Poltapov excels in KHL opener

CSKA may have dropped their KHL opener 4-2 to Spartak on Thursday, but it certainly wasn’t due to the efforts of 21-year-old winger Prokhor Poltapov.

To be blunt, Poltapov was very noticeable in his season debut. The high work rate led to him regularly attacking the net, resulting in him scoring a short-handed goal and recording a game-high nine shots in 15:05 of work (19 shifts).

After a strong opening frame, Poltapov came out for the second period and ramped up his tenacious style.

In the 26th minute, Poltapov took a puck hard to the net and was shoved into Spartak netminder Dmitri Nikolayev. Takhir Mingachyov deposited the puck over the goal line post-collision, but the marker was waved off due to Poltapov’s interference.

Three minutes later, Poltapov struck on the penalty kill for a goal that counted.

With Spartak attempting to control the faceoff, Poltapov stepped in for the interception, gained full control of the puck at center ice, and took it all the way down for the low finish and his first goal of the 2024-25 campaign.

It would be folly to focus on Poltapov being listed as a fourth-liner on the game sheet since there is no debating his game impacts.

It’s one thing to get pucks on net, but it’s another to release the overwhelming majority of those shots from the hot area. Per the chart below, seven of Poltapov’s nine shots came from the house. He was responsible for 27 per-cent of CSKA’s total shots (9/33).

Perhaps just as impressive was his possession time. Poltapov skated a total distance of 3.74 km in the opening night loss, controlling the puck for .33 km – good for the second greatest control distance among CSKA skaters.

After the game, CSKA head coach Ilya Vorobyov commented on Poltapov:

“He is one of our most active forwards and attack leaders. He needs to remove some things when playing defense. This is youth. The fact that he beats (defenders) and gets to the goal is great. Now he has started playing on the penalty kill, now he has another role. It is bigger than before. It will continue to be like this if he continues to play well.”

Poltapov, who entered the opener coming off a very strong pre-season that saw him collect four points (2+2) in five games, will look to continue his elevated play on Sunday when CSKA attempts to right the ship against Admiral Vladivostok.