Dynamo moves top in the West, Jaskin rescues Ak Bars. September 18 round-up
There’s a new leader in the West, as Dynamo defeated Spartak with Yegor Petukhov bagging a lacrosse goal in the closing stages. That moves the Blue-and-Whites clear of Torpedo, which lost in overtime at Salavat Yulaev. In the East, Metallurg consolidated its position on top of the overall standings with a 4-2 win over Avtomobilist before Dmitrij Jaskin’s hat-trick saw Ak Bars edge past Vityaz in OT. The highest-scoring performance of the day – and the season so far – came in Astana, where Barys scored eight on Neftekhimik. There were also plenty of goals in Sochi as the Leopards edged Severstal to make it four successive wins.
Barys hands Neftekhimik a record defeat
Barys Astana 8 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 (2-0, 1-0, 5-0)
After getting its first win of the season at the weekend, Barys followed up with a demolition job on fellow struggler Neftekhimik. Monday’s emphatic success lifts the Kazakhs into the playoff places, while the visitor remains rooted to the foot of the Eastern Conference.
The Barys imports dominated the game. There were two goals apiece for Joey LaBate and Pontus Aberg, David Sklenicka had four assists and Riley Barber produced 1+1. The 8-0 final is the biggest win of the season so far. It’s also the biggest victory for Barys since the opening day of the 2013-2014 season when it scored 10 on Severstal, and Neftekhimik’s worse loss in the KHL.
Barys stormed into action in this one. With 13 seconds played, LaBate potted the opening goal. The American forward got his first of the season in the previous game against Admiral and that looks to have triggered a bit of form for the 30-year-old. On 3:48, Nelson Nogier doubled the lead and Neftekhimik was already in trouble.
The visitor waited another minute, then replaced starting goalie Andrei Tikhomirov with understudy Emil Garipov. That slowed the Barys offense, but did little to stimulate much menace at the other end. Home netminder Andrei Shutov had just five shots to deal with in the opening session.
That all changed in the middle frame. Neftekhimik’s forwards got into the game far more while Barys, for long periods, found it tough to get good looks at Garipov. However, despite the visitor outshooting the Kazakhs 10-4, the only goal went to the home team: LaBate turned provider and Riley Barber extended the lead.
At the start of the third, Riley turned provider when he fed the puck for Sklenicka to launch a shot. Pontus Aberg got the vital touch on that shot, and steered it beyond Garipov. After a review confirmed that Aberg’s stick was not too high, Barys led 4-0.
Next came two power play goals, with LaBate and Aberg on target. Sklenicka assisted on both. And, in the closing stages, Neftekhimik fell apart. Vsevolod Logvin, who was an unused 13th skater on Saturday, got on the ice for the first time today. The 19-year-old potted his first KHL goal to make it 7-0, then another home-grown youngster, Alikhan Omirbekov, got his debut goal in adult hockey to complete the rout.
Lada wraps up successful road trip
Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 Lada Togliatti 2 (0-0, 1-1, 0-1)
Lada’s first road trip of the season ended with victory in Chelyabinsk, giving Oleg Bratash’s team seven points from eight available on its visit to the Southern Urals. This was already the third meeting of these teams this season, with every game so far going to the visitor. Lada leads the mini series 2-1 before hosting Traktor for the last time one week from now.
Lada was without injured captain Mikhail Fisenko. Maxim Berezin wore the ‘C’, while Nikita Anokhovsky took Fisenko’s place among the forwards.
Both teams came here in good form and the opening frame was full of energy. However, that effort did not translate into many clear-cut chances and there was relatively little to choose between the two as they left the ice goalless at the first intermission.
The middle frame brought the first penalties of the day, and Traktor converted its first PP of the game when Semyon Der-Arguchintsev found the unguarded corner of Vladislav Podyapolsky’s net. Lada responded quickly. Scott Kosmachuk had a great chance on the counter, but could not beat Sergei Mylnikov. A few minutes later, though, Gleb Bulychyov hit the target with a mid-range effort. That makes two goals in two games for the 20-year-old, while Troy Josephs’ assist extends his hot streak to six games (6+2). Late in the middle frame, a defensive error presented Anton Burdasov with a good chance to restore Traktor’s lead, but Lada survived that scare.
In the third, Traktor continued to have more possession, and posed more frequent questions of the visiting goalie. For long periods, Lada was content to soak up the pressure and wait for its chance, which finally arrived in the 57th minute. Anokhovsky, one of the players who was with Lada in the VHL last season, converted a fine pass from Andrei Altybarmakyan to score his first career KHL goal.
Magnitka sinks Avto, stays top
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 (1-0, 2-2, 1-0)
After losing in Yekaterinburg in its first game of the season, Magnitka got revenge today to maintain its position at the top of the KHL standings. Both teams arrived on the back of defeats, with Metallurg going down at home to Lada while Avtomobilist was losing at Traktor.
