September 5, Lokomotiv vs Traktor
The 2025/2026 season kicks off with the Opening Cup match between Lokomotiv and Traktor. This game is not only a battle of last season`s finalists, which is exciting in itself, but also a clash of two Canadian coaches – Bob Hartley and Benoit Groulx. Hartley took charge of Lokomotiv this summer. He is well-known in the KHL, having won the Gagarin Cup with Avangard in the 2020/2021 season and being named the league`s best coach. The upcoming season will be Hartley`s fifth in the KHL. Groulx, on the other hand, is beginning his second year at the helm of Traktor. This will be the 42nd meeting between the two clubs in the KHL. Lokomotiv currently holds the edge with 29 wins compared to Traktor`s 12.
September 6, CSKA vs Dynamo Moscow
Last season`s first-round playoff exit was a disappointment for the army club`s management, leading to a complete change in the coaching staff. Igor Nikitin and other Lokomotiv coaches, who won the Gagarin Cup in May, were brought to Moscow. Furthermore, CSKA has revamped its roster. The first test for the revamped CSKA will be a classic Moscow derby against Dynamo. Last season, despite their issues, CSKA won the regular season series against the Blue and Whites 3-1. Dynamo managed to win only the final game of the matchup (2-1), which took place at CSKA Arena.
September 8, Torpedo vs SKA
On September sixth, SKA will play against Kunlun Red Star in the new “St. Petersburg derby,” and then Igor Larionov`s army team will travel to Nizhny Novgorod to face the Professor`s former club, Torpedo. Igor Larionov coached Torpedo for three seasons as head coach: achieving 112 wins in 220 games, making the playoffs three times, and advancing to the second round once. Interestingly, it was SKA that eliminated Larionov`s Torpedo from the KHL playoffs twice – in 2023 and 2024. Now the specialist is on the other side of the barricade, and watching this confrontation will be very intriguing!
September 10, Ak Bars vs Avtomobilist
For two consecutive seasons, Ak Bars and Avtomobilist were separated by just two points in the standings, and for two consecutive seasons, the clubs met in the first round of the playoffs. In 2024, Avtomobilist won the series, while last spring Ak Bars got their revenge. The intensity of this rivalry has reached a point where every game between the teams deserves attention from all hockey fans, regardless of their club preferences.
September 13, Avangard vs Dynamo Moscow
Here`s another classic matchup – on September 13, Avangard will host Dynamo Moscow. Adding spice to the games between Omsk and Moscow this season is the fact that Dmitry Rashevsky, Dynamo`s top sniper in the KHL, transferred to Avangard this summer. In the 2024/2025 season, both meetings between the clubs went to Dynamo. They won 5-3 away and 4-3 in Moscow. In that Moscow game, Avangard came back from 1-3 down in the final six minutes, but Maxime Comtois scored the winning goal in overtime.
Gareth Tenby