The late show. December 21 round-up
The day’s big games were decided on goals in the final moments. CSKA snatched a 2-1 win at SKA thanks to a 58th-minute strike from Pavel Karnaukhov. However, Lokomotiv left it even later to beat Ak Bars on a last-minute effort from Stepan Nikulin. Elsewhere, Sibir handed Eastern Conference leader Avtomobilist a heavy loss and Metallurg closed the gap after edging Admiral. Amur stunned Salavat Yulaev with a 5-1 victory in Ufa, Avangard won 3-1 at Barys and Western Conference playoff chasers Severstal and Kunlun Red Star picked up narrow wins over Sochi and Neftekhimik respectively.
Avangard on top in Kazakhstan
Barys Astana 1 Avangard Omsk 3 (1-1, 0-1, 0-1)
The last time these teams met, Avangard powered to a 6-0 victory, with five of the goals coming from Tkachyov – Knight – Boucher line. Since then, Barys has added Alex Grant to its defense and finally sealed the arrival of Michael Chaput to reinforce the offense. Chaput got his first goals in the KHL on Monday.
Avangard, too, has made changes. Forward Vladimir Bryukvin was traded to CSKA, with Bogdan Kiselevich coming the other way. The defenseman made his Hawks debut today, pairing with Alexei Bereglazov. Goalie Alexei Melnichuk has also joined Avangard, but the deal was confirmed just hours before this game.
Kiselevich did not enjoy the happiest of starts to his Avangard career. He took a penalty in the first period after fouling Linden Vey and then was partly to blame for the opening goal when Arkady Shestakov managed to squeeze home a shot from beyond the goal line. It fell to another defenseman, Damir Sharipzyanov, to tie the game 20 seconds before the first intermission.
That goal changed the path of the game. In the second period, Avangard enjoyed a significant lead on the shot count and converted that into a second goal, scored by Alex Broadhurst. Barys had a small territorial advantage but struggled to seriously test Vasily Demchenko in the visitor’s net.
The third period saw little change. Avangard was not content to sit back and protect its lead, while Barys struggled to generate much offense until the closing stages. A penalty on Arseny Gritsyuk increased the pressure on Demchenko and his colleagues, with Barys playing six-on-four in a bid to get back into the game. However, Omsk held on and Sergei Tolchinsky’s empty netter wrapped up the win.
Big loss for Motormen
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0 Sibir Novosibirsk 4 (0-1, 0-1, 0-2)
Monday’s loss to Admiral was a disappointing performance from Avtomobilist. Today’s heavy reverse against Sibir, a team that arrived on a three-game losing streak, was a further blow for the Eastern Conference leader.
Much of the early exchanges were cautious, and although the home team had more of the puck it was unable to do much with it for long periods. Many of the weaknesses of Monday’s game were visible once again, although things may have been different if Anatoly Golyshev had shot inside the post when presented with a great chance on the counterattack. Sibir rarely got to spend much time in Avtomobilist territory, but when it did, Alexander Sharov set up Vladimir Butuzov for the opening goal. Late in the first period, Denis Kostin pulled off a fantastic save to deny Avto a power play goal
Home goalie Johan Mattsson did not reappear after the first intermission, with Igor Bobkov taking his place. He found himself in a crazy game of fast-paced counterattacks. Avtomobilist had the better chances but could not take advantage of frequent weaknesses in Sibir’s transition game. The visitor also had its chances and eventually managed to snatch a second goal from the on-going chaos when Nikita Korotkov made a trademark rush down the wing.
Against Admiral, the Motormen produced two below-par periods then rallied in the third before losing 2-3. Today, there was a livelier press from the home team at the start of the final frame, but no meaningful fightback. Instead, Sibir was able to run down the clock before adding to its lead when Trevor Murphy fired in a third goal. The host’s day was summed up by Viktor Neuchev’s ‘goal’ five minutes from the end, ruled out due to a kick, and Michal Cajkovsky had the final word with an empty net goal at the other end.
Zernov’s late strike gives Magnitka the edge
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (1-1, 1-0, 1-1)
Admiral defeated conference leader Avtomobilist on Monday and travelled to second placed Metallurg looking for a similar result. The home team went in for some substantial rotation, with Vasily Koshechkin taking the starting role in goal and four other new faces compared with Monday’s win over Amur. They included 18-year-old Kirill Zhukov, making his KHL debut.
Magnitka’s head coach Ilya Vorobyov also persevered with the idea of playing Nikolai Goldobin alongside imports Philippe Maillet and Brendan Leipsic. Against Amur, that line was introduced in the third period and changed the game. Today, they played together from the start and duly conjured the first goal for the home team. Goldobin released Leipsic into center ice and he exchanged passes with Maillet before opening the scoring. Admiral responded in the 13th minute, when a neat piece of skill from Nikolai Chebykin set up Anton Berlyov for the tying goal.
