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Fightbacks for Ufa, Torpedo; Razin wins home opener. September 14 round-up
A 2-0 lead is notoriously tricky, and so it proved today. Ak Bars blew that scoreline in Ufa to lose 3-2, while Torpedo recovered a two-goal deficit to beat Red Star 5-2. Lada came close to matching those feats, but after getting to 2-2 at Metallurg it lost in overtime. Avangard also saw a 2-0 advantage disappear, and had to recover in the final minutes before defeating Admiral 4-3. There were no such problems for Spartak, comfortable winners at Vityaz, nor Avtomobilist at home to Neftekhimik. Traktor withstood a Dinamo Minsk fightback to win 3-2.
Hawks hit back after bad loss
Avangard Omsk 4 Admiral Vladivostok 3 OT (0-0, 2-2, 1-1, 1-0)
Avangard bounced back from a heavy loss at home to Amur by edging an overtime verdict over Admiral. However, this was a hard-fought battle that saw the visitor recover a 0-2 deficit to lead in the third period before falling at the last.
The Sailors had the better of the opening exchanges without finding a way through. While the visitor saw more of the puck, the Hawks had the more dangerous opportunities, with Mikhail Gulyayev hitting the bar and Reid Boucher failing to convert a one-on-one rush.
In the middle frame, Avangard found the way to goal. Mikhail Belyayev marked his debut for the club with two goals, building a seemingly comfortable lead by the 36th minute. However, Admiral was level at the intermission thanks to goals from Prokhor Korbit and the eye-catching Daniil Gutik. In between, Libor Sulak found the Admiral net once again, but the Czech defenseman’s effort was called back after a bench challenge for offside.
Then, at the start of the third, Tyler Graovac put the visitor ahead for the first time in the game. Only after that did we see the first penalty of the game, with Gutik called for tripping in the 44th minute. The home team could not take advantage, nor could it punish a later bench minor on Admiral. With the clock running down, Mikhail Kravets called a time-out, moved to six skaters and looked to force a tying goal. On 58:22, Vladimir Tkachyov delivered when he capitalized on a defensive error and beat Pavel Khomchenko with a well-placed shot.
After saving the game with an empty net, Avangard benched Vasily Demchenko in overtime and again got the rewards. This time Boucher potted the decider to wrap up a breathless finale to an entertaining game.
Minsk fightback comes too late
Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Dinamo Minsk 2 (2-0, 1-0, 0-2)
Two late goals were not enough to save Dinamo from a fourth straight loss in this game between two teams yet to hit their best form this season. Coming into Thursday’s action, both had two wins and three losses from five games. Minsk began with two victories, but lost its way. Traktor had two successes in a four-game road trip but then lost its home opener against Lada.
That defeat prompted changes. Nikita Tertyshny returned to the line-up, joining the second line, but Vitaly Kravtsov missed out due to injury. Dinamo’s coaching staff, meanwhile, saw enough in the performance in an OT loss at Ak Bars to persevere with the same roster.
Traktor had the edge in the first period, and built a 2-0 lead on goals from Semyon Der-Arguchintsev and Viktor Antipin. The second came on the power play, and it took just six seconds to punish Yanni Kaldis for his slashing.
Dinamo was struggling to get meaningful shots on net, with too many attacks crashing against a wave of home defense. That continued in the second period, with Traktor extending its lead through Vladimir Zharkov’s goal.
Now it was all or nothing for Dinamo, and the visitor began the third period in gung-ho style. For a long time, though, Traktor dealt with the onslaught and seemed poised to see out a comfortable win. However, the last couple of minutes brought Minsk back into the game. Gemel Smith’s first KHL goal put the Bison on the board, and in the last minute Timofei Kovgorenya made it 2-3. The last 50 seconds were tense, but Traktor held on to take the 3-2 verdict.
Motormen avenge Neftekhimik loss
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (3-1, 1-1, 0-0)
These teams met three days earlier in Nizhnekamsk, where a solitary goal was enough to give the home team the edge. In response, Avto head coach Nikolai Zavarukhin put Danil Romantsev onto the right of the top line in place of Anatoly Golyshev. In addition, Vladimir Kuznetsov made his first appearance of the season. Oleg Leontiev’s visiting team was unchanged after its win.
After failing to score in 60 minutes on the road, the Motormen needed just 40 seconds to put that right at home. The new-look top line combined, Stephane Da Costa’s pass found Sergei Shirokov in the left-hand circle and the Yekaterinburg captain potted his first of the season.
Then came Kuznetsov. He scored twice in the first period to put Avto in control. Neftekhimik responded fast, with Nail Yakupov getting his second of the season to keep the visitor in contention.
Yakupov was involved once again at the start of the third, supplying an assist as Vladimir Bryukvin made it a one-goal game. After that, though, penalties slowed the Neftekhimik fightback. The visitor killed the first, but a second offense saw Yefim Gurkin restore a two-goal advantage.
Gurkin missed a good chance to extend the lead late in the middle frame, but ultimately it made little difference. Avtomobilist spent the third period focussed on puck retention, managing the game well and limiting chances for any fightback. By the closing stages, the home team was looking the more likely to score as it maintained its perfect record at home this season.
Razin edges tight verdict in Metallurg home debut
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Lada Togliatti 2 OT (2-0, 0-1, 0-1, 1-0)
Andrei Razin had to wait for his first home game as Metallurg head coach, but his team wasted little time in introducing itself to the Magnitogorsk public. After 45 seconds of the game against Lada, Magnitka was up 1-0 after young Danila Yurov beat visiting goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky with a terrific wrist shot.
