The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is an open international league uniting clubs from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Latvia and Finland. At the moment, 24 teams play in the league, which are divided into the Western and Eastern conferences and 4 divisions based on geographic features.
During the regular season, teams play 62 games each, after which the playoffs begin. The top 8 teams from each conference qualify for the KHL playoffs. The league's main trophy is the Gagarin Cup, which is awarded to the winner of the playoffs.
The idea to create the Euro-Asian Hockey League originated in the mid-2000s. For the first time in public, Vyacheslav Fetisov voiced her in October 2005. The idea of creating a league that would be independent of national federations and become commercially successful appealed to many hockey officials from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
As a result, the KHL was created on the basis of the Russian Hockey Superleague. The first championship took place in the 2008/2009 season, in which 21 out of 24 clubs were Russian. In the future, the league was replenished with teams from Ukraine, Slovakia, Finland, Croatia, but in the last few years, the leadership of the KHL, on the contrary, has been reducing the number of teams.
Features of KHL betting
Clear dominance of several clubs
Western Conference clubs have more financial resources than Eastern Conference clubs. First of all, CSKA and SKA stand out, which in recent years have significantly outperformed others. KHL clubs. St. Petersburg and Moscow "soldiers" have more balanced lineups, as a result of which bookmakers rate them as favorites in almost every match.
The home match factor
This factor is especially important in the playoffs, where the value of home games matters the most. According to statistics, it is the team that plays at home that wins more often. It should be noted that in regular season games KHL betting for home matches when playing with rivals from another region can bring significant gains, since long-distance flights do not always have a positive effect on the performance of hockey players.
Outsiders can beat the favorite
In the course of the regular season in KHL matches, surprises often occur. So, the underdog can easily beat the team that leads the conference. This happens especially often at the end of the season, when the leaders have already secured a place in the playoffs and are deprived of proper motivation.
How to choose a bet on the KHL
Everyone is betting on KHL matches. The page above contains all the information you need to bet on the KHL: the standings, game schedule and the best odds for the upcoming matches. Also, free predictions from Legalbet experts and cappers are available to everyone.
The page of each match contains the current line-ups, match results, statistics of past games and more.
Analysts of our resource have an individual approach to each confrontation that takes place in the Kontinental Hockey League. Experts predict absolutely every match, which runs in KHL. To do this, you need to be aware of not only the tournament prospects of each team, but also understand the form of any team, injuries, disqualifications and other nuances that will affect final result fights. Express bets on the KHL will help to significantly increase your bankroll with minimal risks.
You can see the patency and success of our analysts in your forecasts by going to the section.
Forecasts and bets on the KHL
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) - the most popular hockey tournament in Russia and neighboring countries. Along with the great popularity of the KHL, the demand for predictions for this tournament is also growing. We have assembled a team of professionals who make predictions for the KHL every day and, absolutely, for all matches of the regular season and playoffs.
Predictions for regular KHL season
"Regular" KHL starts in August and ends in February. The accuracy of forecasts is increasing every week. If at the beginning of the season we only rely on the pre-season matches of the teams, then in a few weeks you can see their form. Our KHL experts are divided into two groups. Each group is responsible for its own conference: West (Bobrov division and Tarasov division) and East (Kharlamov division and Chernyshev division). This allows you to predict the results of matches with maximum accuracy.
Despite a large number of games, we predict all matches with great accuracy.
Predictions for the KHL playoffs
The KHL playoffs start in February, and already in April we know the name of the new champion. Experts lead teams from their conferences to the very finals.
Features of predictions for the KHL
Predict KHL tournament difficult, but possible. Over the years, we have already proven our understanding of the characteristics of this league.
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is an international hockey league that unites hockey clubs from eight European countries. The league was created on the basis of the Russian Hockey Superleague. The KHL has been successfully held and developed since 2008, with each season increasing the number of participants, the level of teams, the fan audience and international prestige. Each season the teams fight for the main trophy of the league - the Gagarin Cup, which is awarded to the league champion.
Teams in the KHL
In the debut season of 2008/2009, 24 clubs took part in the Continental Hockey League. Gradually, every year the number of participating teams increased, and at the moment 29 clubs from eight European countries (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Finland, Croatia, Slovakia, Latvia) play in the KHL. In the future, it is planned to expand the number of participants to 32 teams.
The structure of the season in the KHL
All teams are divided in the Continental Hockey League geographically into the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Each conference, in turn, is divided into two divisions: in the east - the Bobrov Division and the Tarasov Division, in the west - the Kharlamov Division and the Chernyshev Division.
| Eastern Conference1 | Western conference | ||
| Kharlamov division | Chernyshev Division | Bobrov Division | Tarasov Division |
KHL regular season
The first phase of the KHL is a regular season, in which each team plays 4 matches with opponents from its own division, 2 matches with teams from another division of its conference, as well as one meeting with clubs from another conference. Also, each team holds four more meetings with rivals from its division, and the matches are compiled in order to maximize the intrigue in the championship. In total, during the Regular Season, the teams play 60 matches each, determining the winners of divisions and conferences, as well as forming pairs for the next stage of the season - the playoffs.
