Continental hockey league(KHL) - 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 geographical divisions.
During the regular season, teams play 62 games each, after which the playoffs begin. 8 players get into the KHL playoffs the best teams from each conference. 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 to create a league that would be independent of national federations and become commercially successful, many hockey functionaries from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan liked it.
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 last years significantly outperform other 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 is highest value. 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: standings, schedule of games 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.
As a matter of fact:
The NHL is entirely a commercial league and does not depend on anyone other than investors, businessmen and club owners. Let's not forget to mention the players' union. The KHL, on the other hand, is connected with the Ministry of Sports, and does everything for the Russian national team - with the light hand of the Ministry of Sports, the regulations, the limit on legionnaires, and so on are changing, so long as our hockey players take high places in second-rate tournaments, creating the illusion that everything is fine in domestic hockey.
The NHL has nothing to do with government officials. In the KHL, the president of the N-th team is one of Putin's friends and a big businessman, in addition, the whole world of our elite is on the board of directors. The other team is sponsored by Rosneft, and Sechin has a personal interest in its success. In general, very high-ranking officials are involved in hockey in Russia.
3. The KHL, like hockey in general, does not pay off in Russia as a business. Only 1-2 teams have a profit from the franchise and home games, while overseas hockey is a thriving business that brings fabulous money to club owners.
In Russia, there is less attendance (but in some cities only because of the capacity of the arenas) than in America and Canada. In the NHL, the average attendance is at the level of 15 thousand, and in Russia - from 4 to 5 thousand.
KHL and NHL have different size sites, which is reflected directly in the game. There are more grounds in the KHL - accordingly, hockey is not so contact, more combinational and sweeping. In the NHL, on the contrary, the courts are smaller - there is more contact play, more shots on goal and less time to think. What is more spectacular - you decide.
In the KHL, teams that take the first eight places in their conferences get into the playoffs. In the NHL, several places are allocated under the wild-card system, and sometimes teams with fewer points than the opponent get into knockout games.
The regulations regarding the interpretation of fights, power moves, dangerous attacks and other things related to the safety of players are also different.
The NHL has richer traditions - here is the "white storm", and throwing octopuses on the ice, and everything else. For much of what is allowed overseas, we would be held accountable.
And finally, any hockey player dreams of playing in the NHL. All his aspirations are to get into best league world, and many regard our championship as a fallback. Many players who have not received a contract in America or Canada go to Russia, some outstanding foreign hockey players come to us to finish their careers. Certainly, we are talking about great players who are on everyone's lips and in sight, with ambitions.
In general, with the exception of some differences, both leagues play hockey and play the Stanley Cup and the Gagarin Cup. Do not think that the NHL is much better than our league. Russia has a peculiar atmosphere, its own developing culture of pain and traditions. On the NHL "Battle on the Hudson" and "Battle on the Albert" there is an Army Derby and the same Green. Of course, you should not compare the level of hockey here and there, because it is different. But nothing compares to going to some "Arena of Mytishchi" and enjoying the fact that your team won. Here, not across the ocean.
Hockey in Europe is very popular. On the international championships European teams play enough high level. Given that it has long needed updating, the management decided to take drastic measures.
What does the abbreviation KHL mean?
The KHL is an open international championship The first championship, according to all its organizers, was experimental, since it is impossible to take into account all the nuances in the first year of its existence when organizing the largest hockey league in the world. It was organized on the basis of the Russian Super League. In the KHL draw, the following are determined:
- Championship winner. The KHL championship is won by the team that scores the most points after all regular season games have been played.
- Division winner. It is revealed as a result of holding all games of the regular season.
- Pairs of participants in the playoff games. Everything KHL games prepared in advance by the league leadership. They are organized in such a way as to arouse the greatest interest among the audience.
Championship format
The KHL Championship consists of two conferences, which are divided geographically: East and West. Each conference has two divisions. Based on this, it turns out that there are 4 divisions in the KHL, each of which has 7 teams, with the exception of the Chernyshev division, since recently the Red Star Kunlun team was added there, and it became the eighth in a row.
Each KHL team must play four games with other teams in the division and two games with participants from another division of its conference. In addition, each representative of the league will additionally play 4 games with representatives of their division.
Point system
For a match won, each KHL team takes a maximum of three points. Two points are awarded to the team that manages to win the additional time or by bullets. If a team loses in overtime or on shootouts, they only get one point. When a team loses a match, no points are awarded.
At the end of the games, the division winner is the team that has scored the most points. The calculation is carried out taking into account absolutely all games, and not only according to the results of games within the division. All results of the matches played are recorded by the leadership of the KHL.
The standings presented for the teams and their fans include the statistics of the teams' performance in the conference and separately in each division.
Playoff draw
Each team playing in the KHL can participate in the first stage of the playoffs of the Kontinental Hockey League championship. To do this, she must take at least 8 places in her conference. The first two places in the playoff draw are awarded to teams that finish first in their division. The remaining places are occupied by teams in descending order of points.
As a result of the draw, the winners of the conferences will first be identified. And then these teams will fight in the final. In the Gagarin Cup, the club that wins all the victories in the games right through wins. At each stage, the participants will play a series of games up to four victories.
Kazan "Ak Bars" became the first champion of the league. This club showed strong hockey throughout the season and rightfully took all the prizes.
League expansion
The KHL is the largest in the world. Immediately after the foundation, 21 Russian team, as well as in the championship, teams from Belarus, Latvia and Kazakhstan played to the delight of hockey fans. The KHL is a prestigious and popular league that many teams want to play in. Since the beginning of its foundation, the number of participants has been steadily growing.
Now 29 teams are playing in the championship. Representatives from Croatia, Finland, Slovakia and even from China were added. List of applications from different countries is getting bigger. But not everyone who wants to meet the requirements of the league.
The KHL is a prestigious league that requires an initial deposit and stable further funding to participate. It also requires the presence of its own stadium, which will meet the established requirements.
Many were surprised by the addition of a team from Beijing to the league. It was created specifically for participation in the KHL. The club included Chinese stars and eighteen foreigners. The coach was appointed well-known to all Russian fans. The results in the first season are still bad for the team. But in the future it will definitely grow and compete with the giants of European hockey.
Continental develops and strives to become better. In terms of entertainment, it is no longer inferior to the National Hockey League. Not without reason, many leading players leave it for the KHL. Pavel Datsuk and Ilya Kovalchuk returned to their homeland after the creation of the league.