Ak Bars up to second, SKA fails to score. January 27 round-up
In-form Ak Bars suddenly looks capable of topping the Eastern Conference. Today’s win at Metallurg puts the Kazan team up to second in the standings, a point behind Sibir. Avangard also restated its case for top spot with an OT victory over Dynamo Moscow. At the top of the Western Conference, SKA failed to score for the first time this season and lost at Lokomotiv. CSKA also won to remain third, while Amur’s loss in Moscow saw it drop from the playoff places. Neftekhimik was the beneficiary after a road win at Avtomobilist.
Avangard back on form
Avangard Omsk 3 Dynamo Moscow 2 OT (0-0, 2-1, 0-1, 1-0)
The Hawks snapped a three-game skid to rejoin the battle for top spot in the Eastern Conference. However, Avangard had to battle hard to overcome Dynamo in an absorbing clash in Omsk.
The game got off to a lively start, with the home team trying to establish early control over the action. However, Dynamo’s defense did a good job of limiting Avangard’s shooting chances. Gradually the visitor got into contention with some testing counterattacks. The first power play went to the host, but there was no way through for either team in the first period.
Avangard remained in the ascendancy after the intermission, helped by a couple of power plays. However, the second of them resulted in Dynamo grabbing a shorthanded goal after a bad error by the home PP. Vladislav Yefremov raced clear to beat Vasily Demchenko.
That lead was short-lived. Avangard responded with two goals in the space of 15 second to turn the game around. Ivan Miroshnichenko redirected a Vladimir Zharkov shot past Ilya Konovalov to tie the scores, then Alex Broadhurst made it 2-1.
That lead endured until the intermission but Dynamo continued to press. To some extent, this was invited by Avangard’s decision to play on the forecheck, focussing on breaking up play rather than trying to extend its lead. For a long time, that frustrated the visitor’s efforts to threaten Demchenko’s net. However, with five minutes left, Kirill Gotovets came up with the answer, firing home through traffic to take the game into overtime. Before that, though, Avangard had two good chances to win it. However, Reid Boucher hit the bar and Vladimir Tkachyov’s shot on the turn flashed just wide of the top corner.
In the extras, Pavel Kudryavtsev almost won it for Dynamo but the puck rebounded off the frame of the goal. Then, at the other end, Boucher converted a two-on-one rush to win it for the home team.
Traktor beaten in crunch clash
Barys Astana 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 (2-1, 2-0, 0-2)
Friday’s clash in Kazakhstan was one of the key games of the battle for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Whoever won would move level on points with eighth-placed Amur, at least until the Tigers faced CSKA later in the day. Traktor suffered a blow ahead of the game with leading scorer Anton Burdasov missing out. Sergei Kalinin took his place on the top line.
Maybe Traktor was still coming to terms with that reshuffle in the first period when Barys scored two quick goals. Alexander Borisevich opened the scoring when he got to the slot to steer home Anthony Louis’ feed. Then Nikita Mikhailis emerged from behind the net to shoot home despite the attentions of Traktor’s defense.
The visitor responded by sending Sergei Mylnikov into the net in place of Kirill Ustimenko. Then, in the 15th minute, Robert Hamilton’s power play goal put Traktor back in the game.
Hamilton’s team continued to dominate the play for much of the second period and for much of that team seemed to be on the verge of tying the game. However, Julius Hudacek stood on his head to deny Traktor a goal and, late in the session, penalty trouble undid the visitor. Twice in a minute, Alex Grant grabbed a power play goal and both those efforts were assisted by Jeremy Bracco as he completed a hat-trick of helpers.
Despite trailing 1-4, Traktor kept battling. Mikhail Kotlyarevsky scored twice in the third period as the shots rained in on Hudacek’s net. However, the visitor ran out of time before it could force the extras.
Neftekhimik returns to eighth place
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (1-0, 0-1, 0-1)
Two teams with very different immediate ambitions clashed in Yekaterinburg. Both were looking to build on victories, with the host seeking a return to top spot in the Conference while Neftekhimik looked to inch into the top eight.
With plenty at stake, both teams began cautiously. The home team had a little more possession, but struggled to create much by way of scoring chances. Gradually, the pressure began to pay off and an odd-man rush saw a great pass from Viktor Neuchev set up Alexei Makeyev for the opening goal. However, the stats that summed up the period were four shots on target between the two teams, and 12 efforts blocked.
The goalies continued to enjoy a quiet life for much of the second period, but when chances arrived they had more venom than before. However, the only goal stemmed from a turnover in center ice. Ilya Fedotov won possession and bore down on the Avtomobilist net. His attempt did not come off, but the loose puck dropped for Yegor Popov to tie the game in the 35th minute.
After allowing a goal, the Motormen looked to raise the tempo and the game became more even and more open. That remained the case in the third, but a more open game did not bring a rush of goals. Instead, Neftekhimik settled the outcome on the power play midway through the session: after a big save from Igor Bobkov, Avto struggled to clear its lines and Ansel Galimov set up Andrei Belozyorov for the winning goal.
Semyonov double moves Ak Bars to second
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Ak Bars Kazan 3 OT (1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)
A hard-fought win for Ak Bars lifted the Kazan team up to second in the Eastern Conference. The Zinetula Bilyaletdinov effect continues to inspire the club and suddenly a season of struggle looks like it could end with the team topping the table.
