Dynamo wins Moscow derby, Miroshnichenko opens KHL account. December 26
Monday’s big game came in Moscow, where Dynamo won at CSKA to move level on points with the defending champion. It was also a big day for young Ivan Mironishchenko, who scored his first goal in the KHL to help Avangard beat Barys 5-2. There were high-scoring encounters at Kunlun, where Torpedo won 7-3, and Dinamo Minsk, where Neftehimik prevailed 7-4. The most exciting action of the day was in the South Urals, where Metallurg and Traktor shared a 4-4 tie before the visitor took a shoot-out verdict. Salavat Yulaev handed a fourth straight loss to Avtomobilist and Lokomotiv edged Spartak thanks to a double from Stepan Nikulin.
Mironishchenko gets his first goal
Avangard Omsk 5 Barys Astana 2 (2-1, 1-1, 2-0)
This was a meeting of two teams in good form, and both sides began with some open hockey. The puck rarely got bogged down in center ice and both goalies had plenty of shots to contend with during the early exchanges. Goals soon followed, with Nikita Mikhailov giving the home team the lead, only for a defense-splitting pass from Nikita Mikhailis to set up Linden Vey for an equalizer.
Next came a big moment. Ivan Miroshnichenko, only recently given the all-clear to resume playing after serious illness, burst through to convert a one-on-one chance and restore Avangard’s lead. That was the youngster’s first KHL goal, underlining his status as a bright prospect.
Avangard took a lead into the first break, but Barys tied it up again at the start of the second. Yegor Petukhov produced something of a Christmas cracker, claiming his second ‘lacrosse’ goal of the season.
For a time, the game settled down. Barys began to play more defensively, and Avangard struggled to find a way through the visitor’s ranks. However, midway through the second period, Sergei Tolchinsky earned the Hawks their first power play of the game. The same player went on to take advantage, converting the PP to restore the home lead.
This time, Barys was unable to come back. Instead, Avangard managed to increase the pressure and doubled its lead early in the third period thanks to Alexander Dergachyov’s close-range finish. And the final word when to Alex Broadhurst, whose empty net goal moved him to three goals in his last three games and sealed a fourth straight win for his team.
Traktor grabs thrilling win
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 SO (2-1, 1-1, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1)
This game marked Alexander Burmistrov’s debut for Metallurg after his recent move from Ak Bars. He slotted in as center on the fourth line for Ilya Vorobyov’s team
The game also formed the backdrop to the 67th anniversary celebrations for the home team. However, it was a big day for the visitor, too. Traktor has struggled this season. The club has recruited new personnel in recent days and was looking for a big performance in this local derby to help lift the team back towards the playoff places. However, the visitor would need to improve on its three previous losses to Magnitka.
The game turned into a high-scoring affair. In the first period, the teams exchanged goals in the space of 30 seconds. Josh Currie’s screen enabled Andrei Chibisov to open the scoring for Metallurg right before Teemu Pulkkinen tied it up for the visitor. However, it was the Steelmen who took the lead into the intermission, with Denis Zernov emerging from the box to make it 2-1 in the 13th minute.
In the second period, Metallurg increased its lead when Philippe Maillet set up Nikolai Goldobin in front of the net. Indeed, the home team might have scored more in an impressive performance in the middle frame. However, some stiff resistance from Kirill Ustimenko on his KHL debut kept Traktor alive and, late in the frame, Pulkkinen got his second of the game, this time on the power play.
The visitor’s PP played a big part in the third period as well. A shot looped up off Sergei Kalinin’s shoulder and dropped beyond Eddie Pasquale to tie the scores. Soon afterwards, Nikita Soshnikov gave Traktor its first lead of the game, continuing his effective start to life in Chelyabinsk. At the other end, Kodie Curran maintained his scoring run to tie it at 4-4 and send the game to the full distance.
