Barys vs Neftekhimik 9/25/2026

Neftekhimik will play game #8 of the season!

9/25/2026              vs Barys              ⏰ 5:30 pm            KHL WEB

Neftekhimik will play its first of three road games. Neftekhimik won its last game.

Barys will play its first of two home games. Barys is on a two–game winning streak.

Career Milestone:

Neftekhimik’s forward Rafael Bikmullin may score his 50th KHL goal (currently he scored 49 goals).

Barys: A Powerful Start and an American Accent

The Astana-based club has made a truly phenomenal start to the current season. In their first two games, the team scored 15 goals – routing Sibir (7–1) and defeating Salavat Yulaev (8–6). An unexpected loss to Amur (1–3) followed, but Barys quickly found its rhythm. They went on to crush Lada away (6–0), secure a confident victory over Lokomotiv in Yaroslavl (5–0), and beat Dynamo Moscow. After seven games, the team sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 10 points (5 wins, 2 losses).

The offseason brought significant roster changes for Barys. Barys head coach Mikhail Kravets received a nearly completely revamped core of foreign players with a distinct North American flavor.

New Players:

Hunter Shepard (goaltender) – a two-time Calder Cup champion and the 2023 AHL Playoff MVP. Brought in to fill a problematic position following the departures of Adam Schill and Nikita Boyarkin.

Justin Bailey (forward) – a 31-year-old forward with NHL experience (Buffalo, Philadelphia, Vancouver, San Jose). Last season, he scored 25 goals in the AHL, becoming the top scorer for the San Diego Gulls.

Garrett Pilon (forward) – a center with 450 AHL games under his belt; he spent last season within the Ottawa organization. Chase Priskie (defenseman) – joined from Sibir, where he recorded 24 points in 54 games.

Logan Day (defenseman) – from Traktor, where he blocked 187 shots in a single season.

Arkady Shestakov (forward) – returned to the club after a season with Admiral; one of the league's best in the faceoff circle (59.5%).

Players Leaved Barys:

Mike Vecchione – one of the team's top scorers; moved to Torpedo.

Riley Walsh – top-scoring defenseman (46 points in 68 games); terminated his contract and left for the Montreal organization.

Adam Scheel (goaltender) – continued his career in Germany.

Nikita Boyarkin (goaltender) – moved to Admiral.

It is worth to note that Barys has signed a significant amount of the recent championship-winning Hershey Bears roster in Astana: Pilon, Morelli, Priskie, Massie, Day, and Shepard all hail from the same organization.

We Are No Pushovers Either

Our team started the season with an overtime loss to the Shanghai Dragons (4–5) but then went on an impressive four-game winning streak, defeating Sochi (5–1), Avtomobilist (3–1), Admiral (2–1), and Sibir (3–0). Two losses followed – against Salavat Yulaev (0–2) and Metallurg (2–6) – but in their most recent game, the "Wolves" rediscovered their form and routed Lada (7–3).

After eight games, Neftekhimik sits in third place in the Eastern Conference with 11 points (5 wins, 1 overtime loss, and 2 regulation losses).

Head–to–Head

Over the course of their KHL rivalry, the teams have played 46 games: Barys has 25 wins and Neftekhimik has 21, with a goal differential of 138–120 in favor of the Astana side.

However, the momentum has recently shifted entirely to the "Wolves," with Neftekhimik winning the last four head-to-head games:

24.01.2026 Neftekhimik vs. Barys 3–2
15.01.2026 Barys vs. Neftekhimik 0–1
03.11.2025 Barys vs. Neftekhimik 2–5
27.10.2025 Neftekhimik vs. Barys 3–2