Home head coach Andrei Razin brought back Maxim Karpov and Pavel Akolzin, while also returning goalie Artyom Zagidulin to the starting line-up. For the Motormen, Evgeny Alikin replaced Vladimir Galkin between the piping.
So far this season, the Metallurg power play has been underwhelming with just three goals in seven games. However, there are signs of progress. Today’s opener, with Yegor Korobkin forcing home the rebound from a trademark Robin Press shot, was the second PP tally in successive games. It was also all that separated the teams at the first intermission.
After the break, Nikita Mikhailis saw a goal called back for offside after a bench challenge from Avtomobilist. Then another power play saw Grigory Dronov double the home lead, helped by a deflection off Sergei Zborovsky. For much of the game, Avtomobilist was forced to play on the counter. However, when the visitor got a chance to spend some time in the Metallurg zone, Oleg Li found the space to get close to the net and beat Zagidulin. Then came a power play for the visitor, and Alexei Byvaltsev tied the scores.
Despite the fightback, Magnitka took a lead into the break. Newcomer Maxim Mukhametov clearly has a taste for playing against Avtomobilist: he scored past Alikin on his debut and repeated that trick today to make it 3-2 late in the middle frame.
That proved to be the game winner, with Korobkin potting his second of the game midway through the third to seal the verdict. Up 4-2, Metallurg closed out the game effectively to seal another win.
Leshchenko snatches OT winner
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 0 OT (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
After losing its first game of the season to Ak Bars on Saturday, Torpedo suffered another loss today in Ufa. A hard-fought game was settled in overtime, when Vyacheslav Leshchenko scored the only goal of the evening. For the host, which had previously alternated victories and losses, this made it back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Much of this game was a cautious, defensive affair. The first period brought few chances, and the best fell to Torpedo’s Maxim Letunov, who was named among the top players of week two of the season ahead of today’s game.
Midway through the game, another spell of Torpedo pressure tested Salavat’s defense to the utmost. Goalie Alexander Samonov made a big save to deny 17-year-old forward Nikita Artamonov as the visitor spent a full 90 seconds trying to find a way to goal.
However, for all Torpedo enjoyed the better of regulation, the visitor began overtime on the PK. Salavat head coach Viktor Kozlov gambled and replaced Samonov with a fifth skater and reaped the rewards: Leshchenko grabbed the winner in a game that his team might easily have lost.
Loko neutralizes CSKA
CSKA Moscow 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (0-2, 0-0, 1-0)
During his time as CSKA head coach, Igor Nikitin was renowned for his team’s structured, disciplined play. Today, he served up a reminder of that for his former employer, grabbing a 2-1 win for Lokomotiv thanks to rock solid defense after taking an early lead.
Lokomotiv got off to a flying start. The visitor opened the scoring in the second minute through Yaroslav Likhachyov. Maxim Shalunov won his battle with Darren Dietz on the boards and steered the puck to the slot for the youngster to meet it with a one-timer. That makes it three goals in successive games for Likhachyov, who is starting to show last season’s form following his return home from a loan spell with Amur.
CSKA thought it had an equalizer on the first power play of the night. However, Konstantin Okulov’s goal was overruled after Lokomotiv called for a review: Maxim Mamin strayed offside in the build-up and the Railwaymen preserved their 1-0 lead.
Late in the frame, Lokomotiv got its first power play and converted it into a legitimate goal. Denis Alexeyev took a pass in the CSKA zone, advanced to the circle and hit a rising shot that evaded Ivan Fedotov’s glove and flew into the net.
Despite its lead, Loko often struggled to contain the CSKA offense in the first period. After the intermission, Igor Nikitin’s team redoubled its efforts on the press to restrict the Muscovites’ opportunities. The plan worked: Lokomotiv outshot the home team in the middle stanza and protected its 2-0 lead with little drama.
However, CSKA got back into the game midway through the third. Pavel Karnaukhov profited after his team won possession in the offensive zone. He advanced to a central position and fired in a shot that deflected off Anton Slepyshev to beat Daniil Isayev in the Lokomotiv net.
Immediately afterwards, Martin Gernat got forward to test Ivan Fedotov, then CSKA took a penalty. The home PK was solid, but it cost two minutes as Sergei Fedorov’s team tried to save the game. The last 10 minutes saw Lokomotiv set up to keep play bogged down in center ice. CSKA struggled to get through that wall and the better chances fell to the visitor’s counter attacks. Sergei Andronov might have finished off his former club after a Likhachyov raid, but he could not find the net from close range. Even in the final moments, with Fedotov benched and a sixth skater on the ice for the home team, there was no way through a solid defense.
Jaskin too strong for spirited Vityaz
Ak Bars Kazan 5 Vityaz Moscow Region 4 OT (2-1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-0)
On paper, this looked like a home banker. Vityaz, rock bottom of the KHL standings, had just one win in seven games. Ak Bars, without hitting its best form, was up to second in the Eastern Conference.
