2020–21 KHL season

The 2020–21 KHL season was the thirteenth season of the Kontinental Hockey League. There were 23 teams that competed in 60 regular season games, beginning on 2 September 2020 and finishing on 27 February 2021. The playoffs were held from 2 March, culminating in Game 6 of the Gagarin Cup Finals on 28 April. Avangard Omsk won their first Gagarin Cup title, avenging their sweep in the finals of the 2019 Gagarin Cup playoffs, defeating CSKA Moscow by 4 games to 2.
==Season changes==
For the 2020–21 season, the competition was reduced to 23 teams after Admiral Vladivostok took a hiatus for the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia affecting their financial status.
With pre-season events returning to the schedule in August as a part of preparations to start the season, Jokerit, whose ability to stage games was governed by Finland's restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic, announced that it expected to play before a reduced audience at the Hartwall Arena during the first month of the campaign.
Due to the on-going travel restrictions against the COVID-19 pandemic, Kunlun Red Star determined that they would be unable to play in Wukesong Arena situated in Beijing, China for this season. In August, the club signed a contract to play out of Mytishchi Arena, the second venue for the 2007 Men's Ice Hockey World Championships located on the outskirts of Moscow.
==Teams==
The 23 teams were split into four divisions: the Bobrov Division and the Tarasov Division as part of the Western Conference, with the Kharlamov Division and the Chernyshev Division as part of the Eastern Conference.
Following Admiral Vladivostok's hiatus from the league, and to alleviate any potential issues with teams transiting during the COVID-19 pandemic, several conference and divisional changes were announced.
Western Conference 	Western Conference 	Eastern Conference 	Eastern Conference
Bobrov Division 	Tarasov Division 	Kharlamov Division 	Chernyshev Division
Jokerit 	CSKA Moscow 	Ak Bars Kazan 	Amur Khabarovsk
Severstal Cherepovets	Dinamo Minsk 	Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg	Avangard Omsk
SKA Saint Petersburg 	Dinamo Riga 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk 	Barys Nur-Sultan
HC Sochi 	Dynamo Moscow 	Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 	Kunlun Red Star
Spartak Moscow 	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Vityaz Podolsk 	 	Traktor Chelyabinsk 	Sibir Novosibirsk
==League standings==
Each team played 60 games: playing every other team home-and-away (44 games), 8–10 games against division rivals and 6–8 games against teams in the other division in their respective conference.
Points were awarded for each game, where two points were awarded for all victories, regardless of whether it is in regulation time, in overtime or after game-winning shots. One point was awarded for losing in overtime or game-winning shots, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the Continental Cup winner.
===Western Conference===
===Eastern Conference===
==Gagarin Cup playoffs==
Ak Bars Kazan were the Eastern Conference regular season winners with 90 points. It was determined despite a 2–3 overtime loss at home to Spartak Moscow. CSKA Moscow were the Western Conference regular season winners with 91 points. It was determined following a 1–3 defeat suffered by closest challengers SKA Saint Petersburg, at home to Dynamo Moscow, leaving CSKA Moscow with an unassailable points lead. CSKA Moscow won the Continental Cup for the third season in succession and sixth time overall, defeating Ak Bars Kazan 1–0 on the final day of the regular season.
==Statistics==
===Scoring leaders===
The following players led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season. If two or more skaters are tied (i.e. same number of points, goals and played games), all of the tied skaters are shown.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	Dynamo Moscow 	57	20	46	66	+28	22
 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa 	53	28	36	64	+17	18
 	Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod	58	21	40	61	+6 	26
 	Dynamo Moscow 	59	38	22	60	+25	52
 	Ak Bars Kazan 	52	27	30	57	+12	24
 	Vityaz Podolsk 	58	23	32	55	+3 	50
 	Jokerit 	53	12	42	54	+30	12
 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa 	50	23	30	53	+22	26
 	Salavat Yulaev Ufa 	55	19	33	52	+18	10
 	Dinamo Minsk 	52	25	24	49	+14	45
===Leading goaltenders===
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average, at the conclusion of the regular season.
Player	Team 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
 	CSKA Moscow 	24	1394:56	19	3 	37	4	93.24%	1.59
 	Dynamo Moscow 	26	1371:21	16	6 	40	4	93.58%	1.75
 	Ak Bars Kazan 	29	1712:59	16	9 	52	3	93.11%	1.82
 	SKA Saint Petersburg 	21	1171:57	14	4 	37	2	93.05%	1.89
 	Metallurg Magnitogorsk	30	1702:18	17	7 	54	2	93.49%	1.90
 	Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 	41	2393:26	25	11	76	5	92.46%	1.91
 	Avangard Omsk 	30	1669:18	18	7 	56	1	92.79%	2.01
 	SKA Saint Petersburg 	22	1160:07	10	8 	39	2	92.46%	2.02
 	CSKA Moscow 	36	2020:42	18	10	70	2	91.53%	2.08
 	Traktor Chelyabinsk 	26	1496:07	14	7 	55	1	92.52%	2.21
==Awards==
===Players of the Month===
The following players were recognised as the best KHL players of each month.
Month 	Goaltender 	Defence 	Forward 	Rookie
September	Emil Garipov (Avangard Omsk) 	Chay Genoway (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)	Alexei Makeyev (Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg)	Yegor Chinakhov (Avangard Omsk)
October 	Edward Pasquale (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)	Daniil Miromanov (HC Sochi) 	Justin Danforth (Vityaz Podolsk) 	Yegor Chinakhov (Avangard Omsk)
November 	Dominik Furch (Dinamo Minsk) 	Alexei Emelin (Avangard Omsk) 	Dmitrij Jaškin (Dynamo Moscow) 	Ivan Chekhovich (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)
December 	Alexander Yeryomenko (Dynamo Moscow) 	Stepan Falkovsky (Dinamo Minsk) 	Stéphane Da Costa (Ak Bars Kazan) 	Ivan Chekhovich (Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod)
January 	Edward Pasquale (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl)	Philip Holm (Metallurg Magnitogorsk) 	Shane Prince (Dinamo Minsk) 	Alexander Alexeyev (Salavat Yulaev Ufa)
February 	Lars Johansson (CSKA Moscow) 	Nick Bailen (Traktor Chelyabinsk) 	Dmitrij Jaškin (Dynamo Moscow) 	Klim Kostin (Avangard Omsk)
==References==
==External links==
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Category:Kontinental Hockey League seasons
KHL