Hardware handed out and a rule change

The start of the season gets ever close. Most teams have all-but finalized their rosters, and the first pre-season tournaments are coming to an end. We have a trophy winner already, and the promise of a rule tweak for overtime in the coming campaign.Lada lifts first trophyThe summer’s first pre-season tournament came to an end in Astana, and Lada won the President of Kazakhstan Cup. The Motormen were undefeated in four games in the Kazakh capital, starting with a bang in a 7-1 humbling of Team Kazakhstan. After group stage victories over Barys and Amur, Lada again faced the national team in Sunday’s tournament final. This time it was a tight affair, but power play goals from Troy Josephs and Denis Barantsev earned a 2-1 win. Barys defeated Amur in the third-place playoff.Lada lifts cup in KazakhstanSalavat on course for home goldAnother tournament is set to conclude Monday, with Salavat Yulaev in contention to win the Republic of Bashkortostan Cup on home ice in Ufa. After losing 0-1 in its opener against Severstal, Viktor Kozlov’s team rebounded to defeat Neftekhimik and Metallurg. Now there’s a three-way tie at the top, with the host joined by Severstal and Avtomobilist on four points. Salavat plays the Motormen in a potential title decider, while Severstal faces Metallurg in Monday’s other game.Slow start for Salavat in Ufa, Kazakhstan thumps Barys in AstanaOrtega leaves AdmiralSummer signing Austin Ortega was expected to add some oomph to Admiral’s offense. Instead, the 30-year-old Californian is leaving the team before playing a game. The Sailors decided to cut their losses after seeing the 30-year-old at camp and realizing that his game was not a good fit for Leonids Tambijevs’ plans. Now, Sergei Shmelyov is on his way to Vladivostok. He left Salavat Yulaev at the end of last season and earlier made his name as a productive forward with HC Sochi.New rule for overtimeThe KHL’s board of directors approved a change in the rules for overtime. In recent seasons, there has been a trend for teams to pull their goalies and play four-on-three hockey with an empty net during periods of 3x3 overtime in the regular season. Starting this season, a team can still try this tactic. However, if it allows an empty net goal, it will lose the point gained for taking the game to OT in the first place. In delayed penalty situations, teams will be allowed to withdraw their goalies as usual without facing any sanction.New rule in OTArena inspections underwayWhile the KHL’s teams are finalizing their pre-season preparations, work continues off the ice to ensure everything is set for the grand opening on Sep. 3. Last week saw the first arena inspections, with league officials visiting KHL and JHL venues in Moscow and its surrounding region. In total, 46 arenas in 38 cities will be checked in a month, with follow-ups during the course of the season. Chief referee Alexei Anisimov explained that this year, inspectors would be paying particular attention to facilities for players, especially the quality of the locker rooms for visiting teams.Coming up ...The coming week sees two tournaments get underway. In Omsk, Avangard welcomes Lokomotiv, Traktor, Barys and Sibir for the 30th edition of the Blinov Cup. And in St. Petersburg, the Nikolai Puchkov Memorial sees SKA entertain Ak Bars, Severstal, Kunlun Red Star and a Russian national team.Pre-season