Wins for conference leaders. October 16 round-up

Both Traktor and Lokomotiv picked up victories to consolidate their positions at the top of the Eastern and Western Conferences respectively. Traktor defeated Ak Bars 3-1, with Vitaly Kravtsov scoring twice. Loko won 5-1 at Kunlun, helped by two goals from Byron Froese. In Wednesday’s other game, Salavat Yulaev edged Barys 3-2.

Suchkov’s shorty sinks Barys

Barys Astana 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (1-1, 1-2, 0-0)

After snapping its losing streak with a 1-0 win over Avangard in the previous game, Barys continued to tweak its line-up. Notably, Chase DeLeo, recently placed on waivers, got another chance to prove his worth to head coach Vyacheslav Butsayev. This time he joined Mike McLeod and Nikita Setdikov on the first line. Ruslan Oslanov came in for the injured Maxim Mukhametov.

The visitor, beaten in three of its last four games, also made changes. Regular starting goalie Alexander Samonov was nowhere to be seen, with 21-year-old Semyon Vyazovoi backed up by Dmitry Braginsky. Alexander Sharov’s line was elevated to the top of the roster and Pyotr Khokhryakov took Matvei Guskov’s place in the fourth line.

Barys started well, and a highly-motivated DeLeo tested Vyazovoi in the first minute. In response, Salavat Yulaev looked to play a possession game and enjoyed plenty of time with the puck. However, in the 13th minute the home team got ahead through Kirill Panyukov. Setdikov almost followed that with a power play goal, but Vyazovoi read his redirect from DeLeo’s shot. And, before the intermission, the visitor was level when Sheldon Rempal went behind the net to set up Alexander Chmelevski.

In the second period, Barys again started well. However, the Kazakhs’ progress was undermined by a penalty on Damir Zhafyarov and Nathan Todd converted the power play, albeit in unusual fashion with a solo run from close to his own net.

That lead didn’t last long: Alikhan Omirbekov tied the game on a delayed penalty. And special teams continued to shape the game. A few shifts later, Ufa captain Grigory Panin went to the box, only for Yegor Suchkov to strip Alex Grant of the puck and pot a short-handed tally.

In the final frame, Sharov was close to extending Salavat’s lead, only to be denied by a memorable save from Nikita Boyarkin. In the closing stages, Barys saw its chances of a late surge undermined when Nathan Beaulieu took a penalty and robbed the home team of momentum at a crucial stage.

Kravtsov double helps Traktor bounce back

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (0-0, 2-0, 1-1)

Eastern Conference leader Traktor had a point to prove after slipping to defeat at home to out-of-form Avangard in its previous game. Ak Bars, meanwhile, had snapped a three-game skid in some style with an emphatic 5-0 win at defending champion Metallurg. However, Wednesday’s match-up went the way of the home team as Anvar Gatiyatulin made an unhappy return to his former club.

Gatiyatulin was without Alexander Barabanov for the first time this season. His place went to Yegor Korshkov, while Traktor brought forwards Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Andrei Svetlakov back into the team.

The first period finished goalless, but it took a great save from Zach Fucale to deny Nikita Lyamkin an early Ak Bars goal. The visitor generally bossed the opening frame, outshooting Traktor by an impressive 18-2 and forcing the home team to block a further 10 efforts. Fucale did well to keep the scoreboard blank, while Ak Bars suffered a blow when Nic Petan left the game with an injury.

Where Ak Bars was let down by its finishing, Traktor raised its game in the second period and got ahead. Charles Robinson broke the deadlock with a neat spot of puck-juggling to get past two defenseman before batting it into Timur Bilyalov’s net. Then, not long before the intermission, Vitaly Kravtsov doubled the lead when he finished a neat combination.

In the final frame, Kravtsov got his second of the night, this time on the power play, to take the game away from Ak Bars. The visitor eventually managed to solve Fucale: Kirill Krutov got a consolation goal in the 52nd minute. But the closing stages were marked by solid Traktor defense as Benoit Groulx’s team moved four points clear at the top of the conference.

Loko eases past Dragons

Kunlun Red Star 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 5 (0-2, 1-2, 0-1)

A week ago, the Dragons were within minutes of winning in Yaroslavl. It took a late tying goal to save the league leader and set up an OT verdict. Today, things were rather more straightforward for Igor Nikitin’s team.

Red Star continued with Kyle Keyser in goal after his shut-out at Severstal on Friday. That game included a save that topped the KHL’s weekly charts and the 25-year-old American produced another highlight reel moment here with a stunning stick save to deny Georgy Ivanov late in the first period.

By then, however, he had already been beaten twice. Byron Froese opened the scoring in the 17th minute, putting away the rebound from a Daniil But shot. Then Artur Kayumov dished off the puck for Maxim Beryozkin to double the lead before the intermission.

Early in the third But added a goal to his assist and Lokomotiv had a commanding 3-0 lead. After such a tough battle last time the teams met, this game felt more like the visitor’s comfortable 6-2 win on its previous trip to Mytishchi. When Froese got his second of the game on the power play midway through the middle frame, it merely underlined Loko’s dominance. By that stage, KRS had just one shot on goal in the second period.

The Dragons managed a consolation effort late in the middle frame, Jayden Halbgewachs scoring his second in successive games. But there was never much doubt about the outcome. Lokomotiv wrapped up the win with a short-handed goal from Denis Alexeyev late in the third, capitalizing on an error from Danny O’Regan.