Megasport hosted the last derby between CSKA and Spartak in regular season 2024/25. The main news before the game for CSKA was the return of team captain Nikita Nesterov. The coaching staff chose Pavel Khomchenko to protect the last line of defense.
The first period was spent in an equal struggle. There weren't many scoring chances, and they were quite evenly distributed. It is worth noting that the teams acted in a rather harsh manner and presented the audience with several spectacular power techniques. Spartak turned out to be a little more successful in its implementation. In the middle of the first period, a counterattack led to Spartak's goal. CSKA was able to respond in the 27th minute. Cole Cassels won a throw-in in the rival's zone, Egor Afanasyev grabbed the puck under his throw and sent it past the Spartak goalkeeper. Unfortunately, the equality did not last long, it was less than a minute. Spartak players quickly scored again and took back the lead. In the third period, CSKA was able to create several chances. Ivan Drozdov had a great moment when he took the puck away from the defenders and ran off one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but he failed to complete. The two minutes of the power play had no results as well. Spartak players counterattacked dangerously, Pavel Khomchenko left his partners in the game. In the last two minutes, our goalkeeper gave way on the ice to the sixth fielder, but that move didn't work either. Spartak scored twice into an empty net, and the CSKA team failed to take two points.