Overtime day. January 28 round-up
Saturday’s card only had three games, but there was full value from that trio. All three were tied after 60 minutes, and one went all the way to a shoot-out. Admiral started us off with a 5-4 OT success at home to Sibir, then Kunlun Red Star edged Spartak 3-2 in the extras.
Admiral Vladivostok 5 Sibir Novosibirsk 4 OT (2-1, 0-2, 2-1, 1-0)
Two days ago, it took a shoot-out to separate these two. Today, it happened in overtime after another exciting encounter. Both teams had the lead during regulation, but Admiral managed to claw back a two-goal deficit and snap its five-game skid against the Eastern Conference leader.
The home team had the better of the opening exchanges, helped by three power play chances. However, the first goal came at equal strength when Evgeny Grachyov’s feed set up Danil Faizullin in the 10th minute. That triggered a goal rush, with Nikita Korotkov bringing Sibir level before Nikolai Chebykin restored the home lead with a goal in his 100th KHL game. Alexander Gorshkov’s helper brought up 200 KHL points for him.
In the second period, though, Sibir remembered its status as Eastern Conference leader and began to play in the manner of a table-topper. The visitor dominated the play and turned the scoreline upside down. Vyacheslav Osnovin tied the scores before Taylor Beck grabbed the go-ahead goal. He had a helper on Korotkov’s first period tally and moves to 50 points for the season, joining SKA’s Marat Khairullin at the front of the KHL scoring race.
After seeing its lead evaporate, Admiral responded in the third period by pouring forward in search of a tying goal. However, all that pressure came to little. Although Sibir managed just three shots on goal in the third, Alexander Sharov found the net with one of them to open a 4-2 lead.
That looked like it might be enough to win it, but Admiral had other ideas. Valery Orekhov’s goal kept the home team in the game and, with 90 seconds left to play, Faizullin’s second of the game tied the scores and forced overtime.
In the extras, Chebykin grabbed the winning goal, matching Faizullin’s double and ending Admiral’s recent skid.
Dragons take win despite Spartak fightback
Kunlun Red Star 3 Spartak Moscow 2 OT (0-0, 2-0, 0-2, 1-0)
The Dragons bounced back from a 1-5 loss at home to Dinamo Minsk to grab an overtime success against Spartak. The Red-and-Whites recovered from 0-2 with a couple of quick goals early in the third period but the visitor could not ride that momentum all the way to the ‘W’. Instead, Cliff Pu’s strike in the extras sent Spartak spinning to a second successive loss.
The first period saw Spartak edge the play, but Kunlun create the better chances. However, neither team could break the deadlock in the first 20 minutes.
In the second stanza, Red Star opened a two-goal advantage. Devin Brosseau’s fourth goal in six games set things moving, then Colin Campbell added a second. However, Spartak would hit back early in the third. Shane Prince reduced the deficit on the power play and 80 seconds later Danila Kvartalnov tied it up. Both teams had chances to settle it late in regulation. Kunlun got a penalty shot after Nikita Sokolov’s foul, but Tomas Jurco could not solve his fellow Slovak Patrik Rybar in the Spartak net. At the other end, Matt Jurusik pulled off a spectacular glove save in the final minute to rob Ilya Talaluyev of the game-winner.
In the extras, a tripping call on Alexander Khokhlachyov opened the door for the home team. And the Red Star PP produced the winning goal when Cliff Pu steered Zac Leslie’s shot past Rybar.
Torpedo rallies to sink Minsk
Dinamo Minsk 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 SO (2-0, 0-2, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
A frustrating day for Dinamo saw the Bison blow a 2-0 lead and drop a valuable point in its battle for a playoff spot. At times, emotions spilled over, with home defenseman John Gilmour seen gesturing angrily at the Torpedo bench during the game. Gilmour escaped censure for that incident at the time, but endured the ‘punishment’ of finishing on the losing side.
Yet things could hardly have started better for the home team. Nikita Pyshkailo opened the scoring after 65 seconds and Roman Gorbunov doubled the lead in the ninth minute. The feel-good factor engendered by a 5-1 road win on Thursday was alive and well in Arena Minsk.
However, even in the first period Torpedo created plenty of problems for the home defense. The visitor spent almost seven minutes attacking Konstantin Shostak’s net and outshot Minsk 18-7 without getting a goal back.
Early in the second stanza, the visitor got on the board at last. Gleb Ivanov, a 19-year-old defenseman in his rookie KHL campaign, potted his first goal at this level in the 23rd minute and gave his team a way back into the game. A couple of penalties made it hard for the visitor to grasp that lifeline immediately, but in the 35th minute Maxim Letunov got the tying goal.
Torpedo looked the more dangerous team in the third period, and especially in overtime. However, the teams could not find a winner without a shoot-out. The visitor had the better of that, converting three attempts to Dinamo’s sole success.
