2018–19 KHL season

The 2018–19 KHL season was the eleventh season of the Kontinental Hockey League. The season started on 1 September 2018 and ended on 19 April 2019. Continental Cup winners CSKA Moscow became the first team to win the Gagarin Cup finals in a series sweep,[3] defeating Avangard Omsk in four games to win their first Gagarin Cup,[4] after two previous Finals defeats.

2018–19 KHL season
LeagueKontinental Hockey League
SportIce hockey
Duration1 September 2018 – 19 April 2019
Number of teams25
Regular season
Continental Cup winnerCSKA Moscow
Top scorer
Playoffs
Western championsCSKA Moscow
  Western runners-upSKA Saint Petersburg
Eastern championsAvangard Omsk
  Eastern runners-upSalavat Yulaev Ufa
Playoffs MVPIlya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow)[1]
Gagarin Cup Finals
ChampionsCSKA Moscow
  Runners-upAvangard Omsk
Finals MVPIlya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow)[2]

Season changes

For the 2018–19 season, 25 teams competed in the KHL – down from 27 in 2017–18. The two teams that were excluded from the league were HC Lada Togliatti and HC Yugra,[5] with both teams moving to the Supreme Hockey League. As well as this, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod were moved from the Western Conference,[6] to the Eastern Conference; as a result, the Western Conference consisted of 12 teams and the Eastern Conference consisted of 13 teams.

The 2018–19 season featured the most games of any KHL season to date, with each team scheduled to play 62 games,[6] up from 56 in 2017–18.

KHL World Games

This season witnessed the first time that KHL games were played in Austria and Switzerland, as part of the KHL World Games.[7] Slovan Bratislava played in both Austrian games (on 26 and 28 October) at the Albert Schultz Eishalle in Vienna – home to the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian Hockey League – losing 9–0 to CSKA Moscow,[8] and 7–0 to SKA Saint Petersburg.[9] The Swiss games were played at the Hallenstadion in Zürich – home to the ZSC Lions of the Swiss National League – with Dinamo Riga playing in both games (on 26 and 28 November), losing 3–1 to SKA Saint Petersburg,[10] and 5–0 to CSKA Moscow.[11]

Teams

The 25 teams were split into four divisions: the Bobrov Division and the Tarasov Division as part of the Western Conference, with the Kharlamov Division and the Chernyshev Division as part of the Eastern Conference. On 24 April 2018, the KHL announced re-alignment after both Lada Togliatti and Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk left the league.[12]

Western Conference Eastern Conference
Bobrov Division Tarasov Division Kharlamov Division Chernyshev Division
Dinamo Riga CSKA Moscow Admiral Vladivostok Ak Bars Kazan
Dynamo Moscow Dinamo Minsk Amur Khabarovsk Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
Jokerit HC Sochi Avangard Omsk Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Severstal Cherepovets Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Barys Astana Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
SKA Saint Petersburg Slovan Bratislava Kunlun Red Star Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
Spartak Moscow Vityaz Podolsk Salavat Yulaev Ufa Traktor Chelyabinsk
Sibir Novosibirsk

League standings

Each team played 62 games, playing each of the other twenty-four teams twice: once on home ice, and once away from home. As well as this, each team played a further two games against each of their divisional rivals, and four games total against non-divisional teams.

Points were awarded for each game, where two points were awarded for all victories, regardless of whether it was in regulation time, in overtime or after a shootout. One point was awarded for losing in overtime or a shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the Continental Cup winner.

Western Conference
Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 CSKA Moscow 62 43 10 0 9 191 75 +116 106 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
2 SKA Saint Petersburg 62 45 4 5 8 209 80 +129 103
3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 62 34 6 6 16 159 118 +41 86 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
4 Jokerit 62 32 5 6 19 197 164 +33 80
5 Dynamo Moscow 62 27 6 6 23 153 139 +14 72
6 HC Sochi 62 19 9 10 24 145 155 −10 66
7 Spartak Moscow 62 21 7 8 26 156 158 −2 64
8 Vityaz Podolsk 62 23 5 7 27 134 169 −35 63
9 Dinamo Riga 62 18 8 10 26 129 155 −26 62
10 Severstal Cherepovets 62 14 9 5 34 124 178 −54 51
11 Dinamo Minsk 62 15 2 8 37 119 180 −61 42
12 Slovan Bratislava 62 10 5 3 44 101 213 −112 33
Source: KHL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) games won in regulation time; 3) games won in overtime and shootouts; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. 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 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 62 39 8 1 14 191 125 +66 95 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs[lower-alpha 1]
2 Barys Astana 62 28 10 10 14 190 149 +41 86
3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 62 35 6 2 19 182 132 +50 84 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
4 Avangard Omsk 62 29 10 5 18 177 133 +44 83
5 Ak Bars Kazan 62 34 4 6 18 165 139 +26 82
6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 62 24 7 10 21 158 140 +18 72
7 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 62 20 7 10 25 176 193 −17 64
8 Traktor Chelyabinsk 62 18 9 4 31 102 151 −49 58
9 Sibir Novosibirsk 62 19 5 6 32 148 192 −44 54
10 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 62 15 8 6 33 130 164 −34 52
11 Kunlun Red Star 62 19 1 11 31 142 190 −48 51
12 Admiral Vladivostok 62 18 5 5 34 139 176 −37 51
13 Amur Khabarovsk 62 17 3 9 33 126 175 −49 49
Source: KHL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) games won in regulation time; 3) games won in overtime and shootouts; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) drawing of lots.
Notes:
  1. Teams leading a division hold one of the first two places of their conference.