Overtime could not separate the teams, although Metallurg finished the extras on the power play after Soshnikov took a double minor for high sticking. In the shoot-out, Traktor swapped in experienced goalie Ilya Proskuryakov, and that decision paid off. He made the necessary saves while, at the other end, two successful attempts from Maxim Shabanov gave the visitor an urgently-needed win.
Motormen continue to struggle
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 OT (1-0, 1-1, 0-1, 1-0)
Avtomobilist’s uncertain form since the international break continues. Today, the Eastern Conference leader went to overtime against Salavat Yulaev, but could not escape a fourth straight loss.
In response to the team’s poor form, Avto’s coaching staff made the decision to scratch two key centers. Neither Stephane Da Costa, currently the KHL’s leading scorer, nor Patrice Cormier, made today’s team.
The opening goal came midway through the first period. Salavat Yulaev quickly turned defense into offense and Grigory Panin’s pass released Danil Bashkirov to make it 1-0. It wasn’t until after the intermission that Avtomobilist found a reply, winning the puck in center ice before Sergei Shirokov’s pass down the left set up Anatoly Golyshev for 1-1. Almost immediately, Ufa was close to restoring its lead, but Alexander Chmelevski’s attempt hit the post.
The home team regained its lead late in the second period through Stepan Sannikov, but could not go on to win the game from there. Shirokov was close to tying the game at the start of the third – it took a big save from Ilya Ezhov to keep it at 2-1. Avtomobilist dominated the third, outshooting Ufa 12-3, but had to wait until late in the game before tying the scores. Shirokov got the key goal, forcing overtime with 1:20 left to play.
The extras, however, were brief. Sergei Shmelyov potted the winner for the home team after just 19 seconds as the Motormen continue to splutter.
Kruchinin’s hat-trick downs Dragons
Kunlun Red Star 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 7 (1-2, 1-2, 1-3)
Alexei Kruchinin hit a hat-trick as Torpedo enjoyed another convincing victory over Kunlun. It’s the fourth time this season that Igor Larionov’s team has defeated the KHL’s Chinese franchise, and this win followed a 5-0 success in Mytishchi earlier in the campaign.
Torpedo got off to a good start, with Mikhail Orlov opening the scoring midway through the first period and Denis Yan doubling that lead. However, Red Star is on an improved run of form recently, and responded to tie the game. Tomas Jurco scored two goals either side of the first intermission to keep the game very much alive.
Subsequently, though, this turned into Kruchinin’s day. He restored Torpedo’s lead midway through the second period before Kirill Voronin made it 4-2. Kunlun hit back early in the third thanks to Devin Brosseau’s short-handed tally, but that was as good as it got for the home team.
Alexander Daryin added a fifth in the 53rd minute, effectively taking the game out of Red Star’s reach. And Kruchinin, who once played for KRS, finished the job with two more goals in the closing minutes to complete his hat-trick and record a fifth straight victory for Torpedo.
Valuable victory lifts Vityaz over Severstal
Severstal Cherepovets 1 Vityaz Moscow Region 4 (1-1, 0-1, 0-2)
After back-to-back wins, Severstal had hopes of breaking into the top eight with victory here. However, Vityaz is also battling hard for a playoff spot and snapped its three-game losing streak to earn itself a little breathing space in the race for post season.
Severstal came into the game full of confidence, with Swedish defenseman Robin Press instrumental in his team’s recent good results. He scored for the third game in a row to open the scoring in the fifth minute as the Steelmen converted the first power play of the game.
However, that failed to usher in a repeat of Severstal’s encouraging recent performances. Instead, Vityaz tied the game midway through the first period thanks to Ivan Zinchenko. And the visitor went on to build on that, moving ahead early in the second period.
The game was something of a clash of styles. Severstal enjoyed substantially more attacking possession, but did not turn that into a big advantage in terms of shots on goal. Instead, the home team was apparently looking to carve out perfect chances, while Vityaz was more willing to fire pucks at the net and see what happened. It wasn’t until the third period that the home team began to strongly outshoot its visitor, and by then Vityaz was ready to dig in and defend its lead. Late in the play, Severstal allowed two empty net goals as it tried desperately to get back into the game. Stepan Starkov and Scott Wilson lifted Vityaz to a morale-boosting victory. The Moscow Region team is now four points clear of its closest rivals for a playoff berth.
