Detroit Red Wings Hockey Hall of Famer Igor Larionov is regarded as one of the most knowledgeable minds in hockey. His wisdom about the game has earned him the nickname “The Professor.”

However, even professors sometimes give out bad advice. During a KHL game on Boxing Day, Larionov was guilty of such a transgression.

The coach of SKA St. Petersburg in Russia’s KHL, Larionov, was in the midst of game action when he moved down the bench, offering some of his professorial advice to backup goalie Egor Zavragin.

He told his backup netminder to take off his goalie mask. Zavragin did so. Almost immediately, he would regret that decision.

There’s nothing a goalie hates more than when a teammate takes a shot at them when they’re not expecting it.

​Usually, such transgressions occur during the pre-game warm-up or at practice.

In this game, it happened in the midst of the action.

Pretty unique kind of friendly fire 🧐 pic.twitter.com/hMXiqkCBOj

— KHL (@khl_eng) December 26, 2025

As SKA St. Petersburg was facing Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo forward Vitaly Pinchuk brought the puck along the boards toward the SKA end, passing in front of the St. Petersburg team’s bench.

Timing it perfectly, SKA defenseman Markus Phillips delivered a punishing body check, lifting Pinchuk over the boards. He was still airborne as he went crashing into Zavragin, who was sitting at the end of the bench.

The force of the collision sent Zavragin spilling backwards and down the tunnel leading to the dressing room. Impressively, almost immediately, Pinchuk was back on his feet, climbing over the boards and back into the action.

Red Wings Legend Regrets His Words

“Literally a minute and a half before, I told the goalie on the bench, Zavragin, ‘Take off your mask,” Larionov told Russian broadcaster MatchTV, according to translation provided by the website RMNB. “This isn’t junior hockey. You need to watch the game so they can see your face.’”

Just moments before the collision with Pinchuk, Zavragin found himself dodging a flying puck.

“In the second period, I told him, ‘Take off your mask again,” Larionov said. “‘People want to see you on TV.’ He said, ‘No, I was almost knocked out.’ Zava said he won’t take his mask off again, even on the bench.”

The incident left one unanswered question.

Can a player be penalized for backup goalie interference?