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Loko stays top with SKA win, Spartak beats CSKA. October 11 round-up
It was all about the top of the Western Conference today. Lokomotiv won 3-2 at SKA to remain two points clear of Torpedo, 4-3 winners at Severstal. Spartak moves up to third thanks to a derby win over CSKA. That result also puts the Red-and-Whites ahead of Dynamo Moscow, which lost in a shoot-out at Barys. Eastern Conference leader Metallurg suffered a second successive loss, going down 1-4 at Avangard, while Traktor recovered to defeat Sibir in a shoot-out. Neftekhimik got a boost with a 3-0 win over Vityaz, and Dinamo Minsk handed Kunlun Red Star an eighth successive loss.
Traktor rallies from two down
Sibir Novosibirsk 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 SO (2-1, 1-1, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1)
Traktor handed a debut to Danil Yurtaikin, just arrived from CSKA, and put the newcomer straight into the first line. He replaced the injured Anton Burdasov in that role. There was better news for Vitaly Kravtsov, back in action after injury and playing his first game since Sep. 12.
Sibir was looking to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Avtomobilist, but David Nemirovsky did not make substantial changes to his team. Sergei Dubakin was the notable new face, and he made an impact when he set up a goal for Ivan Klimovich at the end of the first period.
Klimovich’s tally made the score 2-1 – early in the game, Nikita Shashkov put the host ahead only for Nikita Soshnikov to cancel that one out. Shashkov thought he’d set up Yegor Alanov for a second Sibir goal, but a review ruled it out for interference on the goalie. There was more home misfortune as Vladimir Butuzov and Georgy Belousov saw efforts rebound off the piping.
However, midway through the second period, Sibir moved up 3-1 on a rare power play goal. Butuzov got his tally this time and the home team seemed to have a measure of comfort. However, Traktor replied with PP marker of its own through Maxim Shabanov, who would go on to have a major say in the outcome of the game.
The next big incident saw Sibir go up 4-2 midway through the third on a goal from Ilya Morozov. With 11 minutes left, the home team was well-placed to snap its three-game losing streak, but Traktor battled back. A power play chance saw Kravtsov celebrate his return with an important goal – and Yurtaikin mark his debut with an assist. Then Shabanov grabbed a tying goal late on as the play became stretched and the teams traded counterattacks. Overtime settled nothing, but Shabanov added to his double in regulation by potting the shoot-out winner.
Magnitka suffers another heavy loss
Avangard Omsk 4 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (0-1, 2-0, 2-0)
After losing 2-6 at home to Salavat Yulaev last time out, table-topping Metallurg suffered another heavy defeat today. Avangard bounced back from a 1-4 reverse at home to Torpedo to win by the same scoreline.
Metallurg came to Omsk with a much-changed line-up. Jean-Sebastian Dea and Danila Yurov were the most prominent absentees, while Artyom Minulin and Denis Zernov were recalled. Avangard, meanwhile, kept largely the same team but handed a first start of the season to goalie Ilya Proskuryakov.
The goalie lasted little more than four minutes before allowing the first of the game. It was the first real opening for Metallurg, and Alexander Petunin’s shot from the boards took a deflection off Ryan Spooner to beat Proskuryakov. At the other end, Reid Boucher, Vladimir Tkachyov and Ziyat Paigin spurned early scoring chances for the home team.
Generally, though, Avangard looked livelier than its visitor and that turned into goals in the second period. From the opening moments, Magnitka was pushed into its own zone and the Hawks tied it up in the 25th minute when Damir Sharipzyanov’s clearance released Ivan Igumnov. That inspired even more effort from the home offense and Spooner got the go-ahead goal just after the midway mark when he fired through heavy traffic.
There was more to come. Boucher started the third period by scoring his team’s third goal on the power play. Nothing was going right for Metallurg: Avangard defenseman Roman Abrosimov had the better of a fight with Luke Johnson shortly afterwards while the game was clearly drifting away from the visitor.
Only late in the game did Metallurg show signs of stirring, but by then it was too late. Tkachyov empty net goal wrapped up a good win for the home team.
