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Spartak back on top, Lada leads in the East. November 9 round-up
A 4-1 win at Neftekhimik moves Spartak into first place in the KHL standings. In the Eastern Conference, Lada’s 3-2 win over fellow high-flyer Ak Bars saw the Motormen return to the summit ahead of Metallurg. The highest scoring game of the day came at CSKA, where Avangard won a 6-4 thriller. There was drama in Petersburg, where Traktor tied the game in the last minute but lost to a penalty shot in OT. Amur thumped Avtomobilist in the early game, and Dinamo Minsk won 2-1 at home to Sochi.
Tigers pounce on Avtomobilist
Amur Khabarovsk 5 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 (1-0, 1-1, 3-0)
The Tigers matched their biggest win of the season to move to within a point of the playoff places. Avtomobilist, meanwhile, started its five-game road trip with a heavy loss and remains seventh in the Eastern Conference.
Amur struggled to create chances early in the game, yet the first shot on target led to the opening goal. Vladislav Barulin took the puck from Andrei Obidin in center ice and advanced down the wing. His cross-ice feed found Alexander Khokhlachyov on the slot, who ended an eight-game wait for a goal and made it 1-0. It was also the summer signing’s first goal in Khabarovsk since he joined Amur: his previous four efforts all came on the road.
Avtomobilist could feel aggrieved to be behind after a first period that the visitor dominated. Early in the second, though, Kirill Vorobyov put things right with a tying goal. Obidin, at fault for Amur’s opener, made amends with a fine diagonal pass to set up his team-mate. Up until that point, the Motormen had enjoyed the better of the game but gradually Amur assumed control of the action. Late in the middle frame, the Tigers regained the lead on Stanislav Bocharov’s goal.
Even in the third period, Avtomobilist looked more than capable of saving the game. However, Amur’s energetic defense preserved the lead and as the game wore on the home team settled the outcome with two goals in 26 seconds. Kirill Slepets recorded his 100th KHL point when he set up Vyacheslav Gretsky to make it 3-1, then the next shift saw Kirill Kapustin put the result beyond doubt. Late in the game, Avtomobilist got a power play and risked an empty net. However, Slepets got the puck and added a fifth goal to complete a surprisingly emphatic home win. The teams meet again tomorrow, with the visitor eager for revenge.
Lada takes the lead in the East
Lada Togliatti 3 Ak Bars Kazan 2 (1-1, 0-1, 2-0)
Lada moved back to the top of the Eastern Conference after defeating fellow high-flyer Ak Bars for the second time this season. The visitor went into today’s game a point clear of its rival, but in a competitive Eastern Conference, the battle for top spot sees the lead change hands on an almost daily basis.
Both teams were eager to make a fast start, and the two goalies were busy from the opening moments. The opening goal came following a defensive slip-up from Ak Bars, which opened up the slot and enabled Sergei Shumakov to redirect Georgy Solyannikov’s shot past Timur Bilyalov. However, the lead lasted less than two minutes. The visitor got on the power play, Alexander Radulov got the puck to the slot where first Dmitrij Jaskin, then Kirill Semyonov attempted to force it home.
Right on the hooter, one of Lada’s top forwards, Troy Josephs, took a major penalty for kneeing Artyom Lukoyanov. Ak Bars began the second period with all the momentum and even got a short spell of five-on-three play. Ultimately, the pressure led to the visiting power play grabbing the go-ahead goal, Radulov scoring off assists from Vadim Shipachyov and Slava Voynov. In fairness to the home team, things might have been different if Mikhail Fisenko had been able to hold on to his stick and cut out the cross-ice pass that created the goal.
Ak Bars continued to dominate the middle stanza but could not add to its lead. Then penalty trouble struck. Kirill Adamchuk and Dmitry Katelevsky left the visitor with three skaters and Dmitry Kugryshev tied the game. Midway through the third, Jaskin took a penalty. This time, Ak Bars held on, but 15 seconds after Jaskin returned, Josephs made it 3-2. That turned out to be the winner, despite one last Ak Bars power play as the visitor battled to save the game.
