Lada leads the East. October 29 round-up
KHL newcomer Lada Togliatti moved to the top of the Eastern Conference thanks to victory over previous leader Metallurg. Ak Bars, the other team in contention, suffered a derby loss at Neftekhimik. Dinamo Minsk kept up its run of form with victory in Omsk, and Torpedo won at Barys to make it three successes from four after a difficult run. Traktor flattened Kunlun with a fast start and Severstal ended its skid with victory over Avtomobilist.
Dinamo posts three in a row
Avangard Omsk 3 Dinamo Minsk 4 (2-1, 1-2, 0-1)
Dinamo Minsk rallied from 0-2 to win in Omsk, recording a third successive victory and keeping the Hawks on their win-lose sequence.
Things looked good for the home team early on. Avangard took the lead on a Vladimir Tkachyov goal after three minutes and Igor Martynov doubled the advantage in the eighth minute. Former Dinamo forward Ryan Spooner got the first of two assists on that second goal.
The Belarusians found an instant response, and Nick Merkley pulled a goal back on 7:55. Then the visitor scored on its first shot of the second period. Unexpectedly, starting goalie Ilya Proskuryakov did not appear for the middle frame and Vasily Demchenko was caught cold when Alexander Volkov redirected Rob Hamilton’s shot beyond him. Avangard then fluffed a power play chance but regained the lead midway through the game thanks to a Libor Sulak goal. Undaunted, Dinamo responded with a short-handed goal from Andrei Stas, assisted by Volkov, to tie the scores before the break.
With the game finely balanced, Bogdan Kiselevich’s penalty midway through the third proved crucial. Dinamo grabbed its power play chance and Kodie Curran potted the winner. In the closing stages, Avangard struggled to contain its frustrations, and found it hard to produce continued attacking play to save the game.
Fast start sets up Traktor win
Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 Kunlun Red Star 2 (3-0, 0-1, 2-1)
Traktor posted a third successive victory thanks to a fast start against Kunlun Red Star. The visitor arrived buoyed by victory in Nizhnekamsk, but found itself down by two inside three minutes. Despite efforts to retrieve the situation, the Chinese franchise could not halt Traktor and fell to a heavy loss.
Slow starts are a familiar problem for Red Star, a team that has a habit of fighting back to win rather than dominating games for 60 minutes. That problem was evident today, with Maxim Shabanov putting Traktor in front after 28 seconds and Nikita Tertyshny doubling the lead a couple of minutes later. A time-out gave the Dragons a chance to regroup, but a power play goal from Vladimir Tkachyov opened a 3-0 lead before the first intermission.
Subsequently, Red Star showed some of its qualities, and managed to make it a one-goal game with tallies either side of the second intermission. Devin Brosseau scored them both, moving to 12 goals for the season, and for a time Traktor looked anxious.
But the home team was not about to blow its advantage. As the final frame wore on, Tkachyov got his second of the game and Charles Robinson added a fifth to complete the scoring.
Torpedo continues to improve
Barys Astana 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 (0-1, 0-1, 1-0)
Torpedo’s return to form continues. Today’s win was a third in four games for Igor Larionov’s team, suggesting that its recent losing streak is a thing of the past.
For Barys, though, things are not so happy. Still operating under acting head coach Galym Mambetaliyev, the Kazakhs slipped to a third successive loss and remain outside the playoff places.
Today the problems arrived early. Barys could not settle into its game in the first period, and Torpedo dominated all over the ice. In the 16th minute, that led to the opening goal when a great pass from Mikhail Orlov set up Vladislav Firstov for the opening goal.
In the middle frame, Firstov turned provider as Yegor Vinogradov doubled the lead with his first goal of the season. Torpedo continued to dominate the play, and may feel that a 22-8 lead on the shot count after two periods should have generated more than a two-goal cushion.
There were some hope of a home fightback as Barys started the final frame on the power play. Torpedo killed Bobby Lynch’s penalty, but the Kazakhs rode that momentum to a 44th minute goal from Batyrlan Muratov to revive the contest.
However, that was as good as it got for the home team. Kirill Savitsky came close to tying the game, but at the other end Torpedo dinged the piping before closing out a 2-1 verdict.
Lada hits the front
Lada Togliatti 4 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (1-0, 2-2, 1-1)
Metallurg brought a four-game skid to Togliatti – its worst run of the season. Head coach Andrei Razin tried to refresh his team, bringing in Luke Johnson, Mikhail Grass, Robin Press and fit-again Makar Khabarov.
Lada, meanwhile was looking to build on back-to-back wins and overtake Magnitka at the top of the Eastern Conference. After defeating Ak Bars last time out, confidence was high, and the home team soon moved in front here. Alexei Ozhgikhin opened the scoring in the fifth minute, and that was the only goal in the first period.
Metallurg responded with goals in the second period. Johnson tied the scores, then Nikita Grebyonkin made it 2-1 to the visitor in the 34th minute. However, Lada found the perfect riposte, scoring twice in a minute late in the frame to take a 3-2 lead into the final frame.
The game was still very much alive and Denis Zernov tied the scores in the 54th minute. Metallurg felt it had done enough for at least a point, but there was late drama to come. In the final minute, Scott Kosmachuk added to his assist on a Troy Joseph goal to pot the winner and lift Lada to the Eastern summit.
Derby delight for Neftekhimik
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (2-0, 0-0, 0-1)
Metallurg’s loss in Togliatti offered an opportunity for Ak Bars to assume the leadership in the East. However, a derby loss to Tatar rival Neftekhimik means Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s team remains just outside top spot, a point behind Lada and level with Magnitka.
Neftekhimik, meanwhile, bounced back from defeat to Kunlun and is now level on points with eighth-placed Sibir in the playoff race.
The home team made a good start to the game. Alexander Dergachyov, whose tying goal three seconds before the end of the previous game could not ultimately save Neftekhimik, opened the scoring early on. Then Nikita Setdikov doubled the lead before the intermission.
Ak Bars had its chances, with Dmitrij Jaskin providing a frequent threat. However, the Czech international was unable to finish his chances and Neftekhimik preserved its advantage. A goalless second period left Ak Bars with plenty of work to do, but the visitor got a lifeline when Dmitry Yudin pulled one back midway through the third. There was a great chance to tie the scores in the 54th minute when Kirill Semyonov attempted a penalty shot. However, he overthought his effort and Neftekhimik held on to take the win.
Steelmen snap losing streak
Severstal Cherepovets 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 (3-1, 0-1, 1-0)
After four losses, Severstal stopped the rot with an encouraging performance against Avtomobilist. A good first period made the difference as the Steelmen moved to within two points of a playoff spot in the West. Avto, meanwhile, suffered a fifth loss in six games and is now level on points with Traktor in the race for a top-four spot in the East.
A fast set brought rewards for Severstal. Kirill Pilipenko opened the scoring in the sixth minute, stretching his productive streak to seven games. Avto replied through Brooks Macek, but the home team was not distracted and went to the intermission up 3-1. Adam Liska and Nikita Korostelyov found the net to give the Motormen plenty of work to do.
The host continued to attack in the second period, firing in 17 shots at Vladimir Galkin in the visitor’s net. However, he kept the offense at bay and midway through the session Jesse Blacker pulled one back to set up an intriguing third frame. Avto raised the tempo at the start of the final stanza, but Severstal defended well. The outcome was in the balance until the final seconds, but an empty net goal from Alexander Skorenov sealed it for the home team.