However, Alexander Zavyalov’s team produced some of its best hockey of the season to give one of the KHL’s big guns plenty to think about. The visitor struck early, with Vitaly Popov scoring after 31 seconds. Dmitrij Jaskin’s power play goal soon cancelled that one out, but Vityaz held Ak Bars until late in the opening frame.
However, goals either side of the intermission seemed to take the game away from the visitor. Dmitry Katelevsky made it 2-1 seconds before the break. Then Jaskin potted his second of the night. 3-1, and surely too much for struggling Vityaz to do.
But the visitor refused to quit. Stanislav Yarovoi got one back on the power play midway through the second period. Then, with 10 to play, Ilya Arklalov tied it up at 3-3.
Now Vityaz believed that it could get the win that would lift it out of the basement. On 56:20, Derek Barach scored his first goal since arriving in the KHL to give the visitor a 4-3 lead. Could Vityaz hold on?
Not quite. With 46 seconds left on the clock, Jaskin completed his hat-trick to take the game into overtime. More importantly, perhaps, that goal also handed the momentum to Ak Bars. Overtime was done inside a minute; Jaskin collected his fourth point of the game to set up Vadim Shipachyov for the winner. But while Ak Bars takes the points, Vityaz leaves with plenty of positives.
Sochi records fourth straight win
HC Sochi 5 Severstal Cherepovets 3 (0-0, 2-1, 2-2)
Sochi’s improvement has been one of the talking points of the season so far. Last term, the Leopards were painfully off the pace. Today, though, they entertained Severstal looking to extend a three-game winning streak and move into the top four in the West.
However, Severstal has its own ambitions. Although Andrei Kozyrev’s team came into the game a point behind its host, it had played fewer games than any other team in the KHL. Victory here would lift the Steelmen above Sochi, and the visitor dominated the first period without managing to make the breakthrough.
That looked like it could be costly midway through the second, when Sochi scored twice in a minute to build a 2-0 advantage. Artur Tyanulin and Danila Galenyuk were the scorers, while it was no surprise to see Michal Kristof and Borna Rendulic among the assists.
However, Severstal responded well. Ruslan Abrosimov pulled a goal back in the second period, and the start of the third saw Danil Aimurzin tie the game. The 21-year-old, who left Salavat Yulaev in search of more ice time, added to his four assists this term with his first goal for his new club.
Last season, Sochi might not have recovered from that setback. This year’s team is a different animal. In the 53rd minute Rendulic set up Sergei Popov to restore the lead – that was two assists on the night and 10 points for the season for the Croatian, who unusually made no scoring contribution to the recent 5-4 road win in Cherepovets. This game threatened to match that high-scoring encounter when the teams traded goals in the 57th minute – Timur Khafizov for Sochi, then Dmitry Moiseyev for Severstal. Amir Garayev added a fifth to make it safe for Sochi with two minutes left.
Petukhov’s lacrosse goal seals Dynamo derby win
Dynamo Moscow 6 Spartak Moscow 3 (2-0, 2-2, 2-1)
The first edition of this Moscow derby was a high-scoring affair, with Dynamo taking the verdict. Alexei Kudashov’s team followed up a 4-1 win at CSKA with another victory over a crosstown rival and moves to the top of the Western Conference.
Much of the pre-game talk was about Nikita Gusev’s effective partnership with Jordan Weal and the newly potent Dynamo power play. However, the opening goal came in very different circumstances. Spartak, despite a slow start, got the first power play of the game. But a mistake from Nikolai Goldobin on the blue line enabled the home team to counter and Ivan Muranov opened the scoring with a shorty.
Later in the first, Dynamo delivered a PP goal. Igor Ozhiganov’s shot rebounded off the post and Maxim Dzhioshvili was first to react to beat Patrik Rybar.
In the final sections of the frame, Spartak’s defense left Ozhiganov all alone, and his shot was a whisker away from 3-0. Instead, the third goal had to wait until early in the second period, when Dmitry Rashevsky found the net. Spartak replied at once, Daniel Usmanov scoring on his first appearance of the season. Late in the frame, there was another rapid exchange of goals. Pavel Poryadin’s power play tally got the Red-and-Whites back to 2-3, but Dzhioshvili grabbed his second of the game to give Dynamo some breathing space.
Spartak rallied in the third and got back to 3-4 when Shane Prince struck in the 51st minute. That sparked an extended spell of pressure on the home net, with Konstantin Volkov at his best to preserve the lead. However, hopes of a Red-and-White recovery were ended by a masterpiece from Yegor Petukhov on 56:05. The former Barys man produced a lacrosse goal to give his team a decisive advantage. Then, for good measure, he added an empty net goal to send Dynamo top of the Western Conference.
