SKA stunned in Ufa, Metallurg edges Lokomotiv. January 6 round-up
The day’s most eye-catching scoreline was Salavat Yulaev’s 5-1 win over table-topping SKA. The clash of the high-flyer saw Metallurg claim a 3-2 victory over Lokomotiv and close to within a point of Eastern Conference leader Avtomobilist. The Motormen lost again – eight in a row now – but took a point from a shoot-out defeat in Chelyabinsk to remain clear at the top of the standings. Dynamo Moscow needed a shoot-out to maintain its hoodoo over Kunlun, Amur edged a 1-0 win against Barys and Torpedo fired five past Spartak. Ak Bars got a 2-0 success at home to Vityaz, and Neftekhimik left it late to overcome Severstal.
Alikin denies Barys as playoff race heats up
Amur Khabarovsk 1 Barys Astana 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)
Amur picked up a second victory in successive days against Barys, but Friday’s match-up was very different from Thursday’s battle. Twenty-four hours earlier, the teams played out a 3-3 tie before Amur got the verdict in the shoot-out. Today, though, a solitary first-period goal made the difference.
That marker was the work of Sergei Dubakin. The 22-year-old Amur forward struck on the power play to pot his ninth of the season. Dubakin, who joined the Tigers from Sibir in the summer, is enjoying the best season of his career to date, playing more games and getting significantly more ice time than he had in Novosibirsk. As a result, he is also producing career-leading stats this term.
However, Dubakin’s goal was only half the story. Barys, looking not only to avenge yesterday’s loss but also to maintain its grip on a playoff place, produced plenty of offense over the course of the game. Home netminder Evgeny Alikin had 37 saves for his fifth shut-out of the season. In particular, Alikin frustrated Nikita Mikhailis, who had six unsuccessful shots on goal.
The result lifts Amur level on points with Barys and creates a three-way tie from eighth through tenth in the Eastern Conference. Traktor is also on 46 points, while Neftekhimik is one point behind.
Dragons fall short after big fightback
Dynamo Moscow 3 Kunlun Red Star 2 SO (0-0, 1-0, 1-2, 0-0, 1-0)
Kunlun has never beaten Dynamo in KHL play, but the Dragons came close to putting that right after a big fight-back in today’s encounter.
The home team came into the game looking to bounce back from a derby loss to CSKA in its first action of 2023. And, after enduring some first-period pressure from KRS, the Blue-and-Whites got in front early in the second on a power play goal from Vladislav Kodola. Red Star continued to create chances, but failed to recapture the intensity it enjoyed in the first period. By the time Jakob Lilja doubled Dynamo’s lead midway through the third period, it seemed that there was only one outcome.
However, the Dragons came roaring back. Tomas Jurco redirected Ryan Sproul’s point shot to offer hope, then Jake Chelios fired home a tying goal with 16 seconds left to play. In overtime, Cliff Pu almost gave his team an historic victory, but his breakaway chance was denied by Konstantin Volkov. That proved to be a premonition of the shoot-out, where Volkov stoned all four of the attempts he faced. At the other end, Dynamo converted two efforts to take the ‘W’.
Motormen lose yet again
Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 SO (1-1, 2-0, 0-2, 0-0, 1-0)
After shipping nine goals against SKA two days ago, Traktor needed to bounce back. Today’s opponent, Avtomobilist, was something of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the visitor arrived on a seven-game losing streak including a 1-7 loss to Avangard last time out; on the other, the Motormen were still top of the Eastern Conference.
This was the fourth meeting between these two opponents, and the previous three were all decided by one-goal margins, two of them in overtime. That might explain the cautious start from both teams here, with few shots at either net. The opening goal, scored by Avtomobilist’s Curtis Valk, came as something of a surprise; the former Barys man took advantage of a defensive lapse to break the deadlock. Traktor responded with a power play goal from Nikita Soshnikov, tying the scores in the 16th minute.
The home team made a strong start to the second period and had one goal whistled off by the officials before taking the lead. Anton Burdasov got the go-ahead goal with a clinical finish after a swift breakaway. A couple of minutes later, Teemu Pulkkinen’s pass from the boards unpicked the Avto defense and Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer made it 3-1.
For much of the third period, Traktor managed the game effectively. Avtomobilist struggled to create chances in the face of disciplined defense, and even power play opportunities did little to help the visitor. However, in the closing stages the Motormen saved themselves. With more than three minutes left, goalie Johan Mattsson went to the bench and with six skaters Avto scored twice. Nick Ebert and Brooks Macek turned the tide and took the game into overtime.
Avtomobilist carried that momentum into the extras, but could not find a winning goal. Instead, in the shoot-out, Traktor got on top. Maxim Shabanov’s attempt settled the outcome, and Avto slipped to an eighth successive loss.
Magnitka holds on to edge Loko
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (1-0, 0-0, 2-2)
Second in the East hosted second in the West, while father lined up against son among the goalies. Metallurg’s Vasily Koshechkin got the start for his team, while his son, Maxim Majorov, was understudy to Lokomotiv’s Daniil Isayev. In the event, the 18-year-old Majorov, a fifth-round pick for the Dallas Stars last year, did not make it onto the ice but nonetheless saw his name on a KHL roster for the first time following his move from Lada in the summer.
Both teams were looking to bounce back from two defeats and for much of the game Metallurg seemed to be in control. The home team opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Alexei Maklyukov and even though the action was evenly balanced, Loko struggled to test Koshechkin despite plenty of attacking possession.