The scores remained tied until late in the second period. Then Maxim Karpov restored Metallurg’s lead when he broke down the wing and beat Alexander Lazushin on the blocker side. A minute later, Goldobin thought he had a third goal, but after the on-ice officials awarded the marker, a video review called it back: the replay showed that the puck hit the piping, not the back of the net.
That kept Admiral in the game, and Michal Kristof set up a tense finale when he tied the scores in the 49th minute. However, Metallurg would not be denied. Denis Zernov sealed a home win three minutes from time when he potted his tenth goal of the season.
Lee stars in Amur’s big win
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 Amur Khabarovsk 5 (0-1, 1-3, 0-1)
Canadian defenseman Cam Lee was the star man as Amur overpowered Salavat Yulaev to return to the top eight in the East. The former Penguins prospect scored two, had an assist and completed a Gordie Howe hat-trick with a third-period skirmish against Ivan Drozdov to conclude a lively evening’s work in Ufa.
From the early stages of this game, the Tigers made it clear that they had no interest in allowing Salavat Yulaev the opportunity to exploit its greater skill level. Hard work all over the ice got its reward in the eighth minute when Stanislav Bocharov – who only recently moved from Ufa to Khabarovsk – set up Lee for the opening goal.
When Drozdov tied the game in the second period, many thought that Salavat Yulaev would go on to win. Amur, however, had other ideas. Artur Gizdatullin quickly restored the visitor’s lead and, by the end of the middle frame, the advantage was up to 4-1. Defensive errors contributed to the home side’s downfall. First, Lee completed his double to chase starting goalie Andrei Kareyev from the net. Then Alexander Sharov beat Ilya Ezhov to make it four.
Ufa battled hard to get back into the game but found no way past Janis Kalnins in the Amur net. The Lee – Dronov fight was the most memorable interlude of the third period before Yaroslav Likhachyov added a fifth goal to complete a great win for the Tigers.
Leslie stars in Red Star success
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Kunlun Red Star 3 SO (1-0, 0-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Kunlun kept its hopes of getting into the Western Conference playoff picture alive with a shoot-out win in Nizhnekamsk. Greg Ireland’s team is still eight points adrift of the top eight, but can take confidence from a second victory in three games.
Neftekhimik took the lead midway through the first period thanks to Ansel Galimov. The home team limited the Dragons to less than two minutes of offensive possession in the opening frame and little difficulty preserving its advantage to the first break. However, given the steady string of KRS penalties in the session, the Wolves may feel that they should have taken a bigger lead.
Midway through the second, Tomas Jurco underlined that point when he tied the game. The Slovak international got his first goal since joining Red Star thanks to something close to a no-look pass. Zac Leslie’s point shot got caught up in traffic, Jurco had his back to goal looked to slide the puck across the danger zone and celebrated as it slipped into the far corner of the net.
The second period ended in controversy. Neftekhimik’s Andrei Chivilyov laid a heavy hit on Jack Rodewald, prompting Jake Chelios to go in search of justice for his colleague. Once recovered, Rodewald also got involved in a skirmish with Mikhail Nazarov to ensure the penalty boxes were full at the intermission.
Early in the third, Kunlun got in front for the first time in the game. Leslie was the scorer, but this was not a typical goal for a defenseman. Although there was a shot from long range, it came from Kyle Wood; Leslie had already advanced to a position from where he could redirect the puck past Andrei Tikhomirov. The equalizer came midway through the third when Bulat Shafigullin grabbed a shorthanded goal to take us into overtime.
The extras could not produce a winner, but Red Star was sharper in the shoot-out. Jeremy Smith, playing his 100th KHL game, allowed just one goal in the shoot-out; Leslie was credited with the decisive attempt as the Dragons defeated Neftekhimik for the third time this season.
Sochi comes up short as losing streak continues
Severstal Cherepovets 2 HC Sochi 1 OT (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0)
Severstal left it late to overcome struggling Sochi and move to within two points of a playoff spot. Andrei Razin’s team stays ninth in the table, but can celebrate only a second victory in seven games. Sochi, meanwhile, sees its latest losing streak extend to 12 outings since an OT win in Ufa on Nov. 15.
However, Sergei Svetlov’s men were close to snapping that unhappy run. With neither team in great form, it took time for the first goal to arrive. When it came, Sochi’s 20-year-old Dmitry Utkin was the scorer. That was only his second KHL goal following his elevation to Sochi’s senior team in recent weeks.
