CSKA blanks Loko, Dragons end slump. October 19 round-up

CSKA forward Anton Slepyshev scored early and late as the defending champion won 3-0 at home to Lokomotiv. That result denied Loko a return to the top of the Western Conference, while in the East leader Metallurg lost its derby game at Traktor. Amur won at Avtomobilist in regulation for the first time in the KHL, and Kunlun ended its miserable run with a shoot-out success at Dinamo Minsk.

Ural derby goes to Traktor

Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (0-0, 0-1, 2-0)

A sell-out crowd greeted the first South Ural derby of the season in Chelyabinsk, and most of those in attendance went home happy after Traktor came from behind to grab a 2-1 win. That got the home team back on track after a couple of losses, and halted Magnitka’s three-game hot streak.

Traktor began the game strongly, lifted by a vocal home crowd. Visiting goalie Ilya Nabokov, who is emerging as Metallurg’s leader this season, saw plenty of rubber in the opening stages and his stretching save to deny Artyom Udot’s close-range effort was one of the highlights of a goalless first period.

At the start of the second period, Traktor’s Sergei Mylnikov showed his skills between the pipes to snuff out a huge chance for Metallurg. Roman Kantserov and Yegor Korobkin got on the counterattack and produced a pair of dangerous efforts but could not open the scoring. That heralded a period with far more pressure from the visitor and, after Vladimir Tkachyov’s foul, Alexander Petunin converted the first power play of the game.

Late in the middle frame, a five-on-three power play handed the momentum back to Traktor. It took a fine glove save from Nabokov to rob Tkachyov of a tying goal but Metallurg held its lead until the second break.

The tying goal arrived in the 47^th minute. Ilya Karpukhin forced a turnover on the blue line and Tkachyov redirected the defenseman’s shot past Nabokov to make it 1-1. Metallurg’s Denis Zernov then spurned a great chance to restore his team’s lead. The action kept coming: Traktor had a goal called back for a high stick in the 52^nd minute, but got a legitimate marker on 56:16. Yegor Popov released Vitaly Kravtsov into the danger zone and he won his battle with Nabokov to claim the winning goal.

Amur grabs rare win in Yekaterinburg

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Amur Khabarovsk 3 (1-1, 0-2, 0-0)

Avto head coach Nikolai Zavarukhin tried a surprising experiment tonight, putting two natural snipers on the same line. Not only did Anatoly Golyshev and Brooks Macek form an unlikely pairing, Golyshev also took on an unfamiliar left-wing role. For Amur, meanwhile, Igor Bobkov played his first game of the season in goal against his former club.

It turned out that Amur’s change was more effective. The Macek-Golyshev combination failed to fire, and the Tigers recovered from going a goal down to record their first ever regulation time win in Yekaterinburg.

Stephane Da Costa got the opening goal in the 16^th minute, converting the first power play of the game. However, the next home power play was less successful, and Kirill Kapustin tied the scores with a shorty five seconds before the intermission.

Avtomobilist began the second period brightly, but its hard pressing game ultimately saw Macek take an O-zone penalty. Amur took full advantage of its first power play of the game with Alexander Khokhlachyov setting up Vladislav Barulin in plenty of space on the slot.

Within a couple of minutes, Amur had a third – this time at full strength – when Artur Gizdatullin burst into the zone and saw his early shot take a couple of deflections on its way into the net.

Up by two, Amur yielded some of the initiative, allowing Avtomobilist more possession but keeping the home team away from the danger zone. It wasn’t until midway through the final stanza that the Motormen created some genuine chances on Bobkov, but there was no way through as Avto suffered a second successive home loss.

Slepyshev early, Slepyshev late

CSKA Moscow 3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 (1-0, 0-0, 2-0)

This was not a good game for latecomers. The key moment arrived after 33 seconds, and subsequently these two teams played out 54 minutes without another goal.

With defending champion CSKA up against a Lokomotiv team looking to return to the top of the Western Conference, an explosive battle was in prospect. And it took less than a minute to go boom! The first face-off went deep into CSKA territory, but Nikita Nesterov retrieved the puck and gave it to Anton Slepyshev in center ice. The forward advanced, spotted a shooting lane and caught Daniil Isayev by surprise with an effort from the deep slot.

Lokomotiv almost hit back immediately through Denis Alexeyev. He got a great chance on the slot thanks to Georgy Ivanov’s work, but could not beat Ivan Fedotov. A few minutes later Alexander Yelesin dinged the crossbar as Loko raised its threat level still further.

However, neither team could add to that early opener and it remained 1-0 at the first intermission. At the beginning of the second period, Slepyshev nearly repeated his fast start. This time, though, Isayev was equal to his effort.

The second goal came in the 55^th minute as CSKA converted a power play. More than 54 minutes afte the first goal, Nesterov doubled his team’s lead and punished Daniil Tesanov’s foul on Takhir Mingachyov.

Having seen an early goal from Slepyshev, we also got a late one from the same player. Lokomotiv had to withdraw Isayev from his net in search of a late surge, but when CSKA got the puck it was Slepyshev who fired home his second of the game to seal a win that lifts his team to fifth.

Dragons win at last

Dinamo Minsk 3 Kunlun Red Star 4 SO (1-0, 2-1, 0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

After a 10-game skid, Kunlun finally got back to winning ways after recovering from 1-3 to win in Minsk. It’s the Chinese franchise’s second win of the season over Dinamo on a day that brought first points for recent signing Teemu Pulkkinen and a first goal for fellow newcomer Brandon McMillan. That set up a shoot-out and the Dragons took the verdict thanks to Luke Lockhart’s successful effort in sudden death.

The first period was somewhat odd: Dinamo had less time on offense, won noticeably fewer draws and arguably had the worst of many key stats. However, it outshot Kunlun 11-4 and parlayed that into a lead thanks to Yanni Kaldis in the ninth minute.

After falling behind, Kunlun got a five-on-three power play late in the first period. There was nothing doing before the hooter, but right after the teams returned to the ice, the Dragons tied the game. Teemu Pulkkinen, whose KHL career began with Minsk, got his first point for his new club with an assist on Ryan Merkley’s goal.

Ryan wasn’t the only Merkley on the scoresheet today. Dinamo’s Nick Merkley (no relation) already had an assist and soon joined his namesake among the goalscorers when he restored the home lead. Midway through the session, Daniil Sotishvili extended the home lead and things looked comfortable for the Belarusians.

However, Pulkkinen was inspired by a return to an old stomping ground. He got a second assist to set up Brandon McMillan. Like Pulkkinen, he’s a recent addition to the KRS offense and this was his first goal for his sixth KHL club. That gave the Dragons hope, and midway through the third Parker Foo got his third goal of an injury-hit season to make it 3-3.

After a goalless overtime, the shootout remained locked at 1-1 after five attempts each. In sudden death, Luke Lockhart grabbed the winner for KRS to end that long losing streak. Tonight’s win also maintains Red Star’s perfect shoot-out record this season.