Slovan surprises high-flying Jokerit

Slovan denied Jokerit the chance to move up to second place in the Western Conference with an impressive 6-2 win in Bratislava.

The host came into the game on a run of two wins on home ice and wasted little time in seizing the initiative here. Ziga Jeglic opened the scoring after just 46 seconds, stripping Topi Jaakola of the pick on the blue line and skating through unimpeded to beat Riku Helenius.

Six minutes later it was 2-0 thanks to Tomas Netik and the score stayed that way until the intermission.

In the middle session Jokerit made it more of a contest with goals from Ryan Gunderson and Tomi Maki, but Slovan never allowed the visitor to get back on level terms as Tomas Starosta and Milan Bartovic kept the Finns at arm’s length.

The third period saw Michal Vondrka and Vaclav Nedorost stretch that lead further as the KHL headed into the international break with a memorable night for Slovan and an evening to forget for Jokerit.