The 2021–22 KHL season was the 14th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 24 teams that competed in 56 regular season games, beginning on 1 September 2021 and was scheduled to finish on 1 March 2022. However, the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia resulted in more than 50 games being postponed prior to the break for the 2022 Winter Olympics, and in February, it was announced that no further regular season games would be played following the break. In the finals, CSKA beat Metallurg in seven games.
Season changes For the 2021–22 season, the competition returned to 24 teams after Admiral Vladivostok returned from a season's hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia affecting their financial status.
There was an additional break during the season due to the 2022 Winter Olympics, held in February in Beijing, China.
Teams The 24 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.
Following Admiral Vladivostok's return to the league, Torpedo moved back to the Western Conference and joined the Bobrov Division, with Severstal moving into the Tarasov. Admiral was inserted back into the Chernyshev Division, with Kunlun Red Star moving into the Kharlamov Division.
Western ConferenceEastern Conference Bobrov Division Tarasov Division Kharlamov Division Chernyshev Division Jokerit CSKA Moscow Ak Bars Kazan Admiral Vladivostok SKA Saint Petersburg Dinamo Minsk Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Amur Khabarovsk HC Sochi Dinamo Riga Kunlun Red Star Avangard Omsk Spartak Moscow Dynamo Moscow Metallurg Magnitogorsk Barys Nur-Sultan Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk Salavat Yulaev Ufa Vityaz Podolsk Severstal Cherepovets Traktor Chelyabinsk Sibir Novosibirsk
League standings Each team was scheduled to play 56 games: playing every other team home-and-away (46 games), plus additional home-and-away games against five intra-conference teams (10 games). Two points were awarded for victory in each game, regardless of whether it was 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. In the 2021–22 season, the second seed in each conference would not be guaranteed to a divisional winner.
With the discontinuation of the regular season, it was proposed that teams were to be ranked by points percentage, with the top eight from each conference scheduled to qualify for the Gagarin Cup playoffs. This was subject to approval by the KHL Board of Directors and the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia. This was confirmed on 16 February.
Western Conference
Eastern Conference
Gagarin Cup playoffs
Following the curtailment of the regular season, the playoffs were brought forward to start from 1 March.
On 25 February 2022, Jokerit announced their withdrawal from the league for the remainder of the season, including the playoffs, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Their first round opponents Spartak Moscow were given four forfeit victories and progressed to the second round of the playoffs. Dinamo Riga subsequently also withdrew from the league for the same reason.
Statistics Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season. 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 Dynamo Moscow 48 24 43 67 +11 47 SKA Saint Petersburg 45 20 33 53 +15 10 Avangard Omsk 47 18 30 48 +8 21 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 47 18 27 45 +9 12 Barys Nur-Sultan 47 18 26 44 +1 10 Vityaz Podolsk 48 29 14 43 –3 6 Traktor Chelyabinsk 49 18 25 43 +19 36 Dynamo Moscow 47 25 17 42 +5 12 SKA Saint Petersburg 41 23 19 42 +9 14 Vityaz Podolsk 44 10 32 42 –3 10
Leading goaltenders The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, at the conclusion of the regular season.
Player Team SKA Saint Petersburg 34 1917:52 20 9 52 9 93.23% 1.63 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 31 1760:53 18 10 55 5 93.12% 1.87 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 38 2295:58 19 16 76 1 91.60% 1.99 CSKA Moscow 26 1587:14 14 10 53 2 91.87% 2.00 Sibir Novosibirsk 38 2166:48 14 15 73 6 92.59% 2.02 Ak Bars Kazan 34 1950:18 18 10 67 2 91.57% 2.06 Sibir Novosibirsk 17 865:18 8 6 30 2 93.10% 2.08 Jokerit 28 1621:39 15 10 58 2 91.29% 2.15 Avangard Omsk 40 2301:25 22 15 84 5 92.16% 2.19 Ak Bars Kazan 16 903:09 7 7 33 2 89.72% 2.19
References
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