| 2020–21 KHL season | |
|---|---|
| League | Kontinental Hockey League |
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Duration |
|
| Number of games | 60 |
| Number of teams | 23 |
| Regular season | |
| Continental Cup winner | CSKA Moscow (91 points) |
| Top scorer |
|
| Playoffs | |
| Western champions | CSKA Moscow |
| Western runners-up | SKA Saint Petersburg |
| Eastern champions | Avangard Omsk |
| Eastern runners-up | Ak Bars Kazan |
| Finals champions | Avangard Omsk |
| Runners-up | CSKA Moscow |
| KHL seasons | |
The2020–21 KHL season was the 13th season of theKontinental Hockey League. There were 23 teams that competed in 60 regular season games, beginning on 2 September 2020 and finishing on 27 February 2021.[1] The playoffs were held from 2 March, culminating in Game 6 of the Gagarin Cup Finals on 28 April.Avangard Omsk won their firstGagarin Cup title, avenging their sweep in the finals of the2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs, defeatingCSKA Moscow by 4 games to 2.[2]
For the 2020–21 season, the competition was reduced to 23 teams afterAdmiral Vladivostok took a hiatus for the season due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Russia affecting their financial status.[3]
With pre-season events returning to the schedule in August as a part of preparations to start the season,Jokerit, whose ability to stage games was governed by Finland's restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic, announced that it expected to play before a reduced audience at the Hartwall Arena during the first month of the campaign.[4]
Due to the on-going travel restrictions against theCOVID-19 pandemic,Kunlun Red Star determined that they would be unable to play inWukesong Arena situated inBeijing,China for this season. In August, the club signed a contract to play out ofMytishchi Arena, the second venue for the2007 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships located on the outskirts ofMoscow.[5]
The 23 teams were split into four divisions: theBobrov Division and theTarasov Division as part of theWestern Conference, with theKharlamov Division and theChernyshev Division as part of theEastern Conference.
FollowingAdmiral Vladivostok's hiatus from the league, and to alleviate any potential issues with teams transiting during theCOVID-19 pandemic, several conference and divisional changes were announced.[1]
Each team played 60 games: playing every other team home-and-away (44 games), 8–10 games against division rivals and 6–8 games against teams in the other division in their respective conference.[1]
Points were awarded for each game, where two points were awarded for all victories, regardless of whether it is in regulation time, in overtime or after game-winning shots. One point was awarded for losing in overtime or game-winning shots, 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.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CSKA Moscow(Z) | 60 | 34 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 182 | 121 | +61 | 91 | Advance toGagarin Cup Playoffs[a] |
| 2 | SKA Saint Petersburg(X) | 60 | 33 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 178 | 126 | +52 | 82 | |
| 3 | Dynamo Moscow | 60 | 34 | 5 | 6 | 15 | 195 | 137 | +58 | 84 | Advance toGagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 60 | 30 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 181 | 126 | +55 | 83 | |
| 5 | Jokerit | 60 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 19 | 174 | 153 | +21 | 73 | |
| 6 | Severstal Cherepovets | 60 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 24 | 149 | 159 | −10 | 68 | |
| 7 | Dinamo Minsk | 60 | 17 | 15 | 3 | 25 | 167 | 174 | −7 | 67 | |
| 8 | Spartak Moscow | 60 | 20 | 8 | 7 | 25 | 157 | 173 | −16 | 63 | |
| 9 | Vityaz Podolsk | 60 | 21 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 155 | 175 | −20 | 59 | |
| 10 | HC Sochi | 60 | 12 | 2 | 9 | 37 | 121 | 202 | −81 | 37 | |
| 11 | Dinamo Riga | 60 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 126 | 211 | −85 | 28 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ak Bars Kazan(Y) | 60 | 33 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 185 | 131 | +54 | 90 | Advance toGagarin Cup Playoffs[a] |
| 2 | Avangard Omsk(X) | 60 | 33 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 180 | 134 | +46 | 84 | |
| 3 | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 60 | 31 | 6 | 7 | 16 | 165 | 138 | +27 | 81 | Advance toGagarin Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 60 | 28 | 10 | 5 | 17 | 181 | 151 | +30 | 81 | |
| 5 | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 60 | 27 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 157 | 143 | +14 | 74 | |
| 6 | Barys Nur-Sultan | 60 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 22 | 147 | 157 | −10 | 69 | |
| 7 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | 60 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 152 | 154 | −2 | 68 | |
| 8 | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 60 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 170 | 168 | +2 | 67 | |
| 9 | Sibir Novosibirsk | 60 | 20 | 7 | 4 | 29 | 146 | 155 | −9 | 58 | |
| 10 | Amur Khabarovsk | 60 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 29 | 146 | 171 | −25 | 55 | |
| 11 | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk | 60 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 39 | 133 | 214 | −81 | 40 | |
| 12 | Kunlun Red Star | 60 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 39 | 139 | 213 | −74 | 34 |
Ak Bars Kazan were the Eastern Conference regular season winners with 90 points. It was determined despite a 2–3 overtime loss at home toSpartak Moscow.[6]CSKA Moscow were the Western Conference regular season winners with 91 points. It was determined following a 1–3 defeat suffered by closest challengersSKA Saint Petersburg, at home toDynamo Moscow, leaving CSKA Moscow with an unassailable points lead.[7] CSKA Moscow won theContinental Cup for the third season in succession and sixth time overall, defeating Ak Bars Kazan 1–0 on the final day of the regular season.[8]
The 2021 Gagarin Cup playoffs started on 2 March 2021, and finished on 28 April 2021.[9] The top eight teams from each of the conferences qualified for the playoffs.