Improving Barys claims shoot-out success
Barys Astana 3 Dynamo Moscow 2 SO (2-1, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
After five straight losses cost Andrei Skabelka his job as Barys head coach, Galym Mambetaliev has come in and brought an immediate improvement. Today he made it two wins in two since taking charge after edging Dynamo in a shoot-out.
Against the Muscovites, Barys made a bright start. Adil Beketayev opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and Riley Barber took advantage of some generous defense to find the net in the 10th. In between, Dynamo hit back through Jordan Weal, who potted his 100th KHL goal. He scored on Eddie Pasquale, who was on the ice for the first time since Sep. 25.
In the second period, Nikita Gusev brought Dynamo level once again with his 199th career goal. That was the end of the scoring in regulation. The third period brought a decent chance for Vladislav Mikhailov on an odd-man rush and Dynamo had two power play opportunities without success.
The visitor also came closest in overtime, but this game was destined for a shoot-out. Barys was much the better, with Pasquale allowing just one attempt past him while Kirill Savitsky, Roman Starchenko and Batyrlan Muratov scored at the other end.
Dolganov celebrates first shut-out
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Vityaz Moscow Region 0 (1-0, 1-0, 1-0)
Both these teams are struggling this season, and both have made changes. For Vityaz, this was the second game under new head coach Dmitry Ryabykin. Neftkehimik, meanwhile, exchanged players with SKA. Forward Andrei Chivilyov left the club, while goalie Dmitry Nikolayev arrived. He sat this one out, though, and Filipp Dolganov got the start.
Dolganov also claimed his first KHL shut-out in only the seventh game for the 25-year-old. He stopped 23 shots to end his team’s three-game losing streak. That’s not enough to lift Neftekhimik off the foot of the Eastern Conference, but it puts the Wolves within a point of Admiral.
Neftekhimik had the better of the first period, but had to wait until the last minute before Andrei Belozyorov’s power play goal opened the scoring. Early in the second, Belozyorov’s assist helped Bulat Shafigullin double the lead.
It already looked like a long way back for Vityaz but the visitor attempted to rally. The middle frame saw Ryabykin’s men have more possession and more shots, but there was no reward on the scoreboard.
That pattern continued in the third, until Lukas Klok made it 3-0 to put the game out of reach.
Severstal Cherepovets 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 (0-1, 3-1, 2-0)
Andrei Kozyrev spent last season as an assistant at Torpedo. Today, he welcomed his former colleagues to Cherepovets, where he is head coach of Severstal. And his current team posed some questions of its visitor before slipping to a late defeat.
The standings favored Torpedo, with Igor Larionov’s team pushing at the top of the standings while Severstal is just inside the top eight. However, recent form was more even: Torpedo lost three of its last five, the Steelmen alternated wins and losses in its last four.
The visitor had the edge in the first period. Dennis Yan opened the scoring after six minutes and Torpedo outshot Severstal 9-3.
That all changed in the middle frame. Severstal started on the power play and after 19 seconds Alexander Skorenov tied the game. Within a couple of minutes, Kirill Pilipenko had the home team in front and midway through the session, Skorenov got his second of the night, this time shorthanded.
However, Torpedo is a resilient team this season and its offense is always capable to producing goals. Vladislav Firstov pulled one back in the 36th minute to set up an intriguing final frame. Midway through that session, Daniil Bokun tied it up.
Then, in the 53rd minute, Yan got his second of the night. Danil Veryayev forced a turnover in front of the Severstal net and set up Yan for the decisive play of the night.
Red-and-Whites rule in Moscow
Spartak Moscow 5 CSKA Moscow 3 (2-0, 2-1, 1-2)
The second edition of this Moscow derby saw Spartak get revenge for last month’s overtime loss. Alexei Zhamnov’s team also recorded a fourth successive victory and climbs to third in the West. For the defending champion, meanwhile, things are still not quite going at full speed. This was a second loss in three games and the momentum that was building after three convincing victories seems to be dissipating once more.
Things might have been different if Mikhail Grigorenko’s early shot had not bounced back off the post. A matter of millimeters would have put CSKA in front in the second minute. Instead, Grigorenko’s near miss was followed by a penalty on Sergei Plotnikov and a power play goal for Pavel Poryadin. Spartak consolidated its lead late in the first period when Ansel Galimov made it 2-0.
