SKA St. Petersburg vs Barys Astana

SKA St. Petersburg and Barys Astana played out a 1–1 draw across regulation and overtime in their opening match of the Nikolai Puchkov Memorial Tournament at SKA Arena on 27 August 2026, with SKA winning the subsequent shootout 2–0. Matvey Korotky's second-period opener was cancelled out by Vsevolod Logvin's equaliser with four minutes left in regulation, and neither side could find a winner in the five-minute three-on-three extra period.

The first period finished scoreless despite SKA having two power-play opportunities. Barys goaltender Hunter Shepard — a two-time AHL Calder Cup winner and 2024 AHL Goaltender of the Year — kept the game level through the opening 20 minutes, while SKA's Sergei Ivanov was equally solid at the other end.

The deadlock broke at 27:49 of the second period. Nikita Nedopyokin set up Matvey Korotky, who beat Shepard at even strength to make it 1–0 for SKA. The goal stood as the only one of the middle frame, though both teams traded minor penalties — Vasily Atanasov (SKA, simulation) and Garrett Pilon (Barys, interference) — resulting in a brief four-on-four stretch.

Barys pressed in the third period and finally broke through at 55:50. Samat Daniyar's play found Vsevolod Logvin, who levelled the score at 1–1 with four minutes of regulation time remaining. Neither team could find a winner in the five-minute overtime.

In the shootout, SKA's Danil Aymurzin scored on the first attempt, Garrett Pilon missed for Barys, Daniil Miromanov was denied by Shepard, Kirill Panyukov was stopped by Ivanov, and Linus Weissbach buried the decisive shot to seal the shootout win for SKA.

Logvin's equaliser at 55:50 was the pivotal moment. Barys had managed just four goals across their three-game tournament in Ufa before arriving in St. Petersburg, and their attack had struggled to generate consistent pressure. The goal — created by Daniyar's feed from the blue line — gave Barys a foothold they had lacked for most of the match, and it denied SKA what would have been a third consecutive pre-season win after back-to-back victories over Avtomobilist (3–1 and 5–4) on 15–16 August.

Matvey Korotky (SKA) — Scored the opening goal at 27:49, his second of the pre-season after also finding the net against Avtomobilist on 16 August. Showed good positioning to finish Nedopyokin's pass.

Vsevolod Logvin (Barys) — Levelled the game at 1–1 with 4:10 left in regulation, his first goal of the pre-season. The Kazakh forward's timely strike ensured Barys left St. Petersburg with something to show for their effort.

Hunter Shepard (Barys) — The American goaltender stopped 27 of 28 shots through regulation and overtime and added a shootout save. Shepard, signed by Barys after winning back-to-back AHL titles with Hershey, was the main reason the visitors stayed in the game through a scoreless first period.

Sergei Ivanov (SKA) — Made 22 saves and denied both Barys shootout attempts. The 22-year-old Russian netminder was solid after entering as SKA's starter for this fixture.

Player of the Match: Matvey Korotky (SKA) for the opening goal and his overall offensive contribution.

The 1–1 scoreline understates SKA's territorial advantage. SKA outshot Barys 28–22 over the 65-minute contest, consistent with their 8 goals from 2 pre-season games coming in. Barys, by contrast, managed just 4 goals across their 3 games at the Republic of Bashkortostan Cup before this match, and their discipline held up better here — they took 4 penalty minutes to SKA's 8. The game's defining pattern was SKA's sustained offensive pressure meeting Barys's improved defensive structure, a tactical shift head coach Mikhail Kravets had emphasised after his team conceded 9 goals in their first 2 Ufa matches.

The Puchkov Tournament is SKA's final pre-season preparation before the 2026/27 KHL season. Igor Larionov's side entered with two wins from two against Avtomobilist and extended their unbeaten pre-season run. Barys, under Kravets, showed marked defensive improvement compared to their Ufa tournament performances (2–9 aggregate across the first two games there) and will take confidence from taking a KHL heavyweight to a shootout.

Both teams continue the tournament: SKA next face Admiral on 28 August, while Barys play SKA-VMF on the same day. The KHL regular season is scheduled to begin in early September 2026.

A pre-season stalemate that revealed more about Barys's defensive progress than SKA's offensive ceiling. Korotky's goal maintained his strong pre-season form, but Logvin's equaliser was the more significant moment for a Barys side trying to rebuild after a difficult 2025/26 campaign. The shootout result is secondary — both coaches will take useful data into their final pre-season matches.