The SKA Saint Petersburgh KHL club hasn’t lost a game in regulation, and after you see the puck possession they demonstrated on a man advantage, you’ll understand why.
The team features former NHLers Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Shirokov, Sergey Kalinin, Slava Voynov, Anton Belov, David Rundblad, and Viktor Tikhonov, as well as Golden Knights prospect Nikita Gusev and potential future Rangers ‘tender Igor Shesterkin.
On a bigger ice surface, a power play opportunity becomes all the more dangerous, with more open time and space to generate offensive creativity. SKA is operating at 32 percent on the man avantage, second only to Jokerit’s 34 conversion rate. If you needed a clip to reference the club’s offensive prowess, look no further than this clip below from their 4-2 win over Salavat Yulaev.
That’s eight passes in a span of 16 seconds before the goal is scored. The precision on the dishes is executed to perfection on the 1-3-1 powerplay. The pass from Gusev across the middle of the ice to Plotnikov is ridiculously impressive.
SKA leads the KHL with 61 points in 22 games played and have a goal differential of plus 68. Four of the top five scorers on the league play for SKA (Gusev, Kovalchuck, Shirokov and Datsyuk). Recent grads of the club include Artemi Panarin, Evgeni Dadonov and Vadim Shipachyov.
On a side note, did anyone notice their red horse mascot? Have a closer look at him in this video.
Pavel Datsyuk found the net in the game as he came from behind the net and slide one past the goaltender.
(H/T KHL)
