Neftekhimik takes control of playoff destiny. February 22 round-up
A fightback win saw Neftekhimik recover from 1-3 to beat Metallurg in overtime. The win puts the Wolves in pole position for the final place in the Eastern playoffs. However, Spartak’s playoff hopes suffered a savage blow with a 1-7 loss at home to CSKA. Elsewhere, there were victories from Sibir, Avangard, Salavat Yulaev, Severstal and Dynamo.
Sibir’s strong start sinks Barys
Sibir Novosibirsk 4 Barys Astana 2 (3-0, 0-2, 1-0)
Unable to make the playoffs, Barys rested many of its imports for its final road trip of the season. However, the ‘local’ edition of the Kazakh team got off to a rough start at Sibir, giving up three unanswered goals in the first period.
Visiting goalie Nikita Boyarkin will be frustrated with the first of them, beaten by a routine shot from Denis Golubev in the third minute. Next came a power play goal for the home team, scored by Trevor Murphy, before Golubev got his second of the game.
In the middle frame, Barys picked up its game and began to march down the long road back into contention. A power play tally from Nikita Mikhailis midway through the action gave the visitor some hope, and 15 seconds before the intermission hope became belief as Yegor Petukhov made it a one-goal game. Petukhov was helped by an inexplicable error from home defenseman Alexei Solovyov, who coughed up the puck under almost no pressure.
Suddenly, the game was very much alive and the next goal would have a huge say in determining the final outcome. However, after 13 minutes of the third period Vladimir Butuzov snapped an 11-game goal drought to make it 4-2 for Sibir and secure a victory that moves Sibir to third in the standings.
Reid leads Avangard fightback
Avangard Omsk 4 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 OT (1-0, 0-3, 2-0, 1-0)
The Hawks hit back late in the game to force overtime, then Corban Knight potted a game winner just 57 seconds into the extras. The home team gambled on withdrawing goalie Andrei Mishurov and that paid off as the four skaters created the chance for Knight to seal the verdict.
Earlier in the game, Ivan Telegin put Avangard in front in the third minute. After that, though, Lokomotiv began to take control. Early in the second period, Anton Belov took a penalty and Denis Alexeyev tied the game. A couple of minutes later, that pattern repeated: this time Alexei Bereglazov took the penalty and Maxim Shalunov got the goal. Midway through the session, Maxim Beryozkin added a third and the Railwaymen seemed to be in command.
However, a couple of penalties late in the session helped Avangard regain some momentum. And in the third period, Reid Boucher salvaged the game for the home team. He pulled a goal back in the 52nd minute, then with five seconds left on the clock he grabbed the tying goal.
That forced the extras, and Knight delivered the winning goal to push Avangard into the top four in the East.
Chmelevski orchestrates Ufa win
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (0-1, 0-1, 1-1)
Three assists from Alexander Chmelevski and two goals from Alexei Pustozyorov led Salavat Yulaev to victory over Avtomobilist. Both teams are set in the playoff zone, but are still jockeying for position to get the best possible draw in the opening round.
Ufa moved in front midway through the first period. Pustozyorov exchanged passes with Chmelevski. The American forward picked his moment to send a pass to the back door where Pustozyorov was moving into position to finish the play.
Then he got his second of the game midway through the second period. This time, Chmelevski was involved again. He won a battle on the boards and sent a pass out from behind the net for Pustozyorov to strike.
Avtomobilist responded a minute into the final frame through Brooks Macek and the home team went on to dominate the closing stages. However, there was no way back into the game and Danil Bashkirov’s empty net effort sealed the win – and completed Chemelevski’s hat-trick of assists.
Wolves get playoff boost
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 OT (1-2, 0-1, 2-0, 1-0)
Neftekhimik got a vital boost for its playoff hopes, coming from behind to grab an OT victory over Metallurg. The win puts the Wolves three points clear of Amur, eliminating the Tigers from contention. It also gives Oleg Leontyev’s team a two-point advantage over Traktor and means victory over Kunlun Red Star will clinch eighth place regardless of other results.
