Ak Bars snaps losing streak, SKA wins clash of the leaders. October 19
After six straight defeats, a visit from in-form Metallurg probably wasn’t what Ak Bars wanted. However, an improved performance from Oleg Znarok’s men brought a much-needed victory thanks to Kristian Khenkel’s overtime goal. The two conference leaders met in St. Petersburg, and SKA got the better of Avtomobilist to remain way out in front. CSKA made it six wins from six with a comfortable success at home to Kunlun and Traktor added to Avangard’s problems with a 1-0 win in Chelyabinsk.
Proskuryakov blanks Avangard
Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 Avangard Omsk 0 (0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Traktor built on Monday’s impressive victory over Ak Bars to hand Avangard a third successive defeat. After parting company with former head coach Dmitry Ryabykin, the Hawks have continued to struggle. Interim coach Mikhail Kravets has lost three of his four games behind the bench.
The home team welcomed Adam Almquist back to the defense where he replaced Evgeny Kulik. Avangard reshuffled its line after losing 4-7 in Magnitogorsk last time out. Vladimir Tkachyov was scratched, while Slovak defenseman Kristian Jaros missed out due to injury.
When the teams met a month ago, the game got off to a slow start. It was a similar story this time, with no goals in the first period. However, Traktor came close to beating Stanislav Galimov, hitting the post in one incident, then seeing Damir Sharipzyanov’s last-gasp clearance prevent a certain goal.
At the other end, Reid Boucher, Corban Knight and Vladimir Zharkov each tested Ilya Proskuryakov but found the home goalie was on top of his game.
In the second period, the game grew ever more cautious. The main chances that emerged stemmed from individual errors as neither team was willing to throw caution to the wind and commit heavily to attack.
Things livened up in the third and the momentum frequently changed hands. However, the key moment came midway through the frame when Maxim Shabanov got into the danger zone, effortlessly rounded Anton Belov and fired home a wrister from the circle. Galimov was beaten, and a bench challenge for offside was thrown out.
Avangard faced a delay of game penalty that might have settled the outcome. However, Traktor was unable to turn two minutes of almost uninterrupted attacking play into a killer second goal. However, the Hawks were unable to find a tying goal in the closing stages and the home team moved back into the top eight in the East.
CSKA Moscow 5 Kunlun Red Star 1 (1-0, 1-0, 3-1)
CSKA got emphatic revenge after suffering two losses to the Dragons earlier this season. The teams’ third meeting, and their first in Moscow, brought a convincing home win. The defending champion silenced Brandon Yip’s hot streak and two goals from Darren Dietz paced the victory.
In the first period, Red Star made a lively start and matched the host early on. However, a roughing call on Ethan Werek undermined the visitor. Anton Slepyshev scored on the power play, and the last five minutes of the frame were all about the CSKA offense.
The middle frame followed a similar pattern. Red Star survived an early 3-on-5 PK then got on top, helped by a 5-on-3 power play of its own. However, in the 15th minute of the Garet Hunt took a roughing penalty and once again CSKA not only scored – this time through Dietz – but went on to control the play until the intermission.
This time, Sergei Fedorov’s team maintained its attacking intent after the break. Dietz extended the lead and, 23 seconds later, Yaroslav Dyblenko added a fourth to kill the game. In the previous encounters, Kunlun pulled off spectacular comebacks to force overtime and steal the win. Today, despite Devin Brosseau’s consolation goal, CSKA easily secured a sixth successive win and join Lokomotiv in a tie for third place. Vladislav Kamenev completed the scoring with his fourth goal in as many games.
SKA wins leadership battle
SKA St. Petersburg 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0)
In Petersburg, the two conference leaders went head-to-head for the first time this season. The two are also the leading scorers in the KHL so far, with the home team’s 68 goals just pipping the Motormen on 67.
However, while SKA’s march to the top of the West has been almost uninterrupted, Avtomobilist has not enjoyed comparable dominance in the East. Nikolai Zavarukhin’s men have dropped five verdicts from 19; SKA has only once failed to get at least one point from a game. Similarly, the home team allowed just 29 goals so far; the visiting defense leaked 49.
