2019–20 KHL season

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2019–20 KHL season
League Kontinental Hockey League
Sport Ice hockey
Duration 1 September 2019 – 12 March 2020
Number of games 62
Number of teams 24
Regular season
Continental Cup winner CSKA Moscow
Top scorer
KHL seasons
2020–21 →

The 2019–20 KHL season was the 12th season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 24 teams that competed in 62 regular season games.[1] The season began with the Opening Cup on 1 September 2019, and the regular championship ran until 27 February 2020. The playoffs were scheduled to take place from 1 March through until 30 April.[2] The All-Star Weekend took place over 18–19 January 2020.

Due to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic in Europe, the season was prematurely ended on 25 March 2020, midway through the playoffs.[3]

The Russian Hockey Federation declared CSKA Moscow the Russian champions, SKA Saint Petersburg and Ak Bars Kazan silver medalists, and Dynamo Moscow bronze medalists based on regular season standings.[4]

Season changes

For the 2019–20 season, the KHL originally announced that all 25 teams from the 2018–19 would return and continue without any changes to Divisions realignments.[2] However the competition was reduced to 24 teams after Slovak based, HC Slovan Bratislava, announced that they would be withdrawing from the KHL to return to the Slovak Extraliga due to financial restrictions on 27 May 2019.[5] With Slovan Bratislava's exit, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod were moved from the Eastern Conference,[1] to the Western Conference, reversing the move of the previous season.[6] As a result, both Conferences consisted of 12 teams.

Smart pucks

Smart puck technology, backed up with chips in players' jerseys, was used in all KHL games in the coming season. The new technology was trialled in the All-Star Game in Kazan last season and was also used in regular season games in Helsinki. Every arena in the league installed sensors capable of collecting information from the chips 100 times a second. That information was available to various users and coaches in real time, giving-up-to-the-second details of the players’ speed, the distance covered in each shift, the speed and location of each shot and much more.[7]

The KHL is the first league in the world to implement this technology across the board.[7]

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.[8]

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

Standings

Western Conference

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 CSKA Moscow (Q, Z) 62 40 5 4 13 202 99 +103 94 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
2 SKA Saint Petersburg (Q, X) 62 30 14 5 13 179 118 +61 93
3 Jokerit (Q) 62 28 10 8 16 184 164 +20 84 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
4 Dynamo Moscow (Q) 62 29 8 8 17 182 144 +38 82
5 Spartak Moscow (Q) 62 26 8 9 19 173 143 +30 77
6 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (Q) 62 25 9 5 23 170 151 +19 73
7 Vityaz Podolsk (Q) 62 19 8 11 24 137 166 −29 65
8 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (Q) 62 22 7 6 27 165 167 −2 64
9 HC Sochi (E) 62 15 10 9 28 124 164 −40 59
10 Severstal Cherepovets (E) 62 14 10 10 28 126 171 −45 58
11 Dinamo Riga (E) 62 11 6 7 38 103 187 −84 41
12 Dinamo Minsk (E) 62 11 3 11 37 135 232 −97 39

Eastern Conference

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Ak Bars Kazan (Q, Y) 62 38 6 5 13 178 121 +57 93 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
2 Barys Nur-Sultan (Q, X) 62 31 7 8 16 156 137 +19 84
3 Avangard Omsk (Q) 62 30 7 9 16 163 120 +43 83 Advance to Gagarin Cup Playoffs
4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (Q) 62 24 11 8 19 168 151 +17 78
5 Sibir Novosibirsk (Q) 62 27 7 6 22 139 143 −4 74
6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Q) 62 23 6 10 23 153 144 +9 68
7 Metallurg Magnitogorsk (Q) 62 20 8 9 25 138 145 −7 65
8 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (Q) 62 21 7 8 26 162 158 +4 64
9 Amur Khabarovsk (E) 62 20 6 10 26 132 145 −13 62
10 Kunlun Red Star (E) 62 20 6 8 28 139 158 −19 60
11 Traktor Chelyabinsk (E) 62 20 5 6 31 132 161 −29 56
12 Admiral Vladivostok (E) 62 16 10 4 32 126 177 −51 56

Playoff bracket

In each round, the highest remaining seed in each conference is matched against the lowest remaining seed. The higher-seeded team is awarded home ice advantage. In the Gagarin Cup Finals, home ice is determined based on regular season points. Each best-of-seven series follows a 2–2–1–1–1 format: the higher-seeded team plays at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and the lower-seeded team is at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary).

