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NHL Blue Jackets forward Nikita Filatov, playing on a loan basis for CSKA of the KHL, was knocked down by Darcy Verot of Vityaz Chekhov in Monday's game between Vityaz and CSKA.

After the famous bench-clearing fight Vityaz, a team having an enormous for the KHL amount of tough guys, didn't fight at all. There were rumors that players were told not to fight in order to calm down fans. The KHL even warned Vityaz to exclude the team from the league in case of another cancelled game.

The peace didn't last long as on Monday Darcy Verot knocked down youngster Nikita Filatov with a cheap shot to the head and got a game misconduct.

Here is the video of Verot's cheap shot on Filatov:

20 years old Sergei Andronov has been traded from financially troubled Lada Togliatti to CSKA Moscow. Andronov, who has under his belt a golden medal from the U18 WJC and a silver medal from the U20 WJC, has been drafted by the St. Louis Blues in the third round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, with the 78th overall pick. This is what he declared to Komsomolskaya Pravda:

Andronov: "It's sad to leave Togliatti, I spent here the last six years and here I became a pro. Unfortunately nowadays it looks like Lada's management don't care about the team. We don't recieve a salary for three months, and they always promise that they are going to refund our debts. And thus I decided for myself, I don't believe to promises anymore. I plan to sign a contract with CSKA Moscow, I'm very familiar with their head coach, Sergei Nemchinov, I played under him in the National Junior Team. In my new team I want to get more playing time."

The same Nemchinov yesterday declared to Sovietskiy Sport:

Nemchinov: "Andronov is an excellent forward. I enjoyed working with him during last year's World Junior Championships."

Vyacheslav Fetisov's sensational comeback didn’t save CSKA from a home defeat against SKA St. Petersburg in a game that saw Maxim Sushinsky score his 300th goal. RussianHockeyFans offers you a translation of what Fetisov said after the game to the Russian TV channel “Sport”.

“I feel really good. It was a bit sentimental, starting with the hymn and going on. I’m a happy man today. I’d like to thank all the fans that attended the game, all the persons and the guys that I played with today. This was an unforgettable game for me. Thank you all!

The game was good, the guys showed a good character in the third period, we came a little short… I wish I could drop about 15 years, to be of more help to the team. The feeling of being in the dressing room with the guys, sharing the same bench - you can't reproduce it in regular life outside of hockey. I am thankful for having had this chance.
The most important thing we did today was draw attention of people to hockey. What we did today was positive for the image of Russian hockey and Russia itself. There are good people, there is interest for the game, and all this can only grow in the years to come.

I think that one game is enough. There are good players and a good coach and CSKA will be again the CSKA we all know”.

Yes, it's not a joke. CSKA Moscow is having problems as a lot of it's players are injured. Yesterday, after the game against Atlant CSKA's head coach Sergei Nemchinov said that he had offered CSKA president Vyacheslav Fetisov to help the team. They gave Fetisov one day to think it over and apparently he agreed.

This is what the team's press attache Natalia Masyakina had to say to RIA Novosti (in Russian):

Fetisov agreed to play for CSKA. Now we are working on the documents and if there are no problems he will be able to play on Friday against SKA. Nothing can be said about the length of his contract at this moment.

News is also confirmed on the official KHL site (in Russian).

CSKA has provided all required documents and Fetisov is able to play in the KHL. Fetisov has signed a one-year contract and is able to play on December 11 against SKA St. Petersburg.

Nikita Filatov, who was loaned to CSKA Moscow by the Columbus Blue Jackets, keeps on doing great in the KHL. He played 4 games so far and amassed 8 points, scoring 4 goals and giving 4 assists. Filatov also managed to set a new KHL record, scoring 3 game-winning goals in 3 matches in a row.

RussianHockeyFans.com offers you a translation of his interview published by Sovetskiy Sport, which he gave after yesterday's game against Spartak.

- One can see that now you are playing as if you had wings on your back. Is it because you don't have to focus so much on defence in CSKA as you had to in Columbus?
- Yes, it is. But I wouldn't say that I spend all my time in the offensive zone, I don't forget about the defence too. The defence was the only thing I had been thinking about in the NHL for 1.5 years...

- But nevertheless you intend to return to the NHL next year. What can CSKA do to make you stay?
- The one thing I'm not thinking about right now is where I will spend next year. But I wouldn't exclude the possibility of staying in CSKA.

A few days before Filatov wrote in his conference on allhockey.ru, answering if there was a chance of him staying in Russia after this season:

I highly doubt it. But Ken Hitchkok can really help it.

Phoenix Coyotes' Viktor Tikhonov, who spent most of the season with their AHL affiliates, the San Antonio Rampage, is back in Moscow, where he's thought to be joining Filatov's CSKA.
"My son has been sent to the KHL, he has already landed in Moscow and he's ready to play for CSKA" - said the father of the coach to Sovetsky Sport.

Nikita Filatov continues to shine in the KHL.
In his second KHL game he scored 2 of 3 CSKA goals, one of them being the game-winning goal. His ice-time increased by 4 minutes in comparison with the previous game and reached 20 minutes 23 seconds (the best result in his team).
As the result Filatov was named first star of the game.

Nikita Filatov had one goal and two assists in his first KHL game played against Traktor Chelyabinsk. In this interview with allhockey.ru correspondent Olesya Usova, the young player talked about the impressions felt in his debut with CSKA, about his new line mates and also about his experience with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Nikita Filatov, who was loaned to CSKA by Columbus Blue Jackets, scored game-winning goal and added 2 assists to help his CSKA defeat Traktor 4-1 in his first game in the KHL.

Filatov got team's second best time on ice among forwards - 16:40 (Denis Parshin was first with 18:27).

CSKA's head coach Sergei Nemchinov noticed that Filatov is a bit out of condition but added that he would get accustomed soon and start playing even better.