Gagarin Cup playoffs
Main article: 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs

The 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs started on 25 February 2019, with the top eight teams from each of the conferences, and finished on 19 April 2019.[13]

  Conference Quarter-Finals Conference Semi-Finals Conference Finals Gagarin Cup Finals
                                     
1 Avtomobilist 4     1 Avtomobilist 1  
8 Traktor 0     6 Salavat Yulaev 4  
2 Barys 4 Eastern Conference
7 Torpedo 3  
    6 Salavat Yulaev 2  
  4 Avangard 4  
3 Metallurg 2  
6 Salavat Yulaev 4  
4 Avangard 4   2 Barys 1
5 Ak Bars 0     4 Avangard 4  
  E4 Avangard 0
(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
  W1 CSKA 4
1 CSKA 4     1 CSKA 4
8 Vityaz 0     5 Dynamo 1  
2 SKA 4
7 Spartak 2  
  1 CSKA 4
  2 SKA 3  
3 Lokomotiv 4  
6 Sochi 2   Western Conference
4 Jokerit 2   2 SKA 4
5 Dynamo 4     3 Lokomotiv 1  
  • During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.

Final standings
Rank Team
1 CSKA Moscow
2 Avangard Omsk
3 SKA Saint Petersburg
4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa
5 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
6 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
7 Barys Astana
8 Dynamo Moscow
9 Metallurg Magnitogorsk
10 Ak Bars Kazan
11 Jokerit
12 HC Sochi
13 Spartak Moscow
14 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod
15 Vityaz Podolsk
16 Traktor Chelyabinsk
17 Dinamo Riga
18 Sibir Novosibirsk
19 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
20 Kunlun Red Star
21 Admiral Vladivostok
22 Severstal Cherepovets
23 Amur Khabarovsk
24 Dinamo Minsk
25 Slovan Bratislava

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[14] If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.

Player Team GP G A Pts +/– PIM
Nikita Gusev SKA Saint Petersburg 62 17 65 82 +39 10
Nigel Dawes Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 60 28 41 69 +20 12
Vadim Shipachyov Dynamo Moscow 61 20 48 68 +22 30
Dmitri Kagarlitsky Dynamo Moscow 61 24 37 61 +22 40
Brian O'Neill Jokerit 62 13 45 58 +7 30
Sergei Mozyakin Metallurg Magnitogorsk 61 23 32 55 +14 10
Matt Ellison Metallurg Magnitogorsk 62 20 35 55 +12 34
Dan Sexton Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 61 25 28 53 +22 6
Darren Dietz Barys Astana 62 15 38 53 +30 59
Mikhail Grigorenko CSKA Moscow 55 17 35 52 +33 10

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, at the conclusion of the regular season.[15]

Player Team GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA
Igor Shestyorkin SKA Saint Petersburg 28 1680:51 24 4 31 10 95.27% 1.11
Lars Johansson CSKA Moscow 24 1406:51 20 3 27 9 94.50% 1.15
Ilya Sorokin CSKA Moscow 40 2327:53 28 6 45 11 94.04% 1.16
Magnus Hellberg SKA Saint Petersburg 34 2048:13 24 7 45 8 93.98% 1.32
Jakub Kovář Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 50 2958:08 38 9 88 8 93.90% 1.78
Ilya Konovalov Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 45 2416:58 25 15 76 10 92.96% 1.89
Ivan Bocharov Dynamo Moscow 38 2113:41 19 16 68 3 93.27% 1.93
Artyom Zagidulin Metallurg Magnitogorsk 25 1102:49 12 7 36 4 92.44% 1.96
Igor Bobkov Avangard Omsk 49 2682:16 25 17 89 8 91.44% 1.99
Juha Metsola Salavat Yulaev Ufa 48 2761:22 25 20 93 4 93.44% 2.02

Awards

Season awards

The KHL's end-of-season awards ceremony was held on 28 May 2019 in Barvikha.[16]

Award Recipient(s) Team
Best Sniper Award (most goals)[16] Kirill Kaprizov CSKA Moscow
Coach of the Year[16] Igor Nikitin CSKA Moscow
General Manager of the Year[16] Igor Yesmantovich CSKA Moscow
Gimayev Prize (for loyalty to hockey)[16] Alexander Popov CSKA Moscow
Golden Helmet[16] Juha Metsola Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Darren Dietz Barys Astana
Nikita Nesterov CSKA Moscow
Mikhail Grigorenko CSKA Moscow
Teemu Hartikainen Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Ilya Mikheyev Avangard Omsk
Playoffs Most Valuable Player[16] Ilya Sorokin CSKA Moscow
Rookie of the Year[16] Ilya Konovalov Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Top Scorer Award (most points)[16] Nikita Gusev SKA Saint Petersburg
Continental Cup[16] CSKA Moscow
Eastern Conference winner[16] Avangard Omsk
Vsevolod Bobrov Prize (most team goals)[16] SKA Saint Petersburg
Western Conference winner[16] CSKA Moscow

Players of the Month

Best KHL players of each month.

