2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs

The 2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) began on 1 March 2020, with the top eight teams from each of the conferences, following the conclusion of the 2019–20 KHL regular season.[1] The playoffs were scheduled to finish no later than 25 April 2020.

2020 Gagarin Cup playoffs
Tournament details
Dates
  • 1 March – 25 April 2020 (scheduled)
  • 1–12 March 2020 (actual)
Teams16
Tournament statistics
Scoring leader(s)Linus Omark (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
(12 points)
← 2019
2021 →

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the second round of the playoffs were initially delayed,[2] but on 25 March 2020, the playoffs were called off.[3]

Playoff seeds

After the regular season, the standard 16 teams qualified for the playoffs.

Western Conference

The regular season winners and Continental Cup winners were CSKA Moscow with 94 points.

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts
1 CSKA Moscow (Y, Z) 62 40 5 4 13 202 99 +103 94
2 SKA Saint Petersburg (X) 62 30 14 5 13 179 118 +61 93
3 Jokerit 62 28 10 8 16 184 164 +20 84
4 Dynamo Moscow 62 29 8 8 17 182 144 +38 82
5 Spartak Moscow 62 26 8 9 19 173 143 +30 77
6 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 62 25 9 5 23 170 151 +19 73
7 Vityaz Podolsk 62 19 8 11 24 137 166 −29 65
8 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 62 22 7 6 27 165 167 −2 64
Source: KHL
(X) Won division; (Y) Won conference; (Z) Won Continental Cup.

Eastern Conference

Ak Bars Kazan were the Eastern Conference regular season winners with 93 points.

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts
1 Ak Bars Kazan (Y) 62 38 6 5 13 178 121 +57 93
2 Barys Nur-Sultan (X) 62 31 7 8 16 156 137 +19 84
3 Avangard Omsk 62 30 7 9 16 163 120 +43 83
4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 62 24 11 8 19 168 151 +17 78
5 Sibir Novosibirsk 62 27 7 6 22 139 143 −4 74
6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 62 23 6 10 23 153 144 +9 68
7 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 62 20 8 9 25 138 145 −7 65
8 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 62 21 7 8 26 162 158 +4 64
Source: KHL
(X) Won division; (Y) Won conference.

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.[4] 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.[5] The below bracket shows the position of the playoffs at the time of cancellation.

  Conference Quarter-Finals Conference Semi-Finals Conference Finals Gagarin Cup Finals
                                     
1 Ak Bars 4     1 Ak Bars  
8 Neftekhimik 0     6 Salavat Yulaev  
2 Barys 4 Eastern Conference
7 Metallurg 1  
     
  5 Sibir  
3 Avangard 2  
6 Salavat Yulaev 4  
4 Avtomobilist 1   2 Barys[lower-alpha 1]
5 Sibir 4     5 Sibir w/o  
  E
(Pairings are re-seeded after the first round.)
  W
1 CSKA 4     1 CSKA
8 Torpedo 0     4 Dynamo  
2 SKA 4
7 Vityaz 0  
 
  2 SKA  
3 Jokerit 4  
6 Lokomotiv 2   Western Conference
4 Dynamo 4   2 SKA w/o
5 Spartak 2     3 Jokerit[lower-alpha 2]  
  • During the first three rounds home ice is determined by seeding number, not position on the bracket. In the Finals the team with the better regular season record has home ice.
  1. On 16 March 2020, Barys voluntarily withdrew from the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic].[6]
  2. On 14 March 2020, Jokerit voluntarily withdrew from the playoffs due to the COVID-19 pandemic].[7]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[9]

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.[8]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[9]

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.[8]

Dynamo Moscow win 4–2

Player statistics

Scoring leaders

The following players led the league in points, at the cancellation of the season on 25 March 2020.[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
Linus Omark Salavat Yulaev Ufa 6 1 11 12 +7 0
Vadim Shipachyov Dynamo Moscow 6 4 4 8 +8 20
Nicklas Jensen Jokerit 6 3 4 7 +5 2
Sergei Shumakov Avangard Omsk 6 3 4 7 +4 4
Teemu Hartikainen Salavat Yulaev Ufa 6 5 1 6 +5 0
André Petersson Dynamo Moscow 6 5 1 6 +8 4
Sakari Manninen Salavat Yulaev Ufa 6 4 2 6 +6 6
Kirill Semyonov Avangard Omsk 6 4 2 6 +5 4
Dmitrij Jaškin Dynamo Moscow 6 3 3 6 +6 6
Vladimir Tkachev SKA Saint Petersburg 4 1 5 6 +1 2

Leading goaltenders

The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, at the cancellation of the season on 25 March 2020.[11]

Player Team GP TOI W L GA SO SV% GAA
Magnus Hellberg SKA Saint Petersburg 2 173:27 2 0 2 1 97.70% 0.69
Timur Bilyalov Ak Bars Kazan 4 251:59 4 0 3 1 97.50% 0.71
Ilya Sorokin CSKA Moscow 4 246:04 4 0 3 2 96.63% 0.73
Edward Pasquale Barys Nur-Sultan 5 280:31 4 1 6 2 96.03% 1.28
Harri Säteri Sibir Novosibirsk 5 289:18 4 1 7 2 96.11% 1.45

References
  1. "League confirms format for Stage Two" (PDF). 8 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  2. "KHL playoffs suspended until April 10". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 17 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. "Europe's biggest ice hockey league KHL prematurely ends season due to coronavirus pandemic". RT. ANO "TV-Novosti". 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  4. Seren Rosso, Alessandro (30 January 2020). "League unveils 2019-20 playoffs logos". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 25 February 2020. The postseason starts on March 1st, and the potential 7th game of the Gagarin Cup finals is scheduled for April 25th.
  5. "KHL has cancelled the remainder of the 2019-20 season". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  6. "KHL working on new playoff format after two teams drop out". Sportsnet. Rogers Media. Associated Press. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  7. Clinton, Jared (14 March 2020). "KHL's Jokerit voluntarily withdraws from Gagarin Cup playoffs ahead of second-round series". The Hockey News. Roustan Media Ltd. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  8. Landvogt, Chapin (2 March 2020). "Day Two of KHL playoff action sees the next 8 teams up to bat!". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  9. Landvogt, Chapin (1 March 2020). "KHL playoffs begin with four extremely enticing match-ups!". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  10. "Leaders: Points (G+A)". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  11. "Leaders: Goaltenders (GAA)". KHL.ru. Kontinental Hockey League. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
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