The 2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs started on 1 March 2020, and were scheduled to finish no later than 25 April 2020.[9] The top eight teams from each of the twelve-team conferences qualified for the playoffs.

On 25 March 2020, the remaining scheduled games were cancelled.[10] The bracket below shows the position of each team at the time of the cancellation of the playoffs.

  Conference Quarterfinals Conference Semifinals Conference Finals Gagarin Cup Finals
                                     
1  Flag of Russia Ak Bars 4  
8  Flag of Russia Neftekhimik 0  
  1  Flag of Russia Ak Bars  
  6  Flag of Russia Salavat Yulaev  
2  Flag of Kazakhstan Barys 4
7  Flag of Russia Metallurg 1  
   Flag of Russia  
Eastern Conference
  5  Flag of Russia Sibir  
3  Flag of Russia Avangard 2  
6  Flag of Russia Salavat Yulaev 4  
  2  Flag of Kazakhstan Barys
  5  Flag of Russia Sibir w/o  
4  Flag of Russia Avtomobilist 1
5  Flag of Russia Sibir 4  
  E  Flag of Russia
  W  Flag of Russia
1  Flag of Russia CSKA 4  
8  Flag of Russia Torpedo 0  
  1  Flag of Russia CSKA
  4  Flag of Russia Dynamo  
2  Flag of Russia SKA 4
7  Flag of Russia Vityaz 0  
   Flag of Russia
Western Conference
  2  Flag of Russia SKA  
3  Flag of Finland Jokerit 4  
6  Flag of Russia Lokomotiv 2  
  2  Flag of Russia SKA w/o
  3  Flag of Finland Jokerit  
4  Flag of Russia Dynamo 4
5  Flag of Russia Spartak 2  


First round

Eastern Conference first round

(1) Ak Bars Kazan vs. (8) Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk

Ak Bars Kazan finished first in the Eastern Conference earning 93 points, winning their second Eastern Conference title in three years. Their opponents and Kharlamov Division rivals Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk finished as the Eastern Conference's eighth seed, earning 64 points. The teams had met once previously in the playoffs with Ak Bars Kazan sweeping the first round series in 2013 – having finished as the number 1 and 8 seeds respectively in the 2012–13 season. Having played four times during the season, both teams won two games each.[11]


Ak Bars Kazan win 4–0


(2) Barys Nur-Sultan vs. (7) Metallurg Magnitogorsk

Barys Nur-Sultan finished second in the Eastern Conference earning 84 points, winning their second consecutive Chernyshev Division title. Their opponents Metallurg Magnitogorsk finished as the Eastern Conference's seventh seed, earning 65 points. The teams had met twice previously in the playoffs with Metallurg Magnitogorsk winning both previous series – a game 7 decider in the first round in 2012, and a second round sweep in 2017. Barys Nur-Sultan won three out of the four games to be held between the teams during the 2019–20 season.[12]


Barys Nur-Sultan win 4–1


(3) Avangard Omsk vs. (6) Salavat Yulaev Ufa

Avangard Omsk finished third in the Eastern Conference earning 83 points. Their opponents and Chernyshev Division rivals Salavat Yulaev Ufa finished as the Eastern Conference's sixth seed, earning 68 points. The teams had met four times previously in the playoffs – two wins apiece – with this meeting being the third consecutive year in which the teams had met one another. Avangard Omsk won all four games to be held between the teams during the 2019–20 season.[12]


Salavat Yulaev Ufa win 4–2


(4) Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg vs. (5) Sibir Novosibirsk

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg finished fourth in the Eastern Conference earning 78 points. Their opponents and Kharlamov Division rivals Sibir Novosibirsk finished as the Eastern Conference's fifth seed, earning 74 points. This was the first playoff meeting between the two teams, and Sibir Novosibirsk made the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Sibir Novosibirsk won three out of the four games to be held between the teams during the 2019–20 season, two of which came in overtime.[11]