Bison slip to heavy loss
Dinamo Minsk 4 Neftekhimik NIzhnekamsk 7 (2-1, 2-3, 0-3)
Dinamo slipped to a sixth successive loss after blowing a 4-2 lead here and collapsing in the second part of this game. Neftekhimik ran in five unanswered goals after Vitaly Pinchuk’s 29th-minute tally seemed to put Minsk in control. The fightback snaps a three-game skid for the visitor and puts it within two points of a playoff spot in a tightly-contested Eastern Conference.
However, this was not plain sailing for Neftekhimik. Starting goalie Alexander Sudnitsin lasted less than 10 minutes. He allowed a couple of quick goals from Brandon Kozun and Dmitry Korobov as Dinamo recovered from falling behind early. Inbound netminder Andrei Tikhomirov was beaten by Pavel Varfolomeyev and Pinchuk, but eventually proved a strong barrier.
At the other end, Neftekhimik’s forwards steadily reeled in the deficit. Anthony Camara scored twice, then Ilya Fedotov matched that to open a 6-4 lead. Vyacheslav Leshchenko’s empty net goal sealed a high-scoring win.
Nikulin leads Loko to victory
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Spartak Moscow 1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0)
Stepan Nikulin is widely discussed as a potential rookie of the year, and he did his chances no harm with two goals to defeat Spartak. In doing so, he helped the Railwaymen improve to six straight victories, tightening their grip on second place in the West.
Many of those recent wins were backstopped by Daniil Isayev but today Loko went with Ivan Bocharov in goal. Alexei Marchenko returned to the team and wore the ‘C’ once again, while defenseman Daniil Misyul unexpectedly featured as a fourth-line forward.
Nikulin got the opening goal in the fifth minute, converting a great pass from Denis Alexeyev. However, that did not usher in a game full of scoring chances: quite the contrary, the two goalies were virtual spectators for much of the first period.
Early in the second period, Loko stepped up its game. Now Alexei Krasikov had to be at his best to deny the home team, only for an unexpected counterattack to tie the scores. Danila Kvartalnov picked out German Rubtsov and the youngster got his first of the season to make it 1-1.
However, while Spartak’s youngsters have enjoyed a greater role on the team since Igor Grishin took over as head coach, Loko’s prospects have a solid reputation throughout the club. And Nikulin underlined his growing props when he potted the winner after 45 minutes.
Derby joy for Dynamo
CSKA Moscow 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)
This Moscow derby marked CSKA’s 1,000th game in the KHL, but it was not the celebration the home team had hoped for. From the opening seconds, Dynamo showed that it was here to crash the party, and Alexei Kudashov’s team left with a hard-fought victory.
CSKA handed a debut to Slovak defenseman Christian Jaros, recently signed from Avangard. Unfortunately, he took a penalty in the opening moments and Alexander Skorenov struck on the power play to give the Blue-and-Whites the early lead. That advantage remained until the first intermission, with Dynamo enjoying a strong lead on the stats after getting two further power play chances in the first period.
Early in the second period, Dynamo increased its lead with a goal similar to the opener. Andrei Mironov thumped in a point shot and this time Jakob Lilja made the redirect on the slot. The only difference was that the teams were at equal strength.
Finally, CSKA responded with an attacking threat of its own and Sergei Plotnikov halved the deficit just 30 seconds later. Subsequently, the home team had the initiative for long periods but could not parlay that into any more goals. Dynamo was largely content to defend what it had, resorting to increasingly rare counterattacks rather than trying to go toe-to-toe with its opponent.
While Kudashov’s tactics may have been unspectacular, they were undeniably effective. CSKA was unable to find its way back into the game and Dynamo finished with a fifth successive victory. The two Moscow teams are tied on 57 points, and Torpedo joins them in a three-way battle for third place.