However, it was far from plain sailing. Metallurg got a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes, only for Neftekhimik to rally in the third. Things started well for the home team when Andrei Belozyorov opened the scoring in the fifth minute. However, Grigory Dronov soon tied it up and Nikolai Goldobin put Magnitka in front in the 14th minute.
Goldobin was on target again in the second stanza, and with 30 minutes to play Neftekhimik was under pressure. The key moment came at the start of the third, when Belozyorov pulled a goal back 85 seconds after the restart. That made the game far more competitive and created a platform for the home team to recover. Pavel Poryadin was the man to take advantage, getting the tying goal midway through the third.
Late in the game, Brendan Leipsic took a minor penalty. Neftekhimik could not force a winning goal before the hooter, but with 14 seconds on the power play in the extras, the host prevailed. From the opening face-off, Kirill Vorobyov took the play into the danger zone and beat Eddie Pasquale just eight seconds into the session.
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Severstal Cherepovets 3 (0-0, 1-2, 1-1)
Dmitry Moiseyev scored twice to give Severstal a road win at Torpedo. Andrei Razin’s team is preparing for its third successive playoff campaign and hopes to get past the opening round for the first time under his coaching. This game could be a rehearsal for a possible first-round pairing, so today’s win could be a significant psychological boost for the Steelmen.
After a goalless first period, things perked up midway through the second. Nikita Guslistov gave Severstal the lead with a shorthanded goal, only for Maxim Letunov to tie it up on the same power play.
Moiseyev got his first late in the second period, but Vasily Atanasov tied it off early in the third. Then Torpedo thought it had the lead, only for two video reviews to rule it out. While the first check confirmed that the puck crossed the line, a bench challenge from Razin led to the play being whistled back for interference on the goalie.
A second goal from Moiseyev also had to face a coach’s challenge. This time, though, there was no evidence of offside and Severstal had the lead once again. The remaining eight minutes saw Torpedo have to kill two penalties, hampering its chances of forcing a tying goal.
Blue-and-Whites ease to victory
Dynamo Moscow 4 Vityaz Moscow Region 1 (2-0, 1-1, 1-0)
The Muscovites enjoyed a comfortable victory at home to Vityaz as Alexei Kudashov’s team fine-tunes its game ahead of the playoffs.
In the first period, Dynamo took control. Dmitry Rashevsky opened the scoring on the first power play of the game, and Andrei Mironov doubled the lead just before the intermission. Jordan Weal extended the lead midway through the second.
Vityaz managed a response late in that middle frame when Dmitry Kugryshev scored on the power play. However, any hopes of a fightback evaporated when Jakob Lilja added a fourth early in the final frame.
Crushing blow for Spartak
Spartak Moscow 1 CSKA Moscow 7 (0-1, 0-3, 1-3)
Spartak’s playoff prospects were dealt a big blow as CSKA ran riot in Wednesday’s Moscow derby. Victory for the Red-and-Whites would have moved them level on points with Dinamo Minsk, but instead today’s result leaves the Belarusians in prime position to reach post season.
Things might have been different if Alexander Khokhlachyov had taken an early chance for the home team during a lively and evenly-contested opening period. However, when Sergei Plotnikov hit the target for CSKA late in that frame, it changed the pattern of play.
The first power play of the evening went to the visitor, and Fredrik Claesson turned it into a second CSKA goal. That was fatal blow for Spartak, and the home team never recovered. Nikita Nesterov quickly added a third and Mikhail Grigorenko made it 4-0 at the second intermission.
Any hopes of a fightback in the final frame were extinguished at once when Plotnikov potted his second of the evening. And there was worse to come when a home power play resulted in a short-handed goal for Andrei Svetlakov. Although Roman Starchenko managed to get a goal on the same power play, it was far too late to change the outcome. Pavel Karnaukhov added a seventh with nine minutes to play as CSKA tightened its grip on second in the West, but the biggest winner from this scoreline was probably Dinamo Minsk’s playoff hopes.