It wasn’t long before the home team doubled the lead. Lada killed its first penalty of the game fairly easily, but back at equal strength Metallurg scored again. Yegor Korobkin’s timely rush to the slot saw him pounce on a rebound to make it 2-0.
After that, though, Lada started to get into the game. A couple of power plays helped – no goals, but a chance to get a feel for the puck. Then, at the start of the second period, the visitor found the net. Pavel Koltygin’s feed set up Vladislav Chervonenko’s first KHL goal, outwitting Artyom Zagidulin to find the open corner of the net.
Lada continued to enjoy the better of the game and might have tied the scores in the second period. Instead, it was early in the third that the visitor drew level. Troy Josephs came up with an audacious finish, catching Zagidulin out of position to complete a recovery from 0-2.
That gave the home team a jolt and Magnitka shook off some of the lethargy that had begun to infect its play. By now, though, Podyapolsky was on his game and stopped everything that came his way as Razin’s men looked to finish the job in regulation. The visiting goalie continued to shine in the extras, robbing Grigory Dronov of a winning goal. However, he could not finish on the winning team: Makar Khabarov grabbed the winner to give Razin a winning start on home ice.
Comeback win in Green Derby
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Ak Bars Kazan 2 (1-2, 1-0, 1-0)
Lada wasn’t the only team to rally from 0-2 on Thursday. Salavat Yulaev did the same, only better, wiping out an early deficit to win 3-2 in the first Green Derby of the season.
This game is always a heavyweight clash, and Ak Bars twice had the home team on the metaphorical canvas early on. Salavat Yulaev looked lightweight at the back, and the visitor’s dangerous first line took full advantage of the space available to it. Dmitry Kagarlitsky opened the scoring in the fourth minute. A couple of minutes later, Stanislav Galiyev added a second, and Ufa was wobbling.
However, the home team picked itself up and began throwing some punches of its own. Ak Bars did not help its course, giving a five-on-three power play to Salavat Yulaev, and that chance saw Alexander Chmelevski set up Vyacheslav Leshchenko to make it 1-2.
The middle frame was much better for Ufa. Not only did the home team tie the game – Leshchenko taking advantage of a penalty on Alexander Radulov – it also looked far more comfortable at both ends of the ice. There was a nice subplot to the second home goal: defenseman Dinar Khafizullin, who moved from Kazan to Ufa in the summer, had an assist against his former club.
In the third, Dmitrij Jaskin looked the likeliest man to break the deadlock. He was a persistent nuisance around Alexander Samonov’s net, but could not find away past the goalie. And those missed chances were punished in the 55th minute when Ivan Drozdov stripped an opponent of the puck and went on to get away from defenseman and goalie alike on the way to a memorable game-winner. Ak Bars deployed a sixth skater for the last two-and-a-half minutes, but could not save the game.
Torpedo fights back, stays perfect in West
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 Kunlun Red Star 2 (0-1, 0-1, 5-0)
This game was a battle for the early season lead in the Western Conference. Torpedo eventually managed to preserve its 100% start to the campaign, but only after falling behind to Red Star and Devin Brosseau.
However, Brosseau’s two goals were trumped by a third period hat-trick from Maxim Letunov as Torpedo snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Three goals in the last five minutes gave the final score a convincing look as Igor Larionov’s men moved two points clear in the conference.
Brosseau is the Dragons’ leading scorer this season, and he moved to 7 (5+2) points with a power play goal in the first and an equal strength effort late in the second. At the other end, goalie Matt Jurusik had 24 saves through 40 minutes and Torpedo’s winning start looked to be in serious peril.
The situation demanded a swift response, and Letunov provided it with a power play goal on 40:31. Then he went to the box for interference, and watched his team tie the game on a short-handed tally from Andrei Belevich on 44:25.
With the teams level, Torpedo stepped up the offense and peppered Jurusik’s net with shots. The home team had 26 attempts in that final frame, but found the visiting goalie equal to much of the onslaught. The breakthrough came late: by the 55th minute, many were contemplating overtime but Vasily Atanasov got the game-breaking goal.
In the closing stages, Letunov added two more, completing his treble and giving the final score a convincing look. Red Star will hope that a disappointing outcome after a promising start does not prove to be an omen for its season.
Goldobin double adds to Vityaz’ troubles
Vityaz Moscow Region 1 Spartak Moscow 4 (0-1, 1-1, 0-1)
Spartak is another team up with the leading pack in the West, and this win lifts it eight points, level with KRS and two behind Torpedo. Vityaz, though, is finding things harder: Alexander Zavyalov’s team has won just once in six and props up the standings.
There was rarely much sign of things improving for Vityaz here. Spartak limited the home team to just 11 shots on goal, and eased to a comfortable victory. Andrei Loktionov opened the scoring midway through the first period, and the Red-and-Whites rarely looked back. Ivan Morozov increased the lead at the start of the second before Vladislav Tsitsyura got his first of the season on a power play.
Although Spartak enjoyed the better of the play, the score remained 2-1 for much of the second period. That, at least, gave Vityaz some hope of salvaging something. However, Nikolai Goldobin extinguished those thoughts before the intermission when he added a third.
And Goldobin, the leading scorer in this year’s KHL, continued his impressive form at the start of the third, making it 4-1 and killing the game.
