Sibir jockeys for position with Avto. January 16 round-up
The race for top spot in the Eastern Conference gets tighter than ever. Sibir’s comeback win at Barys lifts Andrei Martemyanov’s team level on points with leader Avtomobilist. Metallurg is one point back after edging a 3-2 verdict at Salavat Yulaev. Further down the standings, Ak Bars defeated Admiral in a shoot-out and is just four points behind the lead, while seventh-placed Admiral is still a mere six points adrift of the Motormen. Traktor, inactive today, remains eighth with Neftekhimik unable to close the gap after losing 0-3 at Avangard.
Demchenko blanks Neftekhimik
Avangard Omsk 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 (2-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Avangard had a full four days to stew on its loss against Ak Bars, and Neftekhimik turned out to be the team that felt the backlash. Today’s visitor was hoping to move into the top eight with a win, but could not get a goal in Omsk.
The home team restored Vasily Demchenko to the starting goalie role and welcomed Fyodor Malykhin back after illness. Neftekhimik continued with the same line-up after a run of four wins in its previous five games.
The first period saw fast-paced attacking hockey from both teams. However, the difference lay in the finishing. Neftekhimik failed to convert a one-on-one break, and was unable to get a shot behind Demchenko. At the other end, Avangard beat Andrei Tikhomirov in the fifth minute when Arseny Gritsyuk scored on the power play. That extended his goal streak to three games. Five minutes later, Corban Knight doubled the lead, pouncing on a loose puck on the slot. That gave the home team greater confidence, and the Hawks might have increased their lead later in the period as they tightened the screws on Neftekhimik.
At the start of the middle frame, the visitor tried to raise the tempo. Neftekhimik showed a strong pressing game and used its extra possession to fire in more shots at Demchenko. However, few of those efforts were seriously testing for the goalie. At the other end, Avangard had a couple of power play chances but failed to make much of them. During a spell of four-on-four action, Nizhnekamsk had a couple of great chances but also failed to score.
It wasn’t until early in the third that Neftekhimik got its first full power play. However, Avangard killed the penalty without any major problem and even conjured a decent chance of a shorthanded tally. The visitor was out of luck: Ansel Galimov spotted an open corner of Demchenko’s net but fired narrowly wide, then Pavel Poryadin shot against the post. And a further case of misfortune put the game beyond reach. Vladimir Tkachyov’s pass to the slot went into the net of a defenseman’s skate as Knight lurked menacingly.
Sibir moves level with Eastern leader
Barys Astana 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
There was much riding on this game. At the top of the Eastern Conference, Sibir knew that victory would lift it level on points with this morning’s leader, Avtomobilist. Meanwhile, in the battle for the top eight, Barys hoped that a win would move it above Traktor and back into a playoff spot.
The home team got the better start, playing aggressively from the first face-off. After five minutes, the opening goal arrived, scored by Anton Sagadeyev. The visitor responded with some swift counterattacks and one of them might have brought a goal for Trevor Murphy. The Canadian defenseman fluffed that chance but later got an assist when his point shot set up Denis Golubev for the equalizer in the 18th minute. That point takes Murphy to 34 for the season, overtaking Patrik Hersley’s club record for a Sibir blue liner.
The visitor arguably should have had more than one goal in the first frame, but in the second it was Barys that had the better of the game. Golubev took a penalty late in the first and that power play gave the home team the initiative. Sibir had to wait until the 13th minute to deliver a shot on target, although Julius Hudacek had an anxious moment following an ill-advised advance from his net.
The Slovak found himself much busier in the third. Sibir was happy to fire in shots from all angles, including many that you won’t see in most playbooks. One of those unexpected efforts paid off: Hudacek was caught in two minds as Vyacheslav Osnovin shot from the boards and the goalie’s save went straight to Alexander Sharov who potted his 24th goal of the season to give his time the win.
Magnitka bounces back after Sochi shock
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (0-0, 1-0, 1-3)
A third-period rally saw Metallurg turn this game around and snap its three-game losing streak. The result moves Ilya Vorobyov’s team to within a point of Avtomobilist and Sibir, the teams currently sharing the lead in the Eastern Conference.
Magnitka’s recent slump culminated in a shock defeat at rock bottom Sochi. In response, the team’s former forward Ravil Gusmanov was added to the coaching staff. His most recent position had been at Traktor. However, there was no widespread change to the roster. The big team news came from Salavat Yulaev, which welcomed back defenseman Ryan Murphy after two months out injured.
In the first period, both teams were hampered by regular penalties. However, neither power play could find the opening goal, although Metallurg’s PK managed to generate some dangerous breakaway chances.
Salavat Yulaev finally converted a power play at the start of the second period when Ivan Drozdov thumped home Alexander Chmelevski’s pass. Magnitka had its chances, but Denis Zernov hit the bar and a few minutes later another effort beat Ilya Ezhov but returned from the post.
Everything changed midway through the third as the Steelmen scored three goals in four minutes. Nikolai Goldobin tied it up when he potted a rebound from Ezhov. Then, during a passage of four-on-four play, Philippe Maillet put his team in front for the first time. Goldobin added his second of the game to give Metallurg some breathing space.
Salavat Yulaev was not done. Nikolai Kulemin, a player with deep connections to Magnitogorsk, put a backhand shot past Eddie Pasquale to make it 2-3 with seven minutes to play. A power play with four to go saw a spell of six-on-four hockey, but Ufa could not force a tying goal. And, in the closing stages, Metallurg managed to draw a foul out of Mikhail Naumenkov, easing its passage to a much-needed victory.
Kagarlitsky’s late strike saves Ak Bars
Ak Bars Kazan 2 Admiral Vladivostok 1 SO (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)
The race for top spot in the Eastern Conference is so tight that both of these teams could argue they are in with a chance of leading the table at the end of the season. Going into Monday’s action, seventh-placed Admiral was seven points behind leader Avtomobilist, and eight clear of Traktor in eighth. Ak Bars was one point and one place better off than its visitor, having played one game fewer.
Moreover, the home team’s form since Zinetula Bilyaletdinov resumed his role as head coach has been that of a champion in waiting. Ak Bars won five in a row before falling to Sibir in OT last time out.
That loss to Sibir was characterized by two late goals to save the visitor from defeat. Today, as Ak Bars again went into the extra, the last-gasp equalizer came in Kazan’s favor. Dmitry Kagarlitsky was the scorer, firing home from the right-hand circle after a long period of pressure on the Admiral net. Kagarlitsky was assisted by Vadim Shipachyov and Alexander Radulov, exactly the type of clutch combination expected of these players when they arrived on the team under Oleg Znarok in the summer. Goalie Pavel Khomchenko, who had his first KHL shut-out in his previous game, was 66 seconds away from completing another one.
The tying goal was harsh on Admiral, which had battled bravely throughout the game. Although Ak Bars had almost double the amount of attacking possession, it struggled to convert that territorial advantage into shots on goal. The visitor, meanwhile, took a direct approach when it had scoring chances and went in front late in the second period when Nikolai Chebykin scored on the power play.
Overtime could not separate the teams, and Admiral put in back-up goalie Nikita Serebryakov for the shoot-out. He won his previous shoot-out against Metallurg, but could not repeat that feat here. Radulov and Dmitry Voronkov were on target for Ak Bars, while Admiral could not convert a single attempt against Timur Bilyalov at the other end.
