Ice hockey: the main stories of 27.09.2026

SKA keep winning, and Igor Larionov is not entirely happy with how they are doing it. The 5:3 win over Barys in Astana was a fourth straight and, according to one report, a seventh in 8 games, which lifts the St Petersburg side to 2nd in the West. Sergei Plotnikov and Vasily Glotov scored twice each. Larionov said Glotov's brace came the day after a 40-minute talk between the two of them. He also rued the chances conceded: 8 goals and a close finish make for a good game, he said, but coaches would prefer a quieter one. For Barys it was a second defeat in 2 days, and Mikhail Kravets again blamed a slow first period.

Barys lost 6:3 to Neftekhimik on 26 September. The next day the Nizhnekamsk side flew around 7 hours to Vladivostok and beat Admiral 5:3. That makes 3 wins in a row, and they stay top of the East with 7 wins from 10. Admiral coach Oleg Bratash put the defeat down to fragile nerves. Sibir sent Ilya Fedotov to Sochi for cash. Sochi were beaten 3:0 by Torpedo on 24 September, and afterwards their coach complained that his side could not score. Yaroslav Lyuzenkov said Yevgeny Kuznetsov, who missed the Ak Bars game, wants to play next time out. Two days after their coach said Avangard were in survival mode, the club has 11 players injured and has signed Yevgeny Kashnikov on a try-out deal until 24 October. Four of the injured are back on the ice.

• Tampa Bay put Maksim Groshev on waivers.
• San Jose waived Ilya Samsonov, insider Chris Johnston reported.
• Nashville put Lyubushkin and Perbix on waivers, according to journalist Alex Daugherty. One outlet reports that the same club lost Justin Barron to a St Louis claim.
• The Islanders waived Vitek Vanecek so they can send him to the AHL.
• Toronto signed Nick Blankenburg for 1 year at $1.4m, according to PuckPedia.
• Boston named David Pastrnak captain, the first since Brad Marchand left in 2025.
• Pittsburgh put four players on injured reserve, and Rust and Broz are undergoing tests.
• Columbus GM Don Waddell ruled out trading Kirill Marchenko for picks.
• Columbus beat Detroit 4:2 in pre-season, with Nichushkin on the scoresheet.
• Askarov made 28 saves as San Jose beat Vegas 4:2.
• The Suzuki brothers faced each other for the first time. Mike Matheson was fined $5,000 for roughing in the same Montreal–Ottawa game.
• Flyers players tucked in their jerseys to back Trevor Zegras.
• KHL president Alexei Morozov said the league has no expansion plan.
• Vladislav Tretiak called Ovechkin the best in the world. Sergei Samsonov said Demidov's ice time limits his output.
• Roman Kantserov scored the winner for Chicago in a 3:2 pre-season win over St Louis.