| Conference Quarterfinals | Conference Semifinals | Conference Finals | Gagarin Cup Finals | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Ak Bars | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Torpedo | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ak Bars | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Salavat Yulaev | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Avangard | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Avtomobilist | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Ak Bars | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Avangard | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Metallurg | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 |  Barys | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Avangard | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Metallurg | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Salavat Yulaev | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Traktor | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| E2 | Avangard | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| W1 | CSKA | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | CSKA | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Spartak | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | CSKA | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Lokomotiv | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | SKA | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 |  Dinamo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | CSKA | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | SKA | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dynamo | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Severstal | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | SKA | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Dynamo | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Lokomotiv | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 |  Jokerit | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.[10] 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vadim Shipachyov | Dynamo Moscow | 57 | 20 | 46 | 66 | +28 | 22 |
| Teemu Hartikainen | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 53 | 28 | 36 | 64 | +17 | 18 |
| Damir Zhafyarov | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod | 58 | 21 | 40 | 61 | +6 | 26 |
 Dmitrij Jaškin | Dynamo Moscow | 59 | 38 | 22 | 60 | +25 | 52 |
 Stéphane Da Costa | Ak Bars Kazan | 52 | 27 | 30 | 57 | +12 | 24 |
 Justin Danforth | Vityaz Podolsk | 58 | 23 | 32 | 55 | +3 | 50 |
 Brian O'Neill | Jokerit | 53 | 12 | 42 | 54 | +30 | 12 |
| Markus Granlund | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 50 | 23 | 30 | 53 | +22 | 26 |
| Sakari Manninen | Salavat Yulaev Ufa | 55 | 19 | 33 | 52 | +18 | 10 |
| Shane Prince | Dinamo Minsk | 52 | 25 | 24 | 49 | +14 | 45 |
The following goaltenders led the league ingoals against average, at the conclusion of the regular season.[11]
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Lars Johansson | CSKA Moscow | 24 | 1394:56 | 19 | 3 | 37 | 4 | 93.24% | 1.59 |
| Alexander Yeryomenko | Dynamo Moscow | 26 | 1371:21 | 16 | 6 | 40 | 4 | 93.58% | 1.75 |
| Adam Reideborn | Ak Bars Kazan | 29 | 1712:59 | 16 | 9 | 52 | 3 | 93.11% | 1.82 |
| Magnus Hellberg | SKA Saint Petersburg | 21 | 1171:57 | 14 | 4 | 37 | 2 | 93.05% | 1.89 |
| Juho Olkinuora | Metallurg Magnitogorsk | 30 | 1702:18 | 17 | 7 | 54 | 2 | 93.49% | 1.90 |
| Edward Pasquale | Lokomotiv Yaroslavl | 41 | 2393:26 | 25 | 11 | 76 | 5 | 92.46% | 1.91 |
| Igor Bobkov | Avangard Omsk | 30 | 1669:18 | 18 | 7 | 56 | 1 | 92.79% | 2.01 |
| Alexander Samonov | SKA Saint Petersburg | 22 | 1160:07 | 10 | 8 | 39 | 2 | 92.46% | 2.02 |
| Alexander Sharychenkov | CSKA Moscow | 36 | 2020:42 | 18 | 10 | 70 | 2 | 91.53% | 2.08 |
| Ivan Fedotov | Traktor Chelyabinsk | 26 | 1496:07 | 14 | 7 | 55 | 1 | 92.52% | 2.21 |
The following players were recognised as the best KHL players of each month.
| Month | Goaltender | Defence | Forward | Rookie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September[12] | Emil Garipov(Avangard Omsk) | Chay Genoway(Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg) | Alexei Makeyev(Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg) | Yegor Chinakhov(Avangard Omsk) |
| October[13] | Edward Pasquale(Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) | Daniil Miromanov(HC Sochi) | Justin Danforth(Vityaz Podolsk) | Yegor Chinakhov(Avangard Omsk) |
| November[14] | Dominik Furch(Dinamo Minsk) | Alexei Emelin(Avangard Omsk) | Dmitrij Jaškin(Dynamo Moscow) | Ivan Chekhovich(Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod) |
| December[15] | Alexander Yeryomenko(Dynamo Moscow) | Stepan Falkovsky(Dinamo Minsk) | Stéphane Da Costa(Ak Bars Kazan) | Ivan Chekhovich(Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod) |
| January[16] | Edward Pasquale(Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) | Philip Holm(Metallurg Magnitogorsk) | Shane Prince(Dinamo Minsk) | Alexander Alexeyev(Salavat Yulaev Ufa) |
| February[17] | Lars Johansson(CSKA Moscow) | Nick Bailen(Traktor Chelyabinsk) | Dmitrij Jaškin(Dynamo Moscow) | Klim Kostin(Avangard Omsk) |
«Ак Барс» по итогам 57 игр регулярки имеет 87 очков и досрочно обеспечил себе первое место в Восточной конференции. [Ak Bars has 87 points in 57 regular season games and secured first place in the Eastern Conference ahead of schedule.]
CSKA clinched top place in the Conference due to SKA's loss at home to Dynamo Moscow [...]
The playoffs are due to start on March 2, 2021, with a potential Gagarin Cup Final game seven pencilled in for April 30, if required.
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