KHL: Best Players of Week 20

The Kontinental Hockey League has determined and announced the best players for week 20 of the regular season, which means that we’re not far away from the postseason.

The best goalie for the second time in his career was Alexander Samonov (SKA), who won two matches last week, including one shutout. Samonov faced 51 shots, or 25.5 per night, posting a save percentage of 98.04 and a goals-against-average of 0.50. Samonov was first awarded Best goalie of the week honors in the 20th week of the 2019-2020 season.

The best defenseman for the first time in his career was Michal Cajkovsky (Dynamo Moscow), who won two games from two with his team last week. The Czech defenseman scored 3 (3+0) points last week and posted no negative ratings, ending the week being plus-4. He had six shots on goal and posted a hat-trick against HC Sochi — the first in his career. Cajkovsky established a new Dynamo Moscow record for the fastest hat-trick (10 minutes and 26 seconds).

The best forward for the first time in his KHL career was Taylor Beck (Metallurg), who won three games of three with his team last week. Beck scored 5 (3+2) points, including tallying the game-winner in the away game against Jokerit. The Magnitogorsk forward posted no negative ratings, ending the week being plus-2. Beck had eight shots on goal and blocked one shot.

The best rookie for the third time this season was defenseman Alexander Alexeyev (Salavat Yulaev), who won three games with his team last week. Alexeyev scored 2 (1+1) points, including netting the game-winner in the away game against Barys. The Ufa D-man posted no negative ratings, ending the week being plus-3. Alexeyev recorded six hits, blocked five shots, and logged an average time on ice of 18 minutes and 44 seconds.