Red Star propels Keenan to 100
Balanced offense, stingy goaltending — and plenty of hits.
There was nothing spooky about Mike Keenan’s game plan for his 100th Kontinental Hockey League coaching victory on Halloween night.
Defenseman Pavel Vorobei and winger Brandon DeFazio provided the goals and Magnus Hellberg made 27 saves for his fifth shutout of the season as Keenan reached the milestone by helming Kunlun Red Star to a 2-0 triumph over Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk at Feiyang Ice Skating Center in Shanghai on Tuesday.
The victory snapped a fourgame losing streak for China’s lone entry in the seven-nation KHL, and Red Star’s domi- nance was punctuated by its 18-9 edge in hits, led by Canadian defenseman Jesse Blacker, with four.
Keenan, 68, is the only bench boss to win both the Gregarin Cup in the KHL (Metallurg Magnitogorsk, 2014) and the Stanley Cup in the National Hockey League (New York Rangers, 1994). He’s fifth on the NHL’s all-time victory list (672) and notched his first 88 wins in the KHL with Magnitogorsk (2013-15).
Between 1987 and 2009, Keenan served as head coach and/or general manager with eight NHL franchises, earning a reputation as a master tactician and peerless motivator.
He also captured two Canada Cup global championships (1987, 1991), with the likes of NHL legends Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Eric Lindros.
“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to contribute to building Chinese hockey at every level, from the grassroots to the national team,” Keenan said when he was named head coach and GM of Red Star in March, succeeding Vladimir Jurzinov Jr., who resigned after the firstyear team was knocked out in the opening round of the playoffs.
“In Canada, hockey is like our national religion. One of the reasons for that is because it emphasizes many of the things we hold dear, like teamwork, sacrifice and creativity. I think those same qualities are cherished in China.”
Now that he has Red Star back on a winning track, Keenan will have to deal with the loss of four of his top players to Team Canada for the Nov 8-12 Karjala Cup pre-Olympic tournament in Finland.
With the NHL opting not to participate in February’s Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, defending Olympic champ Canada will feature a mix of KHL stars, minor league pros and top amateurs.
Red Star’s two top scorers, forwards Wojtek Wolski and Gilbert Brule, will join defensemen Blacker and Geoff Kinrade on Team Canada’s roster in Finland. Wolski has seven goals and 25 points in 23 games, while Brule has scored six goals and added 11 assists in 20 games. He also leads the team with 41 hits.
After 27 games, Red Star occupies the eighth — and last — playoff spot in the KHL’s Eastern Conference with a record of 12-15.