2 G, 100% saves percentage, 0,00 goals-against average, 2 shutouts
Dinamo Minsk is on the rise, and it’s known that a goalie is the most important single player in a given team. Dinamo is no exception, and the Swedish netminder was incredible between the piping for the Belarusian franchise. In two home games, Jhonas Enroth made no mistakes as he stopped 42 shots with Dinamo clinching four points. First, Enroth stopped everything against Amur, when Marc-Andre Gragnani scored a last-gasp goal in OT on Wednesday. Three days later, Enroth shut out Jokerit with a 20-save performance as Dinamo trashed the Finn franchise with a shocking 5-0 score in front of a crowd of more than 14,000. Minsk is now the Western Conference’s eighth seed – the playoffs today don’t look like a dream, but more like a goal.
3 G, 6 (1+5) points, +3
Another team on the rise is clearly Vityaz. The Moscow Region club has now six wins in a row and deservedly sits on top of the Western Conference standings. Miro Aaltonen scored points in each of last week’s games, and even more interestingly – in a progressive fashion. He started off with a helper in Vityaz’s 4-1 win over Severstal on Wednesday. Then, he scored a goal and an assist when the team defeated Lokomotiv 3-2 in Yaroslavl. But the best was yet to come as the Finn posted three assists in Vityaz’s triumph in St. Petersburg – it was the first win for the Moscow Region team against SKA since 2011. At his third season with Vityaz, Aaltonen is on a great position to help the team to reach the playoffs again.
3 G, 5 (3+2) points, +3
A top scorer in the League, Brooks Macek took the KHL by storm in his debut season, and his pace isn't getting any lower. It is probably enough to say that the Canadian-German forward scored points in all his games played so far but one. Last week, the forward helped Avtomobilist winning two games from three, and recorded an assist even when the Ural side lost its first game of the season against Spartak Moscow. Macek was instrumental for Avtomobilist when they defeated Kunlun 5-4 in OT – when he scored the GWG after only 42 seconds of extra time. It looks like Avtomobilist is the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.
3 G, 5 (1+4) points, +4
The veteran defenseman is finding his groove in Nizhny Novgorod under David Nemirovsky. Torpedo had a rocky first week, but then the team started gaining pace and is now the fourth seed in the Western Conference. The blueliner is currently on a five-game scoring streak, and Torpedo won five of its six last games. Charles Genoway started the week scoring his second goal of the season against Neftekhimik – a game that Torpedo won 3-0, then had a pair of assists in each of the next two games against Sochi (4-5 loss) and Severstal (4-2 win). Signing Genoway, Torpedo was looking to get experience, defensive awareness, and production – they got everything with the expert blueliner, who is primed to reach 250 games in the KHL this season.
3 G, 5 (2+3) points, +4
After scoring only one goal in his first four games, Cormier’s production skyrocketed in the third week. The Canadian forward – at his second year in the league – posted five points in only three games. Patrice Cormier helped Ak Bars winning all its games last week, starting with a powerplay goal during Monday’s win over Severstal. Three days later, Cormier was unstoppable for Neftekhimik as he had three assists as Ak Bars won with a 4-1 score. On Saturday, Ak Bars had a fantastic win in Magnitogorsk, and Cormier scored the game-winning goal when he converted in a blue-line shot by Mikael Wikstrand. Ak Bars is now the third seed in the Eastern Conference, and indeed this year they won't be content of a first-round exit.