Photo credit: allhockey.ru

Over the last week, CSKA general manager and former Capital Sergei Fedorov has been a busy man, signing Ilya Bryzgalov, Pavel Datsyuk, and Mikhail Grabovski to lockout contracts. CSKA’s roster, which also includes former KHL MVP Alex Radulov, is much like the New York Yankees: they are rich, and they sign the best players.

Coming into Thursday’s game with Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s Traktor Cheylabinsk, it was obvious who the favorites were. But thanks to a stunning goal by Andrey Popov in the final minutes and a meltdown by Radulov, Traktor prevailed 4-3.

Highlights below.

We start with the game tied 3-3. Anton Glinkin skates behind the net, blindly passing to Popov in the crease. Popov turns his body and sends the puck home off his backhand. How in the world?

A few minutes later as CSKA tried to tie before the end of regulation, Traktor enforcer Andrey Vasilchenko shoved Radulov after a stoppage in play. You do not touch the Rads. Disdainful Radulov threw punches and shouted obscenities at the Traktor defenseman.

While both players seemed to deserve matching minors for roughing, the officials sure didn’t see it that way, only whistling Radulov for slashing. And that’s when Rads lost it.

For shoving the official, Radulov was immediately kicked out of the game and given two misconduct penalties. He finished with 34 PIMs.

Before you judge Radulov, it’s not like he has a history of this kind of behavior.

Oh, right.

Photo credit: 74hockey.ru

Don’t look now, but wayward Capital Evgeny Kuzetsov has started the 2012-13 KHL season with two goals in two games.

In Traktor Cheylabinsk’s first away game of the year on Monday, the defending Continental Cup champions held a huge shot advantage over Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg (41-24), but were unable to crack Avtomobilist’s all-star goalie Chris Holt through two periods. With less than nine minutes to go in the game however, Traktor finally dented the twine. After a Avtomobilist defender turned the puck over at center ice, Kuzya sprinted the puck into the offensive zone and wristed a shot past Holt glove side. The goal was unassisted.

Kuzya’s goal is at the very beginning of the video.

Andrey Popov then scored a few minutes later, and Maxim Yakutsenya sealed it with a late empty-netter — giving Traktor two straight wins over divisional rivals to start the season.

Kuznetsov, who led the KHL in game-winning goals last year (9 of his 19 were GWGs), is off to the races again this season. On the other end of the ice, thanks to goalie Michael Garnett, Traktor is the only KHL team not to allow a goal.

It’s not all good news for Traktor though: Kuznetsov’s goal celebration was meh. So much for consistency.

On Thursday, Traktor takes on SKA and then a day after the NHL CBA is set to expire, they will play Dynamo Moscow. No word yet, if a certain great eight will suit up.