Lada tops the East as CSKA falls short. November 5 round-up
The game of the day was in Moscow, where CSKA found itself down 0-4 at home to Lada. The defending champion got back to 3-4 but ran out of time before it could save a point. Elsewhere, Severstal eased to a 3-1 victory at Kunlun Red Star.
Lada holds off CSKA fightback
CSKA Moscow 3 Lada Togliatti 4 (0-2, 1-2, 2-0)
Two goals from Sergei Shumakov led Lada to a narrow victory at defending champion CSKA. The result moves the Motormen back to the top of the Eastern Conference, one point clear of Metallurg and Ak Bars.
However, the home team came close to pulling off a major fightback. Down 0-4 in the second period, Sergei Fedorov’s men battled back to make it a one-goal game. However, there wasn’t time to salvage a point after Mikhail Grigorenko’s goal with 35 seconds left on the clock.
In the early stages, CSKA had more of the puck while Lada relied on counterattacks. That worked out well for the visitor, which opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Ostap Safin’s shot was too hot for Alexander Sharychenkov to hold and Troy Josephs pounced on the rebound. Later, Lada’s first power play of the game brought a second goal, scored by Ivan Romanov.
At the other end, CSKA had some extended spells of attacking possession but struggled to get inside a well-drilled defense. When the home side did create dangerous openings, Vladislav Podyapolsky was up to the task.
It was striking how Lada’s players were determined to get a shot off from every opportunity. CSKA was more circumspect on offense, but threatened on the power play. Midway through the second period, just as the visitor killed a penalty, Shumakov joined a three-on-one rush to score his first of the game. A couple of minutes later the former CSKA forward had a second, and the home team had a mountain to climb.
Crucially, before the second intermission, Vladislav Kamenev laid the foundations of a recovery when he pulled a goal back. Then, in the third, Lada was reduced to three skaters. Technically, those penalties were killed, but CSKA’s momentum was too great and even as Artyom Borodkin left the box, Maxim Mamin scored to make it 2-4.
For a time, the closing stages looked to be an offense-vs-defense exercise. However, when CSKA suffered two quick penalties, things looked bleak for the Muscovites. Although Lada was unable to score on the double power play, it ate up precious time. Late on, with a sixth skater on the ice, Grigorenko managed to cut the deficit to a minimum. However, the clock halted the home team before it could force overtime and Lada left town with the points.
Severstal too strong for Dragons
Kunlun Red Star 1 Severstal Cherepovets 3 (0-2, 1-0, 0-1)
These teams met for the first of a double-header in Mytishchi with Severstal looking to build on three straight wins. Andrei Kozyrev’s team has had some tough days this season, but is showing signs of finding its identity and climbs to sixth place in the West thanks to today’s success.
KRS, meanwhile, remains a little off the playoff pace in 10th. The Dragons’ bright start to the season is now a memory and this brought a fourth successive loss for Viktors Ignatjevs and his players.
A common thread in Red Star’s recent struggles has been a failure to start games strongly. Today followed that template: the home team managed just five shots on goal in the first period and went to the intermission down by two. Ruslan Abrosimov put Severstal in front in the third minute, then Nikita Setdikov doubled that lead during a passage of four-on-four play.
In the second period, the Dragons improved. The game was more even and in the 35th minute Kunlun got one back. Brandon McMillan was the scorer, claiming his second since joining the club last month. Subsequently, the fans were entertained by a fight involving Devin Brosseau and Ilya Ivantsov: the visitor came out of it the better, with Brosseau heading to the locker room for treatment after the bout.
The third period saw the Dragons push forward in search of a tying goal. The shot count told the story: 15-3 in the home team’s favor. However, Konstantin Shostak was inspired in the Severstal net, blunting Kunlun’s offense. A Kirill Pilipenko empty-net goal sealed the deal, at least until tomorrow’s rematch.