At the start of the middle frame, Plotnikov pulled a goal back, but Ivan Morozov immediately restored the two-goal cushion for the home team. At times, the Red-and-Whites were rampant: after 15 minutes of the second period, the shot count was 17-3 in Spartak’s favor. That pressure helped Nikolai Goldobin add a fourth goal. That’s Goldobin’s 12th of the season and the scoring leader also collected two assists to move to 28 (12+16) overall.
CSKA responded well to that middle-frame failure. Vitaly Abramov pulled a goal back in the 45th minute, and when Nikita Nesterov converted a power play midway through the third period, Spartak was rattled. Zhamnov called a time-out to calm his troops, but the teams soon traded penalties with Morozov following Ivan Rogov to the box. However, during the four-on-four play, Daniil Orlov went coast-to-coast to make it 5-3 and give his team an advantage it would hold until the hooter.
Dinamo freezes out KRS
Kunlun Red Star 0 Dinamo Minsk 4 (0-2, 0-2, 0-0)
Improving Dinamo posted a fourth successive win – and a fifth in six games – to add to Kunlun Red Star’s problems. The Chinese team, which began the season brightly, fell to an eighth loss on the spin, scuppered by a slow start.
Dinamo, out to avenge a 3-4 loss when it visited here last month, scored twice in the first four minutes. Gemel Smith opened the scoring on 92 seconds, with Rob Hamilton getting his third assist in two games for his new club. Then Vadim Moroz doubled the lead on 3:32, giving the Bison a comfortable advantage.
In response, Kunlun’s Turner Ottenbreit got into a fight with Timofei Kovgorenya and pummelled his opponent to the ice, but that was pretty much the highlight for the home team. Apart from a dangerous one-timer for Teemu Pulkkinen, up against one of his former clubs, there was little to encourage the Dragons as they played their seventh game in 11 days.
The middle frame saw Dinamo take the game away. Sam Anas and Vyacheslav Osnovin extended the lead to 4-0 and there was no way back for the host. Alexei Kolosov completed a shut-out, stopping 21 shots.
Debut goal for Rendulic can’t save SKA
SKA St. Petersburg 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 (0-1, 1-2, 1-0)
Lokomotiv outlasted SKA to preserve its advantage at the top of the Western Conference. Igor Nikitin’s team claimed a second win of the season over this opponent, both by the same 3-2 scoreline. As a result, the Railwaymen remain two points clear of Torpedo.
SKA, meanwhile, cannot achieve lift-off this season. Back-to-back wins over CSKA and Kunlun Red Star suggested that things were changing. However, trades to swap Marat Khusnutdinov for Borna Rendulic, and Dmitry Nikolayev for Andrei Chivilyov point to uncertainty about the strength of the roster. Rendulic, so impressive for HC Sochi at the start of this season, made a goalscoring debut but still finished on the losing side.
The first period belonged to Lokomotiv. The visitor took the lead through Ivan Chekhovich’s first of the season, and had the puck in Nikita Serebryakov’s net again in the 13th minute. That effort was ruled out, though: it came via a high stick.
At the start of the second, Loko got a legitimate second. Daniil Tesanov got free at the back door to thump home a pass from Maxim Beryozkin after a helpful bounce put Lokomotiv on the counterattack down the left.
Artyom Zemchyonok pulled one back for SKA, but the relief was short-lived. Forty-one seconds later, Georgy Ivanov restored that two-goal cushion. Straight after, Artur Kayumov took a minor penalty and the rest of the frame saw SKA’s offense dictate the play. Lokomotiv managed just four shots in the period (but still scored two goals) and had to rely on some hard work from its defense to preserve its lead.
The home team wanted an early goal in the third, but had to wait until midway through the session to reduce the deficit. Rendulic marked his debut with a big goal, holding off a challenge and catching Daniil Isayev in no man’s land to make it 2-3. With almost 10 minutes left, there was time for SKA to save the game. However, Nikitin’s teams know a thing or two about game management and Lokomotiv played calmly and carefully in the closing stages to secure the victory.
