Streaks continue. September 15 round-up

Both Friday’s games brought together teams in contrasting form. And both games following that formbook. Dynamo Moscow went to Petersburg and won a fourth successive game, handing SKA a fourth loss. Meanwhile, Sochi recorded a third straight win over Sibir, which has now lost its last three.

Revenge win for Dynamo

SKA St. Petersburg 1 Dynamo Moscow 3 (1-2, 0-0, 0-1)

When SKA began its season with a win at Dynamo, all seemed well in the Petersburg camp. Indeed, after the Muscovites lost two of their first three games, the pressure was on Alexei Kudashov. By the time the teams met again today in the north, that pressure had shifted.

Roman Rotenberg’s team lost its home opener 0-3 to Spartak, making it three successive losses for a side expected to lead the way in the West. Dynamo, meanwhile, reeled off a three-game winning streak with an impressive 4-1 success at defending champion CSKA.

One theory about SKA’s stuttering start suggested that talented young forward Matvei Michkov – now loaned to Sochi – was proving a distraction. Michkov’s temporary departure opens the door for Arseny Gritsyuk, another hot prospect signed from Avangard in the summer, to make his mark. Gritsyuk took that opportunity today, opening the scoring in the fifth minute with a powerful blast from Alexander Nikishin’s feed. That was the second chance for Gritsyuk in a lively start from the home team and it was tempting to believe that SKA was playing itself back into form.

However, as the first period wore on, both sides got bogged down in a physical battle. SKA had another power play, and Alexander Kadeikin was close to doubling the lead. However, as the game got more niggly, Dynamo came back into contention. The Blue-and-Whites’ first power play saw the tying goal: Nikita Gusev, on his first return to Petersburg since leaving SKA, fired the puck to the slot where it bounced into the net off Maxim Dzhioshvili’s skate. A long review could not establish any deliberate kicking motion, and the goal was awarded.

In the 18^th minute, the visitor went ahead. Eric O’Dell won his battle on the boards and dished off the puck for Dmitry Rashevsky. The youngster fired in a low shot, and Vladislav Mikhailov did well to get in front of the net and redirect the puck past Johan Mattsson.

SKA swapped goalies at the intermission, sending out Sergei Ivanov for the second period. While he got through the middle frame unscathed, his team-mates did not have much opportunity to tie the game at the other end. Dynamo had three power play chances and created the better scoring opportunities.

At the start of the third, another PP for the visitor brought Dzhioshvili his second of the game. SKA defenseman Stepan Falkovsky was the unwitting assistant this time, sending a misplaced pass straight onto his opponent’s stick. Dzhioshvili gleefully accepted the gift, moving to the center to shoot past Ivanov.

After costing his team a goal, Falkovsky later saved SKA from allowing a fourth. With six to play, the home team pulled goalie Ivanov to try and convert a power play. The attack broke down, and Falkovsky hurried back to stop Cedric Paquette scoring into the empty net. However, the extra man was unable to unlock the visiting defense as Dynamo held on for the win.

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Three in a row for resurgent Sochi

HC Sochi 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (3-0, 0-1, 1-1)

Sochi recorded a third successive victory, the Leopards’ hottest streak since November 2021. Last season, Sochi only managed back-to-back wins in the final two games of a painful regular season campaign; this term, Dmitry Kokorev’s team has four victories from seven games and finds itself handily placed on the shoulder of Western Conference leaders Torpedo and Dynamo Moscow.

Sibir, meanwhile, is having a tough time. Under David Nemirovsky, things are not gelling as fast as the team would hope. The distraction of moving into a new arena seemed to be more of a hindrance than an inspiration: the team lost two out its first three home games this season. Back on the road, another loss leaves the team just outside the playoff spots in the early-season standings.

Today, Sibir was in trouble inside two minutes. Artur Tyanulin opened the scoring on 72 seconds and immediately afterwards the visitor took a minor penalty. After surviving that, Sochi’s second power play of the day saw Michal Kristof double the lead. Both goals had assists from Borna Rendulic and the Croatian continued his freescoring form when he potted the third goal just inside the 10-minute mark.

The visitor improved in the second stanza, and Nikolai Prokhorkin’s goal just before the hooter gave some hope of a fightback in the third. However, a shorthanded goal from Artyom Nikolayev midway through the final frame restored Sochi’s three-goal advantage and effectively ended the contest. Sibir got a consolation effort from Taylor Beck but could not escape a third successive loss.