More history for Kunlun. Oktober 1 round-up

Spartak Moscow 0 Kunlun Red Star 1

A first ever KHL clean sheet, a first point for a Chinese-eligible player and a first victory west of the Urals added up to another historic day for Kunlun. Goalie Andrei Makarov earned his distinction the hard way, proving to be a truly great wall as he turned away 46 shots from Spartak on a frustrating day for the Moscow team.

And the Red-and-Whites were defeated by a goal midway through the second period from Max Warn, assisted by Chinese-Canadian dual-national Zach Yuen. That was a big moment for the defenseman, who was born in Vancouver to a Chinese family, as he became the first player eligible to represent China to tally a point for Kunlun.

And the goal was also enough to claim Kunlun’s second road win of the season – and its first outside of the Far East. The team’s previous success came at Amur Khabarovsk, on the Russian-Chinese border.

Mozyakin masterclass not enough for Magnitka

Metallurg Novokuznetsk 5 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 (SO)

Sometimes, not even a record-breaking forward is quite enough. The Metallurg derby between Novokuznetsk and Magnitogorsk ended in a surprise victory for the struggler from Siberia, despite three goals for Sergei Mozyakin.

The star forward uncharacteristically fluffed his attempt in the shoot-out, giving Nikita Yazkov the winning goal after an action-packed 4-4 tie. And that victory was the least Novokuznetsk deserved after taking the game to its illustrious namesake, only to see a 4-1 lead evaporate in the third period.

Artyom Mikheyev and Kirill Semyonov scored either side of the first intermission to put Kuznya in control. Even a Jan Kovar power play goal – assisted by Mozyakin – couldn’t slow the tide; Evgeny Solovyov and Timur Fatkullin extended the lead to 4-1.

But Magnitka fought back. Oskar Osala made it 4-2 in the 37th minute, then two goals in a minute saw Mozyakin make it 4-3 before setting up a second of the night for Kovar to tie it up on 53:30.

The recovery salvaged a point for the defending champion, but the shoot-out saw Magnitka’s five-game winning streak come to an unexpected end. Novokuznetsk picked up only its third victory of the campaign, ending an eight-game losing streak.

Around the league

Avangard welcomed Vladimir Sobotka back to the team with a 3-1 win over Traktor, snapping a three-game losing streak on home ice. The Czech forward didn’t get on the scoresheet this time, but saw Nikolai Lemtyugov and Denis Parshin open up a 2-0 lead for the host. Traktor got one back midway through the third period thanks to Alexander Sharov, but Maxim Pestushko wrapped it up with an empty-netter.

Two goals from Teemu Hartikainen lifted Salavat Yulaev to a 2-1 victory away at Sibir. The Finn struck in the 25th and 47th minutes, either side of Evgeny Artyukhin’s effort for the host.

Severstal took its winning streak to five games as Dynamo Moscow continues to struggle for form. Swedish defenseman Adam Masuhr opened the scoring for Severstal midway through the second period but Maxim Karpov levelled in the 45th minute. Dynamo’s joy was short-lived, though; Evgeny Mons grabbed the game-winner just 26 seconds later.