Goal number 50 didn’t take long to reach the Avto net. SKA began the game on the front foot and in the first minute forced an error out of Denis Barantsev. The defenseman recovered to stop Dmitrij Jaskin taking advantage, but the tone was set. In the third minute, an extended spell of pressure culminated in Alexander Nikishin firing home Emil Galimov’s feed to the blue line to give SKA the lead.
Gradually, though, the visitor came into the game. In the 13th minute, Patrice Cormier tied the scores when he touched home a Nikita Tryamkin blast.
However, SKA continued to look the more dangerous team and underlined the point at the start of the second period. Jaskin was denied an early goal in the first, but found the net in the 24th minute. Mikhail Vorobyov timed his pass to Marat Khusnutdinov perfectly, and when the youngster’s shot was blocked, Jaskin pounced on the rebound to restore the home lead.
Throughout the game, both teams played disciplined hockey, and it wasn’t until the 34th minute that Sergei Zborovsky took the first penalty of the evening. SKA could not convert that chance, but midway through the third period the home PP delivered. Vorobyov was the scorer, seizing a loose puck on the slot a firing home a deflected shot.
That put the game almost out of reach. Avtomobilist tried to find a way back, but even playing most of the last three minutes with an extra skater was not enough to disrupt SKA. Roman Rotenberg’s team extends its advantage at the top of the standings. The gap to Avtomobilist and Dynamo Moscow is now eight points.
Khenkel the hero as Ak Bars stops the rot
Ak Bars Kazan 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 OT (0-0, 1-1, 1-1, 1-0)
Defenseman Kristian Khenkel is rarely the stand-out figure on a stellar roster at Ak Bars. Today, though, the Belarusian D-man took top billing after his overtime goal ended the Kazan team’s six-game losing streak.
The goal came after three minutes of the extras. Alexander Burmistrov played the puck along the blue line and Khenkel stepped up from the point to launch a speculative shot that beat Eddie Pasquale at his near post. Pasquale, impressive under some intense pressure earlier in the game, could be forgiven for wanting that one back.
Amid Ak Bars’ run of defeats, the form of Vadim Shipachyov came under increased scrutiny. The KHL’s leading scorer in his last three seasons was held to just one assist in his last seven games.
Today, though, the 35-year-old center supercharged Kazan’s efforts from the off. In the first minute, he collected Ilya Safonov’s pass and fired in a testing shot that Pasquale did well to beat away with his blocker. Shortly afterwards, Shipachyov beat the Canadian, only for the post to deny him the opening goal. That summed up the opening frame. Ak Bars dominated play, Pasquale made 17 saves and there was no score at the first intermission.
Eventually, those missed chances caught up with the home team. Midway through the second period, Metallurg launched a counterattack and opened the scoring. Philippe Maillet’s stretch pass was the ideal launchpad for Brendan Leipsic’s pace and the Metallurg forward streaked away to beat Amir Miftakhov.
Shortly after getting in front, Magnitka had to kill a double penalty. After surviving that scare, the visitor remained under pressure and Ak Bars tied it up in the 38th minute. Nikita Yevseyev was credited with the goal after his powerful point shot bounced into the net off a Metallurg stick.
When Alexander Burmistrov put Ak Bars ahead for the first time in the 53rd minute, the home team hoped that its losing streak was coming to an end. However, after six defeats, any team is vulnerable. Metallurg sensed that the game wasn’t done and tensions among the Kazan players saw Kirill Semyonov take a penalty on the O-zone. That misjudgement proved costly. Nikolai Goldobin got the tying goal, sending the puck back to Yegor Yakovlev on the blue line and collecting a return pass when the home defense was expecting a shot. Wrong-footed, the Ak Bars players allowed Goldobin a shooting line and he fired home the tying goal.
Suddenly, Ak Bars was in danger of slipping to an unprecedented seventh successive loss. However, Khenkel’s overtime goal ended the skid and delivered a much-needed boost to Oleg Znarok’s team.
