Dynamo downed by Sibir

Sibir Novosibirsk ended Dynamo Moscow’s winning run – and took a share of the lead in the Eastern Conference as a reward after Nikita Zaitsev’s overtime goal broke a 2-2 tie.

It had looked like Dynamo would extend its streak to nine wins after Mikhail Anisin opened the scoring in the fifth minute, firing home from a tight angle after Marek Kvapil’s work behind the red line found Konstantin Gorovikov on the slot. That lead lasted until deep into the third period, thanks partly to Alexei Volkov’s save from a Jori Lehtera penalty shot, but the final minutes turned the game on its head in dramatic style.

Sibir struck twice in three minutes to grab the lead with barely four to play: Lehtera atoning for his miss to shoot home the go-ahead goal on 55:35. But with 57:55 on the clock, Dmitry Pestunov tied it up again to force overtime and keep Dynamo’s run alive – briefly. But on 62:41 Zaitsev (pictured), a defenseman still two weeks shy of his 21st birthday, grabbed the winner to shock Luzhniki and confirm the improvement in this season’s Sibir squad.

Seven up for SKA
SKA St. Petersburg made it five wins from five with a comfortable 7-3 success over Amur Khabarovsk. The home side blasted into a 2-0 lead by 3:08 and never let that stranglehold slip. Petr Prucha led the way with two goals, Tony Martensson and Igor Makarov returned 1+1. Jakub Petruzalek scored twice for Amur.