Month Goaltender Defence Forward Rookie
September[17] Jakub Kovář (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg) Darren Dietz (Barys Astana) Anatoly Golyshev (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg) Nikita Mikhailov (Sibir Novosibirsk)
October[18] Juha Metsola (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) Paul Postma (Ak Bars Kazan) Nigel Dawes (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg) Ilya Konovalov (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
November[19] Ilya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow) Darren Dietz (Barys Astana) Nigel Dawes (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg) Nikita Mikhailov (Sibir Novosibirsk)
December[20] Henrik Karlsson (Barys Astana) Vojtěch Mozík (Vityaz) Vadim Shipachyov (Dynamo Moscow) Kristian Vesalainen (Jokerit)
January[21] Ilya Konovalov (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) Viktor Svedberg (Barys Astana) Nikita Gusev (SKA Saint Petersburg) Mārtiņš Dzierkals (Dinamo Riga)
February[22] Anton Krasotkin (Admiral Vladivostok) Staffan Kronwall (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) André Petersson (Barys Astana) Ilya Konovalov (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
March[23] Ilya Sorokin (CSKA Moscow) Mat Robinson (CSKA Moscow) Nikita Gusev (SKA Saint Petersburg) Daniil Misyul (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)
April[24] Juha Metsola (Salavat Yulaev Ufa) Mat Robinson (CSKA Moscow) Mikhail Grigorenko (CSKA Moscow) Not awarded

References
  1. Potts, Andy (20 April 2019). "'It was worth losing to understand what it means to win'". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 21 April 2019. Ilya Sorokin, CSKA goalie and playoff MVP
  2. Potts, Andy (22 April 2019). "CSKA's crown, Sorokin's success and a new attendance recorded". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 26 April 2019. CSKA Goalie Ilya Sorokin, who was named MVP, is the first netminder to have two shut-outs in a Gagarin Cup final.
  3. Potts, Andy (19 April 2019). "CSKA lifts the Gagarin Cup". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 19 April 2019. Along the way, Igor Nikitin's team also recorded the first ever grand final sweep after clawing back a 0-2 deficit to win game four in overtime.
  4. "ЦСКА впервые в истории завоевал Кубок Гагарина" [CSKA won the Gagarin Cup for the first time in history]. Sportbox.ru (in Russian). National Sports Channel LLC. 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  5. Tuniz, Davide (28 March 2018). "KHL excludes Lada Togliatti and Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk". EuroHockey.com. European Ice Hockey Online AB. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  6. "2018/2019 season calendar: start in September and comfortable playoffs". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  7. "New frontiers – the KHL World Games head to Vienna and Zurich". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  8. Potts, Andy (26 October 2018). "KHL World Games: Viennese Waltz for CSKA". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  9. Potts, Andy (28 October 2018). "KHL World Games – SKA puts on a masterclass in Vienna". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  10. Potts, Andy (27 November 2018). "KHL World Games – SKA edges past Riga in Zurich". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 27 November 2018.
  11. Potts, Andy (29 November 2018). "KHL World Games: Game 2 – CSKA defeats Riga". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  12. Delacy, Richard (24 April 2018). "Teams and tournament structure for 2018-19 season confirmed". en.khl.ru. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  13. Seren Rosso, Alessandro (25 January 2019). "2018/2019 Playoffs Logo Unveiled". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 21 February 2019. The 11th season's playoffs stage begins on February 25 with four games involving teams from both conferences. The potential 7th game of the Gagarin Cup finals is scheduled for April 25.
  14. "Leaders: Points (G+A)". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  15. "Leaders: Goaltenders (GAA)". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  16. Potts, Andy (28 May 2019). "CSKA leads the way at KHL's annual awards". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  17. "Players of the Month: Kovar, Dietz, Golyshev and Mikhailov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  18. "Players of the month: Metsola, Postma, Dawes and Konovalov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  19. "Players of the month: Sorokin, Dietz, Dawes and Mikhailov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 1 December 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  20. "Best Players of December: Karlsson, Mozik, Shipachyov and Vesalainen". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  21. "Best Players of January: Konovalov, Svedberg, Gusev and Dzierkals". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  22. "Best Players of February: Krasotkin, Kronwall, Petersson, Konovalov". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 4 March 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  23. "Best Players of March: Sorokin, Robinson, Gusev and Misyul". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 1 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  24. "Best Players of April: Metsola, Robinson, Grigorenko". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 22 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
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