KHL playoffs
The top 8 teams from each conference continue to fight for the Gagarin Cup, playing a series of knockouts up to four wins. Each conference determines the best team by fights according to the playoff system (1/4 finals, 1/2 finals and finals), after which the two best teams in the league play the final series also up to four victories, in which the Gagarin Cup is played.
KHL winners
For eight seasons in the Continental Hockey League, 5 teams became the owners of the Gagarin Cup. Two victories each have: Ak Bars (2009, 2010) Dynamo Moscow (2012, 2013), Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2014, 2016), and won once more: Salavat Yulaev (2011) and SKA ( 2015).
The playoffs of the 2017-2018 season have begun in the KHL.
The 2017-2018 KHL season will be an anniversary season. For the tenth time the teams will compete for the main prize - the Gagarin Cup.
Recall that 16 best teams from Russia, Europe and China participate in the playoffs (or elimination competition). They are chosen among the winners of the games in the "Western" and "Eastern" conferences. 8 out of each top clubs advance to the playoffs of the tournament. Among each of the conferences, a quarter, semi and finalists are selected. For the Gagarin Cup fight one by one the best team from East and West.
Participants of the KHL championship season 2017-2018
IN qualifying tournaments 27 teams played. Hockey clubs from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Finland, Slovakia and China became foreign representatives of the league.
KHL playoff schedule 2017-2018 season
The first matches of the 2017-2018 playoffs will be held on the third of March.
Who is SKA's opponent in the KHL playoffs 2017-2018
This year the St. Petersburg club SKA will play four matches with Severstal from Cherepovets. Battles on ice will take place on March 4, 5, 7 and 8 in " ice palace". Based on the results, additional days may be assigned.
The rules of hockey competitions have some features that have been formed in their homeland popular game. There is no need to explain what the playoffs in hockey are to the people of Canada and the United States, everyone knows it there. And with the establishment of the Continental sports organization the main organizational principles of the NHL were adopted - as a proven experience of many years of practice in holding large tournament competitions.
How is the hockey tournament in the KHL
In order to answer the question "What is a playoff in hockey?", one should understand the system by which competitions for the KHL championship title are held every year. The annual championship of the Continental Hockey League consists of two parts. The game calendar is drawn up in such a way that all teams in the league have the opportunity to meet each other on their own field and on the opponent's field. This is the first part of the championship - the regular season. In the first years after the creation hockey organization All teams had the opportunity to find out the relationship between themselves. Then their number increased, and the Continental hockey league had to be divided into two conferences - Western and Eastern. Based on the results of the regular season, a standings is compiled. And then the answer to the question of what is the playoffs in hockey becomes relevant. To put it very briefly, this is the second, final part championship KHL.
From the rules of the game of hockey - playoff games
Let's take a closer look at the features of the regulations of the second part hockey championship. Only teams that finish in the top sixteen places in the playoffs advance to the playoffs. standings, eight in each of the two conferences. These teams are divided into pairs and continue to sort things out among themselves. Games are played separately in the Western and Eastern conferences. The team that won the first place meets with the eighth in the table, the second - with the seventh, the third - with the sixth, the fourth - with the fifth. This is the first stage - the quarterfinals.
Teams meet each other until four victories of one of them are achieved. IN next stage, semi-finals, only the winners go out. There are only four left. This principle is the answer to the question "What is the playoffs in hockey?". This is followed by the conference finals and the superfinal, a series of games between the strongest teams in the West and East. There will be only one winner.
Features of the playoffs
To achieve the purity of the result in the playoff games, such an element of hockey as shootouts is excluded. In the regular part of the championship, they are thrown at the opponent's goal to overcome a draw, when it is not possible to sort things out in the main and extra time of the match. And in the playoffs, the game continues until the winning goal of one of the teams, no matter how many additional periods, the so-called "overtime", it may take. Often the game takes on a protracted character and lasts a very long time. This is due to the fact that everyone is afraid to make a mistake and give the enemy a chance.
Is this principle justified?
During the playoffs, attention to hockey increases dramatically. The result begins to interest everyone, even people who are indifferent to big sport. Both news releases and the pages of newspapers begin to dazzle with headlines: "Big hockey, KHL, playoffs ...". But hockey in Soviet times was played for decades, and somehow managed to do without the American word "playoffs". Some even now doubt about whether it was necessary to adopt this principle of the game from the NHL. But knockout games, or playoffs, give hockey a special dynamism, sharpness and entertainment. And that is the only reason why the answer to the question of the expediency of such competitions can be given an unambiguously positive one.
