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KHL's regular season heads into the final month of regular season and the league has announced the best players for the month of January.
The best goalie was Ilya Sorokin (CSKA), who won six of eight games, including two shutouts, and suffering one SO loss. The Red Army netminder stopped 94.05% of the shots he faced, with a goals-against average of 1.37. Sorokin posted a shutout streak of 174 minutes and 47 seconds – the best result of January.
The best defenseman was Mikko Lehtonen (Jokerit), who won nine of twelve games with his team, scoring 13 (5+8) points (best result of the month among defensemen) with a plus-4 rating. Lehtonen scored game-winning goals against Severstal, Vityaz (when he scored a double), and Kunlun Red Star. Lehtonen also had 28 shots on goal and 6 hits. The Jokerit defenseman is the best in his role for the third month in a row.
The best forward was Anton Slepyshev (CSKA), who won nine of twelve games with his team, scoring 18 (10+8) points with a +13 rating (both figures are the best in the last month). The Red Army forward scored points in all games of the month and goals in seven matches. Slepyshev scored game-winning goals against Dynamo Moscow, Sibir, HC Sochi (when he scored a double), and Admiral. He also recorded nine hits and blocked eight shots from the opposition.
The best rookie was forward Ivan Morozov (SKA), who won seven of eight games with his team, scoring 6 (4+2) points. The St. Petersburg forward posted no negative ratings, ending January plus-6. On Jan. 23, in a match against Barys, the 19-years-old forward scored his first goal in the KHL and posted a double on Jan. 28 against Dinamo Minsk. Morozov logged an average of 12 minutes a night.
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