Galimov blanks Admiral, Kulda wins it for Red Star. December 22 round-up

Galimov claims second successive shut-out

Admiral Vladivostok 0 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 (0-1, 0-1, 0-0)

Torpedo stretched its winning run to five games after recording a second successive shut-out victory on its Far East tour.

Peteris Skudra’s team enjoyed the same winning margin as it had in Shanghai on Wednesday, with Stanislav Galimov making 32 saves. The goalie is now unbeaten in 140:40 since Jesse Joensuu scored on him for Jokerit before the international break. At the other end, goals from Denis Parshin and Denis Barantsev set Torpedo on course for success.

Admiral went into the game without several big players: goalie Ivan Nalimov, D-man Oscars Bartulis and forwards Pavel Makarenko, Dmitry Sayustov and Vladimir Tkachyov all left the club. With Admiral’s prospects of reaching the playoffs remaining merely theoretical, the move frees up cash from the club’s budget and gives the players a chance to seek a move to a team looking for reinforcements ahead of the post-season.

Kulda’s first goal gives Kunlun the win

Kunlun Red Star 2 Severstal Cherepovets 1 OT (0-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)

Arturs Kulda got his first goal of the season to hand Red Star an overtime victory against Severstal. The Latvian defenseman, who is in his first season with the Chinese club, snapped a 1-1 tie when he shot from the point surprised visiting goalie Julius Hudacek 108 seconds into the extras.

Earlier in the game, Finnish forward Jaakko Rissanen potted his first goal for Kunlun following his recent move from Vityaz. That tied the scores at 1-1 after Daniil Vovchenko put the visitor ahead on the power play in the second minute.

Defeat for Severstal dampens the Steelmen’s hopes of reaching the playoffs. The team remains in ninth place in the Western Conference, but failed to return to the top eight despite picking up a point on Friday. Red Star is now 11 points adrift of eighth place in the East.