Sibir Novosibirsk win 4–1


Western Conference first round

(1) CSKA Moscow vs. (8) Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

CSKA Moscow finished first in the Western Conference earning 94 points, winning their second consecutive Western Conference title. Their opponents and Tarasov Division rivals Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod finished as the Western Conference's eighth seed, earning 64 points. The teams had met once previously in the playoffs with CSKA Moscow winning the second round series, 4–1, in 2016. CSKA Moscow won three out of the four games to be held between the teams during the 2019–20 season, with Torpedo's lone success coming in an overtime game.[11]


CSKA Moscow win 4–0


(2) SKA Saint Petersburg vs. (7) Vityaz Podolsk

SKA Saint Petersburg finished second in the Western Conference earning 93 points, winning their fourth consecutive Bobrov Division title. Their opponents Vityaz Podolsk finished as the Western Conference's seventh seed, earning 65 points. The teams had met once previously in the playoffs with SKA Saint Petersburg sweeping the first round series in 2017 – having finished as the number 2 and 7 seeds respectively in the 2016–17 season. In their two meetings during the 2019–20 season, SKA Saint Petersburg recorded an overtime victory and Vityaz Podolsk won the other game 4–2.[12]


SKA Saint Petersburg win 4–0


(3) Jokerit vs. (6) Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Jokerit finished third in the Western Conference earning 84 points. Their opponents Lokomotiv Yaroslavl finished as the Western Conference's sixth seed, earning 73 points. This was the first playoff meeting between the two teams; the teams played each other six times during the 2019–20 season, with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl winning four of the games.[12]


Jokerit win 4–2


(4) Dynamo Moscow vs. (5) Spartak Moscow

Dynamo Moscow finished fourth in the Western Conference earning 82 points. Their cross-city opponents and Bobrov Division rivals Spartak Moscow finished as the Western Conference's fifth seed, earning 77 points. The teams had met once previously in the playoffs with Spartak Moscow winning their first round series in 2010. Dynamo Moscow won all four games to be held between the teams during the 2019–20 season.[11]


Dynamo Moscow win 4–2


References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Potts, Andy. "Season 12 Schedule: back to Europe, more derbies and a visit to Shenzhen", KHL.ru, Kontinental Hockey League, 11 July 2019. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The KHL board approves structure for 2019-20 season" (in ru). Kontinental Hockey League. 27 March 2019. https://en.khl.ru/news/2019/03/27/436784.html. 
  3. ↑ "KHL has cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season", KHL.ru, Kontinental Hockey League, 25 March 2020. 
  4. ↑ "ФХР объявляет победителя и призеров Чемпионата России сезона-2019/20". https://fhr.ru/news/item/71968/. 
  5. ↑ "Slovan has not entered into an agreement with KHL" (in sk). HC Slovan Bratislava. 27 May 2019. http://www.hcslovan.sk/sk/spravy/slovan-neuzavrel-dohodu-s-investorom-prihlasi-sa-do-tipsport-ligy/. 
  6. ↑ "2018/2019 season calendar: start in September and comfortable playoffs", KHL.ru, Kontinental Hockey League, 5 July 2018. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Dmitry Chernyshenko reviews the season with KHL club directors" (in ru). Kontinental Hockey League. 28 May 2019. https://en.khl.ru/news/2019/05/28/452753.html. 
  8. ↑ "League confirms structure for the new season" (in ru). Kontinental Hockey League. 7 May 2019. https://en.khl.ru/news/2019/05/07/451427.html. 
  9. ↑ Seren Rosso, Alessandro. "League unveils 2019-20 playoffs logos", KHL.ru, Kontinental Hockey League, 30 January 2020. “The postseason starts on March 1st, and the potential 7th game of the Gagarin Cup finals is scheduled for April 25th.” 
  10. ↑ "KHL has cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season", KHL.ru, Kontinental Hockey League, 25 March 2020. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Landvogt, Chapin. "Day Two of KHL playoff action sees the next 8 teams up to bat!", KHL.ru, Kontinental Hockey League, 2 March 2020. Retrieved on 10 March 2020. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Landvogt, Chapin. "KHL playoffs begin with four extremely enticing match-ups!", KHL.ru, Kontinental Hockey League, 1 March 2020. Retrieved on 10 March 2020. 
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