Good day on the road. October 20 round-up

Three of Friday’s four games finished in wins for the visiting team. Salavat Yulaev left it late to sink Severstal, Sibir came from 0-2 to defeat Ak Bars, and Barys snapped its skid at Sochi. Lada bucked the trend, picking up a 5-3 verdict at home to Avangard.

Lada up to third in the East

Lada Togliatti 5 Avangard 3 (0-1, 3-1, 2-1)

After blowing a 2-0 lead at Vityaz, Avangard again made a fast start here. The visitor got a power play right at the start of the game when Lada was forced into desperate measures to halt Reid Boucher’s rush. However, there was no reprieve: Boucher himself scored with the first shot of the game, converting the power play after 31 seconds of action.

The Hawks more than held their own for the rest of the first period, with Boucher’s line causing particular problems. However, the home team also showed plenty of intent and forced 19 saves out of Avangard goalie Andrei Mishurov in an entertaining opening frame. When Mishurov was beaten late on, Dmitry Kugryshev’s rebound effort hit the bar.

Lada continued to press at the start of the second period. An early power play saw Ivan Romanov tie the scores, then another numerical advantage brought a goal for Georgy Solyannikov 17 seconds after Vladimir Tkachyov went to the box.

There was more action for the special teams late in the stanza. First, Evgeny Groshev took a major for kneeing Semyon Chistyakov. Now, Lada’s PK joined the party and Romanov’s short-handed effort brought his second of the game. However, Ivan Nikolishin pulled one back on the same power play when he slipped home the rebound from Igor Geraskin’s shot.

Avangard’s power play evaporated on the hooter when Boucher took two penalties for separate offenses. Playing four-on-four, the visitor had three big chances in the first shift of the final frame, but could not score. Then Avangard had to kill the remnants of Boucher’s penalty to stay in the game.

Midway through the third, Evgeny Groshev got his first of the season and the night’s first and only goal in five-on-five play. That restored Lada’s two-goal advantage and proved to be the game winner. But there was more scoring action to come. Valentin Pyanov got it back to 3-4 as the Hawks went six-on-five at the death. However, hopes of saving the game in the remaining 28 seconds came to naught; Andrei Altybarmakyan found the empty net to wrap up a result that takes Lada to third in the Eastern Conference.

Smash and grab for Salavat Yulaev

Severstal Cherepovets 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 (0-0, 2-2, 1-2)

With seven goals and a late winner, there was no shortage of excitement in Cherepovets. Unfortunately for the home fans, though, that dramatic finale favored Salavat Yulaev as the visitor reaped the rewards for excellent finishing. Ufa improves to five straight wins; Severstal suffers a second loss in a row.

In hindsight, Severstal might feel the game was lost in the first period. Not because of the success of the opposition, but due to wasteful finishing. The home team had four power plays, outshot Ufa 14-2 and dominated the offensive possession stats (7:18 vs 1:23). However, the Steelmen could not force the breakthrough and the teams went to the intermission still deadlocked.

After all that pressure in the opening frame, Salavat Yulaev landed a sucker punch early in the second when Alexander Chmelevski finished off Ivan Drozdov’s counterattack. However, Severstal quickly turned things around. The home power play clicked at last in the 28^th minute as in form Nikita Korostelyov struck again. Then, 35 seconds later, Dmitry Moiseyev made it 2-1.

Right after that, though, Korostelyov’s foul gave Salavat Yulaev its first power play of the game. That did not bring a goal, but robbed the home team of some momentum. In the 33^rd minute, Chmelevski’s second of the game meant it was two goals on four shots for Ufa in the second period.

Severstal continued to have more of the play, but in the third period there was greater offensive intent from Salavat Yulaev. That brought a 48^th-minute marker for Alexander Sharov, which was cancelled out by a power play tally from Kirill Pilipenko.

Locked at 3-3, the teams went into the final stages. Severstal again took an untimely penalty to yield the initiative with less than five minutes to play, but the home team held on and overtime seemed likely. Then came one last push for Ufa: Nikita Zorkin fired in a shot from the blue line and an unfortunate deflection off Nikita Sedov’s stick sent the puck into the home net with 23 seconds to give Salavat Yulaev the verdict.

Ak Bars blows 2-0 lead, Sibir snatches victory

Ak Bars Kazan 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 OT (1-0, 1-1, 0-1, 0-1)

On Tuesday, Sibir left it late to save the game at Torpedo before winning the shoot-out to snap a losing streak. Today, David Nemirovsky’s team produced another battling road win, recovering from 0-2 in Kazan to triumph in OT.

There was little sign of that outcome in the first period. Ak Bars played with the assurance and dominance you’d expect from a home team riding high in the standings. The only minor blemish might be the fact that a good start produced just one goal, Vadim Shipachyov scoring on the power play after Yegor Klimovich picked up a double minor.

Early in the second period, the Radulov-Shipachyov combination clicked again, this time at equal strength. A 2-0 lead felt more in keeping with the balance of play, but not for long. Nikita Shashkov found a wily way to reduce the deficit, whipping in a rising shot from a dead angle and seeing it bounce into the net off goalie Artur Akhtyamov’s helmet.

In the third period, Sibir drew level with a power play goal. Taylor Beck was the provider; his feed to the left-hand circle was perfectly weighted for Vladimir Butuzov’s one-timer.

As the final frame wore on, chances became scarce as both teams settled for overtime. However, the extras saw a swift resolution. Beck picked up a pass in center ice, moved across the blue line and found himself unmolested by defensemen as he put a wrister into the top corner to win it for Sibir.

Barys halts losing run

HC Sochi 3 Barys Astana 5 (0-2, 2-1, 1-2)

Barys rode a strong first period to victory, snapping a three-game skid. Sochi, meanwhile, continues to slip following the departure of key players. This was a fourth straight loss, and a sixth defeat in seven for Dmitry Kokorev’s team.

The damage was done in the first period. Kirill Savitsky opened the scoring for Barys in the 14^th minute, and just before the intermission Riley Barber made it two. That makes it three points in as many games for the American forward, who is showing signs of getting hot again after a quiet spell following September’s scoring surge.

Sochi included recent signing Jeremy Bracco, who was placed on waivers by Barys after six games of the season. He got his first point for his new club with an assist on Sergei Popov’s power play goal in the 35^th minute. That triggered a flurry of goals to end the second period: Pontus Aberg made it 3-1 for Barys, but Jesse Graham got one back before the intermission.

Sochi needed a strong start to the third period, but instead fell further behind in the 47^th minute. Batyrlan Muratov is still viewed as a potential star of Kazakh hockey, but the 24-year-old has not always delivered at the highest level. Today, though, he got an important goal to make it 4-2. That was already too much for Sochi, which struggled to make inroads in the closing stages. There was a bit of late excitement when Aberg scored an empty-netter, only for Matvei Michkov to reply in the final seconds.