At the other end, Severstal regularly created chances but struggled to find a way past another youngster, Artemy Pleshkov. However, his resistance came to an end in the 57th minute when Robin Press hit the target to force overtime. In the extras, a penalty on Andrei Altybarmakyan gave Severstal the edge and Daniil Vovchenko grabbed a power play goal to take the win.
Late strike lifts Loko past Ak Bars
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (1-0, 0-0, 1-1)
A last-minute goal from Stepan Nikulin gave Lokomotiv a tight verdict over Ak Bars. The dramatic finish handed Ak Bars only a second defeat under the interim guidance of Yury Babenko, who took over behind the bench after Oleg Znarok quit his post at the start of the month. Znarok’s last game in charge of Ak Bars was a 3-2 win at home to Lokomotiv, and today’s game continued this season’s tradition of memorable encounters between these teams.
Lokomotiv has no such concerns over its coaching staff and Igor Nikitin recently extended his contract in Yaroslavl. Today, his team was out to prove a point after that loss in Kazan and the Railwaymen made a bright start. The first period stats all pointed to home dominance, and Loko got ahead in the 12th minute. Young defenseman Alexei Kozhevnikov was the scorer, firing home after great work from Pavel Kraskovsky to open up the Kazan net.
However, Lokomotiv was unable to build on that good start. Ak Bars tightened up defensively and in the second period the teams had just seven shots on goal between them. Gradually, the visitor was coming into the game more and at the start of the third Nikita Dynyak tied the scores after Dmitry Katelevsky won an attacking face-off.
It wasn’t until late in the third that Lokomotiv managed to start generating offense again. A high-sticking call on Dmitry Voronkov in the closing stages opened the door for the home team. Ak Bars killed that penalty, albeit with a couple of big scares, but in the final minute Loko grabbed the winner. It started with Sergei Alexeyev forcing a turnover on his own blue line. From there, he orchestrated a two-on-one break that ended when his pass picked out Nikulin for the winning goal.
Torpedo too strong for Vityaz
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 Vityaz Moscow Region 0 (1-0, 2-0, 1-0)
Torpedo tightened its grip on a top-four position in the West after recording a third successive victory. Vityaz, meanwhile, slips to back-to-back losses since the international break and may be looking anxiously over its shoulder. The Moscow Region team is just four points clear of ninth-placed Severstal, having played a game more.
The home power play did the initial damage in this game. Torpedo converted the first Vityaz penalty when Vladislav Firstov found the net in the ninth minute. Firstov, 21, is currently on loan at Torpedo from the NHL’s Wild. This was his second KHL goal in a career largely spent in North America to date.
One goal up at the first intermission, the home team doubled its lead with its second PP of the game. This time, Sergei Goncharuk was the scorer while Igor Larionov Jr collected his 20th assist of the season. Shortly after the midway stage, Yegor Vinogradov made it 3-0 and effectively ended the contest.
Firstov got a third-period helper as Denis Yan made it 4-0. That completed the scoring as Torpedo sealed a comfortable win. Ivan Kulbakov made 33 saves for his shut-out.
Karnaukhov shoots down SKA
SKA St. Petersburg 1 CSKA Moscow 2 (0-0, 0-1, 1-1)
Table-topping SKA suffered a rare loss, going down at home to the defending champion. CSKA snapped its opponent’s seven-game winning streak and defeated its opponent at the third time of asking this season. The Muscovites remain third in the West, one point shy of Lokomotiv, but Sergei Fedorov’s team has two games in hand on the Railwaymen.
There were no goals in the first period, but plenty of scoring chances. In the second minute, Valentin Zykov emerged from behind the net to set up Vladislav Tsitsyura, but Alexander Sharychenkov saved the visitor. Soon after, a home power saw Nikita Gusev cause problems before Alexander Volkov hit the piping and late in the frame, Marat Khairullin stormed through the CSKA defense only to be denied by Sharychenkov.
After all that pressure, the visitor could count itself fortunate to be level at the break. However, SKA continued to press in the second period, only for CSKA to grab the opening goal. A turnover in center ice saw the Muscovites launch a counter attack and Vladislav Kamenev made it 1-0 after trading passes with Karnaukhov.
Early in the third, CSKA came close to extending its lead with a couple of shorthanded chances, but SKA managed to tie the scores in the 45th minute. Zykov was the scorer. Earlier in the game he had caused problems when he brought the puck out from behind the net; this time he surprised everyone with a shot from behind Sharychenkov’s back that ricocheted off the goalie and found the target.
However, SKA was unable to maintain the same level of attacking pressure it had created earlier in the game, and not even a power play could give CSKA significant problems. The winning goal came in the 58th minute, and it went to the visitor. Artyom Sergeyev’s shot was deflected behind the net, but Karnaukhov got the loose puck and scored on the wraparound to stun the home crowd and snatch a dramatic win for his team.
