 5 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 56 | 24 | 8 | 7 | 17 | 150 | 135 | +15 | 95 | |
| 6 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 56 | 27 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 135 | 135 | 0 | 94 | |
| 7 | Avangard Omsk | 56 | 22 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 146 | 116 | +30 | 88 | |
| 8 | Amur Khabarovsk | 56 | 21 | 8 | 9 | 18 | 132 | 141 | −9 | 88 | |
| 9 | Sibir Novosibirsk | 56 | 23 | 8 | 2 | 23 | 136 | 135 | +1 | 87 | |
| 10 | Barys Astana | 56 | 19 | 5 | 7 | 25 | 148 | 164 | −16 | 74 | |
| 11 | Admiral Vladivostok | 56 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 120 | 145 | −25 | 63 | |
| 12 | Kunlun Red Star | 56 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 29 | 103 | 146 | −43 | 61 | |
| 13 | Lada Togliatti | 56 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 105 | 149 | −44 | 50 | |
| 14 | Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk | 56 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 32 | 93 | 167 | −74 | 48 |
Updated to match(es) played on 1 March 2018. Source: KHL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) a higher number of wins in the regular time; 3) a higher number of wins in overtime and shootouts; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots.
Notes:
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) a higher number of wins in the regular time; 3) a higher number of wins in overtime and shootouts; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots.
Notes:
- Teams leading a division hold one of the first two places of its conference.
Gagarin Cup playoffs
| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Gagarin Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Ak Bars
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Amur
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ak Bars
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Metallurg Mg
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Salavat Yulaev
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Avangard
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ak Bars
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Traktor
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Traktor
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Neftekhimik
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Salavat Yulaev
| 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Traktor
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Avtomobilist
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Metallurg Mg
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| E1 | Ak Bars
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W2 | CSKA
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | SKA
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Severstal
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | SKA
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Lokomotiv
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | CSKA
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Spartak
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | SKA
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | CSKA
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 |  Jokerit
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Sochi
| 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | CSKA
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Jokerit
| 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Lokomotiv
| 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Torpedo
| 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Final standings
Player statistics
Scoring leaders
As of 1 March 2018
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilya Kovalchuk | SKA Saint Petersburg | 53 | 31 | 32 | 63 | +12 | 26 |
| Nikita Gusev | SKA Saint Petersburg | 54 | 22 | 40 | 62 | +25 | 2 |
 Nigel Dawes | Barys Astana | 46 | 35 | 21 | 56 | +5 | 26 |
 Linus Omark | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 55 | 16 | 39 | 55 | +6 | 60 |
 Linden Vey | Barys Astana | 50 | 17 | 35 | 52 | +1 | 64 |
Source: KHL
Leading goaltenders
As of 1 March 2018
| Player | Team | GP | Min | W | L | SOP | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lars Johansson | CSKA Moscow | 21 | 1192:53 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 6 | .938 | 1.31 |
| Mikko Koskinen | SKA Saint Petersburg | 29 | 1718:12 | 22 | 4 | 1 | 45 | 5 | .937 | 1.57 |
| Ilya Sorokin | CSKA Moscow | 37 | 2182:35 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 58 | 8 | .931 | 1.59 |
| Igor Shestyorkin | SKA Saint Petersburg | 28 | 1592:34 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 45 | 7 | .933 | 1.70 |
 Ryan Zapolski | Jokerit | 39 | 2352:26 | 24 | 11 | 4 | 69 | 9 | .931 | 1.76 |
Source: KHL
Awards
Players of the Month
Best KHL players of each month.
| Month | Goaltender | Defence | Forward | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | Stanislav Galimov (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod) |
Patrik Hersley (SKA Saint Petersburg) |
Nigel Dawes (Barys Astana) |
Eeli Tolvanen (Jokerit) |
| October[3] | Ryan Zapolski (Jokerit) |
Nikita Tryamkin (Avtomobilist Jekaterinburg) |
Nigel Dawes (Barys Astana) |
Eeli Tolvanen (Jokerit) |
| November[4] | Vasily Koshechkin (Metallurg Magnitogorsk) |
Nikita Tryamkin (Avtomobilist Jekaterinburg) |
Zach Boychuk (Slovan Bratislava) |
Alexander Petunin (Dynamo Moscow) |
| December[5] | Ilya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow) |
Oleg Piganovich (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk) |
Alexander Bergström (Sibir Novosibirsk) |
Alexander Petunin (Dynamo Moscow) |
| January[6] |  Pavel Francouz (Traktor Chelyabinsk) |
 Philip Larsen (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) |
Alexander Khokhlachev (Spartak Moscow) |
Rafael Bikmullin (Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk) |
| March[7] | Ilya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow) |
 Nick Bailen (Traktor Chelyabinsk) |
Justin Azevedo (Ak Bars Kazan) |
Vitali Kravtsov (Traktor Chelyabinsk) |
| April[8] | Lars Johansson (CSKA Moscow) |
Vasili Tokranov (Ak Bars Kazan) |
Justin Azevedo (Ak Bars Kazan) |
Vitali Kravtsov (Traktor Chelyabinsk) |