Ice hockey: the main stories of 18.09.2026

Yaroslavl are 6-0 from the start of the season and now sit top of the Western Conference, and they have got there the same way each time: low totals, a lead protected, the game seen out. Lokomotiv beat Avangard 2-1 at home, the third of those six wins decided by a single goal. Dmitry Kvartalnov pointed to the history between the clubs — repeated play-off meetings — as the reason the fixture had an edge. One outlet reports Alexander Radulov scored for the third game running and has 9 points at 40, a week after his 300th KHL goal. Guy Boucher, by all accounts, told his players the task now is to close the gap by the spring.

Behind them, Spartak made it five in a row, 3-1 against Traktor — the second heavy week for Chelyabinsk, who lost 4-1 to Lokomotiv on 16 September and have taken 2 points from 4 games. Washington marked Ovechkin's 41st birthday on the club website but posted nothing on X, days after Latvia barred him from the country; one post about him drew 2,000 comments. Boston defenceman Nikita Zadorov, meanwhile, said he will not travel to Russia, where his family still lives, because he cannot keep track of the laws.

• Torpedo signed Yaroslav Dyblenko for one season; 19 points in 57 games for Amur last term.
• Pierre LeBrun reports Carolina still want Hellebuyck, a day after Winnipeg suspended the goaltender.
• Chris Johnston has heard Kucherov asking $20m a year over six years from Tampa.
• Carolina GM Eric Tulsky says Nikishin still has no contract — the deal has stalled.
• Evgeni Malkin, 40 and on a one-year deal, says he will stop when he stops helping, per one report.
• Metallurg beat Barys 3-0; Andrei Razin's answer about Vladimir Tkachev was largely unprintable.
• Dylan Larkin will not explain his trade request from Detroit and denies the reported list of clubs.
• Matvei Michkov reports 13.5 kg lost; Brad Marchand misses Florida's opening after August surgery, according to Match TV.
• Mike Babcock plans to open with McDavid and Draisaitl together, Podkolzin third.
• Ilya Samsonov explains the San Jose move; Curtis Lazar joins Lausanne for a season.
• On Ovechkin's politics: Spencer Carbery says nothing changes, Dominik Hašek doubts the neutrality, Dmitry Gubernieff waves the Latvian ban away.
• Sochi took their first win of the season, 3-2 over Ak Bars; Dynamo Minsk took theirs, 4-1 against Sibir, who have lost 5 of 6.
• CSKA won 3-2 at Torpedo's new Nizhny Novgorod arena, which Nikita Kamalov calls the cosier of the two.