SKA hits nine past Traktor. January 4 round-up

There was little doubt about the performance of the day: table-topping SKA roared to a 9-3 victory at Traktor, with Dmitrij Jaskin’s hat-trick leading the way. Salavat Yulaev edged a 2-1 win over Lokomotiv, Ak Bars took an OT verdict at home to Severstal and Neftekhimik kept its playoff push alive with a 3-2 win against Spartak.

Ufa on top in game of PP goals

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 (0-1, 1-0, 1-0)

The home team shrugged off something of an injury crisis to secure an important victory at home to Western Conference high-flyer Lokomotiv. Viktor Kozlov was unable to rotate his roster due to a lack of available alternatives, but his players battled through to claim the win in their first game of 2023.

Salavat Yulaev made a lively start to the game and had visiting goalie Daniil Isayev under pressure from the start. Lokomotiv was forced onto the back foot and had to rely on counterattacks to generate occasional chances. However, Ufa was unable to convert its opportunities and, after taking a penalty in the last minute of the first period, the home team fell behind. Andrei Sergeyev pinged in a wrister and Ivan Chekhovich redirected the puck past Ilya Ezhov to open the scoring. Chekhovich’s goal came on his birthday.

The birthday boy was close to another goal in the second period. He shot at what seemed to be an open net, only for defenseman Sergei Varlov to get back and pull off a spectacular goal-line stop. In the spirit of the first period, after one side failed to take its chances, the other found the net on a late power play. Salavat Yulaev got a 5-on-3 advantage and Mikhail Naumenkov tied the scores.

Early in the third, Alexander Kadeikin hit the piping for the home team. That chance came on the power play, and the Railwaymen increasingly found themselves in trouble with the officials. Ultimately, that decided the game. One more power play saw Alexander Chmelevski shoot home the winning goal, giving Salavat Yulaev the verdict despite a late surge from Lokomotiv.

Photoalbum

Jaskin treble leads SKA rout

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 SKA St. Petersburg 9 (0-3, 2-3, 1-3)

Traktor finished 2022 strongly, but the opening game of the new year in Chelyabinsk was one to forget for the locals. SKA ran riot on the road, scoring nine goals on its host and handing Traktor an unwanted record for the most goals allowed in a single KHL game.

This game was effectively settled in the first period as SKA scored three unanswered goals. Dmitrij Jaskin led the way, scoring at equal strength then again on the power play. Another PP tally went to Damir Zhafyarov. Such clinical finishing went a long way to putting the game beyond Traktor’s reach.

At the start of the second, the teams traded further goals. Marat Khusnutdinov extended SKA’s lead before Sergei Kalinin got Traktor on the scoreboard at last. The home team also replaced starting goalie Sergei Mylnikov with Ilya Proskuryakov, but the incoming netminder was soon beaten by Mikhail Pashnin, who collected his 100^th KHL point. There was more scoring to come in the middle frame, with Nikita Tertyshny and Mikhail Vorobyov trading tallies, and Vladislav Podyapolsky stopped a penalty shot from Maxim Shabanov to preserve SKA’s advantage.

A short-handed goal from Vladimir Tkachyov early in the third kept Traktor’s outside hopes alive. However, that was as good as it got for the home team. SKA quickly restored its advantage, with Jaskin completing his first hat-trick of the season. The closing stages brought further goals for Marat Khairullin and Nikita Gusev to wrap up an impressive victory for the league leader.

Photoalbum

Voynov double gives Ak Bars the edge

Ak Bars Kazan 2 Severstal Cherepovets 1 OT (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0)

Two goals from Slava Voynov, including an overtime winner, lifted Ak Bars past a spirited Severstal team. The visitor is battling for a place in the top eight in the West and will likely feel that this was a point gained rather than one dropped.

There wasn’t much between the teams in the first period. They were tied for shots on goal (eight each), although Severstal had more time on the attack and required the home D to block nine attempts.

That pattern of play did not change greatly in the early part of the first period. However, after the midway mark the penalty count picked up. Both teams took regular minors, and finally Ak Bars converted one of them when Voynov opened the scoring in the 39^th minute.

After allowing a power play goal, the Steelmen scored one of their own midway through the third period, with Robin Press finding the net. Again, it was noticeable that even though the shots on goal were even through 60 minutes, Severstal forced Ak Bars in 27 blocked shots, compared with 10 at the other end.

In overtime, though, Ak Bars took greater control of the game. For four minutes, Severstal was unable to make a meaningful attempt on Timur Bilyalov’s net. At the other end, Voynov got the winner on 64:03, securing back-to-back successes for Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s team.

Galimov’s late strike sinks Spartak

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Spartak Moscow 2 (0-0, 1-0, 2-2)

Spartak battled back from 0-2, but ended up losing out to Ansel Galimov’s 58^th-minute goal. Neftekhimik’s win lifts it off the foot of the Eastern Conference and the home team is now just two points shy of a top-eight spot. Spartak remains seventh in the West, four points clear of Dinamo Minsk in ninth.

It took some time for the opening goal to arrive. The puck was in the Spartak net in the 14^th minute, but Sergei Kuptsov’s redirect of a Evgeny Kashnikov shot was called back for a high stick. However, Kashnikov would not be denied. Late in the second period he managed to open the scoring with a legitimate effort, scoring on a breakaway as Neftekhimik killed Vladislav Leontyev’s tripping call.

Early in the second period, Semyon Kizimov marked his Neftekhimik debut with a goal. The 22-year-old signed from Avtomobilist on Dec. 26, having played just twice for the Motormen this season. Today, he put his new club up 2-0 and seemed to set the home team on course for a comfortable win.

Spartak, though, had other ideas. Two goals in five minutes saw the Red-and-Whites draw level. Maxim Chudinov and Shane Prince were the goalscorers and with 10 minutes to play, this game could have gone either way.

However, Neftekhimik was not to be denied. Despite having to endure some pressure in the closing stages, the home team conjured a winning goal. Bulat Shafigullin brought play into the Spartak zone and, just as it looked like he had lost possession, Galimov popped up to snaffle the loose puck beyond Alexei Krasikov and settle the outcome.