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Metallurg gets first win, defending champ loses two from three. September 5 round-up
Tuesday’s only KHL game was a clash of two clubs with title ambitions. Metallurg came out on top to give Andrei Razin his first win since taking over as head coach in Magnitogorsk.
CSKA Moscow 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 (1-1, 1-3, 0-0)
Andrei Razin celebrated his first victory as Metallurg head coach – and it was a notable triumph at the defending champion. For CSKA, meanwhile, this was a second loss in three games.
Things started well enough for the Muscovites. Although the first period was fairly even, the home team created the clearer early opportunities. Prokhor Poltapov had a good chance following a turnover, then Pavel Karnaukhov set up a good opening for Vitaly Abramov. All that was before Sergei Plotnikov opened the scoring in the 12th minute. His wrister deflected off Robin Press’s skate and into Artyom Zagidulin’s net.
But CSKA could not hold onto that lead. Metallurg tied it up four minutes later on a rapid counter. Maxim Karpov was the architect, burning past the flat-footed Vladimir Grudinin and firing the puck to the slot, where Pavel Akolzin stretched out to redirect it home.
At the start of the second, Magnitka got in front. Makar Khabarov’s stretch pass sent Denis Zernov clear, and he showed great technique to beat Alexander Sharychenkov just 10 seconds after the restart. A couple of minutes later CSKA took the first penalty of the game, but the visiting power play made little of the opportunity. The same was true at the other end midway through the frame, but after Jean-Sebastian Dea returned to the game, the home team tied the scores through Karnaukhov.
That triggered a flurry of activity. Razin challenged the play, claiming the puck had gone out of bounds in the build-up. The video review dismissed his appeal, handing a two-minute delay of game penalty to the visitor. Then, on the PK, Metallurg went back in front after Yegor Korobkin won possession in center ice and set up Semyon Koshelev.
Next came a power play goal for Magnitka, with Zernov setting up Nikita Korostelyov for a one-timer from the center of the offensive zone. That goal was just before the intermission, wrapping up a strong middle frame for the visitor.
In the third period, CSKA failed to unleash the expected storm of offense. Indeed, after 15 minutes of the final frame, the home team had just two shots on target. Moreover, Sergei Fedorov’s team was having to work harder to land its hits and block shots as Metallurg kept play bogged down in neutral territory for long periods.
The closing stages saw a predictable surge as CSKA sought to save the game. However, apart from Zagidulin’s last-minute save to deny Plotnikov, there was little incident of note in front of goal.
