18.10.2012 | Derek OBrien

LEV trip finishes in Moscow against Pavel Datsyuk and CSKA

On Friday, HC LEV plays the final game of their four-game road trip against CSKA Moscow. It is the first of a home-and-away series, with the two teams meeting again at O2 Arena on October 25. That gives the Lions two games to get used to Pavel Datsyuk (pictured) as well as Alexander Radulov, Mikhail Grabovsky and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

 

CSKA:

Between 1947 and 1990, CSKA Moscow won 32 domestic titles and 20 continental championships, including a string of 13 years in which they won each consecutively. They were easily the best team in Europe and some would say the world, as they compiled 26 wins, 8 losses and 2 ties against NHL competition between 1975 and 1991. Most of Russia´s biggest hockey legends, such as Vladislav Tretiak, Valeri Kharlamov, the famous "Green Unit" (Viacheslav Fetisov, Alexei Kasatonov, Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov, Sergei Makarov) starred with them for years, and a newer generation that included Pavel Bure, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Mogilny got their starts there before playing the bulk of their careers in the NHL. However, since finishing 2nd in 1992, CSKA has not even come close to another championship, even getting relegated to the VHL for the 1996-97 season. Since joining the KHL in 2008, they have failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs. Last season, they barely made the playoffs, finishing 8th in the Western Conference before losing to SKA St Petersburg 4 games to 1.

So far this season, they are 4th in the conference with 28 points. Sergei Fedorov is now the general manager and has bolstered the lineup with the acquisition of Russian stars Alexander Radulov and Oleg Kvasha. Radulov currently leads the team with 20 points in 17 games, playing on a line with his younger brother Igor Radulov and Igor Grigorenko, who was recently acquired in a trade with Ufa and has 2 goals in three games with CSKA. Of course, the NHL lockout has brought some very big names to the club: Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings, Mikhail Grabovsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov of the Philadelphia Flyers.

HC LEV:

Eight games ago, HC LEV was 1st place in the Western Conference, but with only one win since then they have fallen to 8th in the highly-competitive KHL. The next two games against CSKA are key as far as making up ground against a conference foe. Jakub Klepiš continues to be the team´s most consistent producer with 14 points so far this season. For two games now, coach Josef Jandač has put him on a line with sniper Erik Christensen and captain Jiří Novotný. On defence, he shifted the top-six a bit last game, pairing Juraj Mikuš with Ondřej Němec, Nathan Oystrick with Martin Škoula, and Zdeno Chára with youngster Jakub Krejčík. Drew MacIntyre has played in goal the past two games, and one wonders if he´ll stay with the Canadian or go back to Tomáš Pöpperle in Moscow.

The Game:

Friday´s game is the first of a home-and-away series between the two clubs. It will be played in Moscow and begins at 5:30pm CEST and can be seen in Central Europe on Sport1. The return game will be next Thursday at O2 Arena in Prague. Tickets for that one are still available at TicketPortal or SazkaTicket.