Today, Ak Bars struck first thanks to Slava Voynov. The titled defenseman was recalled after missing the Green Derby in Ufa and converted a swift counterattack in the seventh minute when he fired a point shot through traffic. A power play for the visitor might have brought another goal, with Alexander Radulov looking threatening on more than one occasion. Instead, though, we saw Metallurg tie it up with a shorthanded effort from Pavel Akolzin.
After allowing a shorty, Ak Bars replied in kind midway through the second period. Kirill Semyonov took advantage of a kind bounce from the back boards and jumped onto the loose puck to beat Vasily Koshechkin. That effort changed the pattern of the game, with Ak Bars gaining the initiative and holding it until the end.
In the third period, Metallurg drew level once again through Kodie Curran and that took the game into overtime. However, Semyonov struck early in the extras to secure the points for Ak Bars.
Comfortable win for Salavat Yulaev
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Severstal Cherepovets 1 (0-0, 2-0, 2-1)
After a four-game losing streak, Salavat Yulaev is getting back to form. An impressive win over Ak Bars in the Green Derby set Viktor Kozlov’s team up nicely for the visit of playoff chasing Severstal. And the host delivered another good show to claim a win that moves it within five points of top spot despite remaining in sixth place in the East.
The opening frame was a tale of missed chances. Both teams might have edged in front in a competitive period, but the scoreboard remained blank at the first intermission thanks to some solid goaltending from Dmitry Shugayev and Ilya Ezhov.
In the second period, Ezhov was under pressure again as Severstal’s Nikita Rozhkov and Maxim Kolmykov created two clear-cut chances. It remained scoreless until late in the frame, when Ufa’s leading scorer Sergei Shmelyov spun to fire in a pass for Alexander Kadeikin to open the scoring in the 38th minutes. Exactly one minute later, Ryan Murphy’s slap shot doubled the lead.
Early in the third, a power play goal saw Salavat Yulaev up 3-0 as Kadeikin potted his second of the game, but Ruslan Abrosimov pulled one back almost immediately. Hopes of a fightback were squashed when Artyom Pimenov marked his 100th KHL appearance with a goal.
Loko denies SKA
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 SKA St. Petersburg 0 (0-0, 1-0, 0-0)
Runaway leader SKA failed to score for the first time this season as Lokomotiv got its third win in five meetings with the Petersburg club.
The result owed much to a rock-solid defensive display. Daniil Isayev had 20 saves to frustrate the visiting offense, but it was also striking how Loko restricted SKA’s opportunities to attack. For long periods, the home team fought fire with fire. SKA, more accustomed to dictating the tempo of its games, was forced to do the ugly bits and blocked 22 shots in the game. In addition, the visitor made 40 hits.
Igor Nikitin’s tactics – concede territory, but protect the danger zone – paid dividends. SKA had the better of the first period but struggled to open up the home defense. In the second period, Loko added more attacking intent. The game’s only goal arrived in the last minute of the session when Alexander Polunin got a kind bounce following Pavel Kraskovsky’s shot and found the top shelf.
In the third period, Lokomotiv continued with its defensive approach. Buoyed by having a lead to protect, the host managed to close out the game with relatively few alarms and holds onto second place in the West.
Back-to-back wins for Vityaz in Sochi
HC Sochi 0 Vityaz Moscow Region 2 (0-1, 0-1, 0-0)
Twenty-four hours ago, Vityaz enjoyed a 5-2 win in Sochi. Today, the visitor got the verdict again, but in a lower-scoring affair.
Vityaz stuck with largely the same team, swapping former goalie Dmitry Shikin for Maxim Dorozhko. The home team made greater changes, bringing back Brandon Gormley and Nikita Tochitsky among others.
The short turnaround between games did not rob the players of too much energy and this game was another committed battle. Both goalies had work to do in the first period, but there could be few arguments against Vityaz earning its 1-0 lead thanks to Kirill Rasskazov’s goal.
In the middle frame Sochi was more competitive but, despite asking questions of Dorozhko, could not score. Instead, Vladislav Kara finished the session with his second goal in two games. That settled the outcome and keeps Vityaz on track for the playoffs.
CSKA struggles past stubborn Tigers
CSKA Moscow 3 Amur Khabarovsk 1 (0-1, 1-0, 2-0)
Playoff chasing Amur gave CSKA a surprise, but ultimately the Muscovites prevailed. As a result, the Tigers were unable to hold onto their top eight place in the East while the home team stays level on points with second-placed Lokomotiv in the West.
The visitor made a first start to this game and opened the scoring in the second minute. Yaroslav Likhachyov, a youngster enjoying a break-out season after his loan move from Lokomotiv, got onto the rebound from Ivan Nikolishin’s shot and potted his 14th of the season. That lead lasted until the first intermission despite a dominant performance from the host.
However, it took just 44 seconds of the middle frame to tie the scores. Anton Slepyshev was the scorer, assisted by Vladislav Provolnev, and after that it was difficult to see a way for Amur to escape defeat. True, the game was still level at the second intermission. However, a 10-2 shot count in CSKA’s favor in the second session highlighted the home team’s control of the game; Amur blocked 14 shots in the period.
However, although the final score delivered the expected CSKA victory, the road to that success was unexpected. The home team had to wait until the 56th minute to get in front, and that effort came on the penalty kill. Sergei Plotnikov got a chance to attack his hometown team at the end of a power play and came up with the go-ahead goal.
CSKA might have wrapped it up when Ruslan Pedan tripped the goalbound Konstantin Okulov. However, the home forward could not convert the penalty shot. One minute later, though, Mikhail Grigorenko was on target to put the game out of reach.