It was still 1-0 at the second intermission and when Andrei Chibisov doubled the lead in the 48th minute, many in the home camp felt they could relax. Seeking to ensure a calm route to victory, Ilya Vorobyov swapped his goalies, resting the impressive Koshechkin and bringing in the fresh Eddie Pasquale for the remaining 12 minutes. At first, it seemed that calm would prevail: Philippe Maillet added a third goal for the home team and the game looked done.
However, there was time for a late alarm. Andrei Sergeyev’s long shots, combined with good traffic from his team-mates, gave Pasquale problems. Sergeyev scored twice in the closing stages, making it 2-3 in the 57th minute. Now the game was alive once more, but Loko could not find a third goal to escape a third straight defeat.
SKA suffers big loss in Ufa
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 5 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (1-0, 2-0, 2-1)
SKA suffered its heaviest loss of the season, going down 1-5 at Salavat Yulaev. Having won 9-3 in its previous game, the visitor’s big defeat came as an even greater surprise as Ufa avenged an overtime loss on its visit to St. Petersburg.
In the first period, the penalty benches were rarely empty. Not surprisingly, then, the opening goal came on the power play. Ivan Drozdov was the scorer, helped by a kind bounce off a SKA stick as he chased down a rebound on the slot. SKA tried to challenge the play, claiming interference on goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky. However, the officials awarded the goal after a review.
Ufa built on that lead at the start of the second period. Sergei Shmelyov converted Alexander Kadeikin’s face-off win to make it 2-0, then Mikhail Naumenkov – penalized three times in the first period – added a third.
In the final frame, SKA tried to find a way back. Salavat Yulaev’s defense had to work hard to preserve the lead, and Andrei Pedan managed to reduce the deficit. However, in the closing stages the home team added two empty net goals, with Danil Alalykin and Nikolai Kulemin making the final score 5-1.
Bilyalov denies Vityaz
Ak Bars Kazan 2 Vityaz Moscow Region 0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0)
Ak Bars picked up a third straight win under the guidance of Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. With Kazan now enjoying five wins in its last six games, the team has a nine-point lead over the clubs scrapping for a top eight finish. While it was not the journey many expected from Ak Bars this season, one of the projected Gagarin Cup favorites appears to be coming into form at the right time.
Vityaz, meanwhile, enjoyed a three-game streak of its own to enhance its playoff prospects in the West. However, Vyacheslav Butsayev’s team saw that run come to an end here.
Timur Bilyalov turned out to be the key player. The Ak Bars goalie stopped each of the 26 shot he faced in a game that saw Vityaz match its host for long periods. The visitor had a slight advantage in shots on goal and spent measurably more time on the attack. However, it could not find a way past Bilyalov, and that failing proved crucial.
At the other end, Maxim Dorozhko frustrated the home offense for long spells. However, he was beaten twice in the second period as Ak Bars took the verdict. Kirill Panyukov opened the scoring in the 35th minute, then Stanislav Galiyev doubled the lead with a power play goal right before the second intermission. Vadim Shipachyov continues his pursuit of Sergei Mozyakin’s all-time KHL points record with an assist on that goal.
Poryadin’s late strike gives Neftekhimik the edge
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Severstal Cherepovets 3 (1-1, 2-1, 1-1)
Pavel Poryadin struck in the 59th minute to snatch victory for Neftekhimik. Severstal produced a big fightback in this game, recovering from 1-3 to tie the scores at 3-3. However, the Eastern Conference’s basement team got a vital late verdict to remain in contention with the playoff chasers.
Severstal has its own playoff battle in the West, and the visitor made a great start to this game. Daniil Vovchenko opened the scoring after 73 seconds. However, Neftekhimik hit back almost immediately and Mikhail Nazarov tied the scores in the third minute.
After that fast start, the next goal had to wait until the second period. This time, Neftekhimik struck twice early in the frame. Vyacheslav Leshchenko made it 2-1, then Ansel Galimov extended the lead. Severstal brought back-up goalie Dmitry Shugayev into the game and, after slowing Neftekhimik’s offense, managed to pull one back late in the frame through Dmitry Moiseyev.
A power play goal from Igor Geraskin in the third period tied the scores. Severstal had the better of the play in the third period, but could not find a way to get back in front. Then, in the closing moments, Poryadin produced the decisive goal to give Neftekhimik the verdict.
Belevich double paces Torpedo triumph
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 Spartak Moscow 2 (2-0, 3-2, 0-0)
Torpedo remains fourth in the West after producing too much firepower for Spartak. Igor Larionov’s team kept up its reputation for attacking play with another free-scoring win while the visitor slipped to an eighth defeat in nine games. The impetus that came from Igor Grishin’s arrival as head coach is in danger of dissipating for the Red-and-Whites, and there is still work needed to secure a playoff place.
Torpedo took control of this game late in the first period. Mikhail Orlov and Andrei Belevich opened a 2-0 lead for the home team. That advantage might have been even greater, but Alexei Kruchinin missed a penalty shot in between those markers.
Early in the second, the home team got its first power play of the day and immediately extended its lead thanks to Sergei Goncharuk. A minute later, Spartak reduced the deficit through Danila Kvartalnov, but there would be no fight back. Vladislav Firstov extended the lead and Belevich got his second of the game, while German Rubtsov pulled one back for the visitor.
There was no further scoring in the third period as Torpedo closed out its third victory over Spartak this season.
