Kovalchuk removed from KHL club's practices, reportedly benched for 1 game
Ilya Kovalchuk is apparently in trouble in the KHL.
"(Due) to a coach's decision, Ilya Kovalchuk has been removed from the squad and has been placed on an individual training programme," SKA St. Petersburg assistant coach Maxim Sokolov said Monday.
Kovalchuk was exiled due to poor performance but has not been removed from the team entirely, reports Igor Eronko of Sport-Express. SKA St. Petersburg's head coach is former NHL defenseman Sergei Zubov.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports Kovalchuk won't just be missing practices.
My understanding of the Kovalchuk situation is it is a one-game benching (for now) by coach Sergei Zubov.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) February 22, 2016
Kovalchuk was checked off the puck during a sequence that led to the tying goal in SKA St. Petersburg's 3-2 overtime loss to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in the first game of their playoff series Sunday.
He was a minus-2 with only one shot on goal in 24:26 of ice time.
Kovalchuk notched 16 goals and 49 points in 50 regular-season games.