Spartak moves into top spot
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Spartak Moscow 4 (0-1, 0-1, 1-2)
Spartak drew level with Dynamo at the top of the Western Conference after a second comfortable win over Neftekhimik. The Red-and-Whites won 6-1 when the teams met in Moscow, and disposed of the same opposition effectively enough on the road as well.
There were no prizes for guessing the first goalscorer in this game. Nikolai Goldobin’s scoring form makes him a banker bet in any game, and he duly delivered a power play goal in the 14th minute. That was the only goal of the first period, but the visitor could point to more than seven minutes on the attack as evidence that there would be more to come.
Early in the second, Mikhail Pashnin doubled Spartak’s lead. The visitor no longer enjoyed so much possession, but Neftekhimik still found it hard to threaten at the other end. Early in the third, Ansel Galimov added a third for the visitor, effectively putting the game out of reach.
Neftekhimik did not give up, and Dmitry Sokolov potted a consolation effort in the 53rd minute. But this was always Spartak’s game and the last word went to Pavel Poryadin. The former Neftekhimik man marked his return “home” with the fourth and final goal for his team. Spartak moves to 42 points, level with Dynamo, and claims top spot by virtue of more victories in regulation so far this season.
Battling Berdin can’t save Sochi
Dinamo Minsk 2 HC Sochi 1 (0-0, 1-1, 1-0)
The Bison handed Sochi a sixth successive loss, and in the process Dinamo rebounded following two defeats. Alexander Volkov’s 55th-minute goal proved to be the difference between the teams in a game that saw visiting goalie Mikhail Berdin make 43 saves in a losing cause.
Seventeen of those stops came in a goalless first period. Dinamo dominated the play, but could not solve the netminder.
In the second period, the home team continued to struggle in front of goal. Chances came and went, but the opening goal arrived at the other end when Matvei Michkov put Sochi ahead. It wasn’t until the 37th minute that Berdin finally yielded: Sam Anas beat him with a penalty shot after Roman Manukhov was called for throwing his stick.
The third period brought no significant change in the balance of play. However, it did bring a winning goal on 54:01. Volkov saw one shot saved, but Yanni Kaldis kept the puck alive at the point and Nick Merkley moved it out of the corner to set up the Belarusian forward for another scoring chance. That one found the net to give Dinamo the verdict.
Boucher treble downs CSKA
CSKA Moscow 4 Avangard Omsk 6 (1-2, 1-3, 2-1)
A hat-trick from Reid Boucher brought Avangard a fifth successive victory. This was a high-scoring, entertaining game, but the home team may feel it gifted the Hawks the verdict after giving up two short-handed goals.
In the first period, CSKA paid the price for failing to take its chances. The home team had the better of the early exchanges, but could not beat Andrei Mishurov in the Avangard net. Nikita Nesterov came closest with a shot that crashed off the bar, but the Hawks withstood the early onslaught.
Not only that, the visitor opened the scoring on its first power play of the game. Roman Kalinichenko, a 23-year-old defenseman making his first appearance of the season, found himself in the box and he watched on as Damir Sharipzyanov fired home a point shot. Avangard’s captain moves to five goals in five games, a run powered primarily by his hat-trick at SKA earlier this month.
Avangard’s special teams continued to excel. The penalty kill came out for the first time after Ivan Nikolishin’s infringement, and Reid Boucher jumped onto Nikita Kholodilin’s clearance to pot a short-handed goal. That’s Boucher’s 17th of the season. However, once the teams were back at full strength, CSKA finally got on the scoreboard through Maxim Mamin. His classy wrister hit the twine just 37 seconds after the Hawks’ second goal.
Early in the second period, CSKA again got on the power play. And again, Boucher scored a short-handed goal for Avangard. This time, Sharipzyanov was the provider as the visitor restored its two-goal advantage. The Hawks barely got back to full strength before another counterattack left the Muscovites exposed again: this time Vladimir Tkachyov found the net to make it 4-1.
A second goal from Mamin gave CSKA hope of launching a fightback, but the home team failed to build on that. The momentum was lost as Prokhor Poltapov followed Vasily Dronyk to the penalty box. It took just 10 seconds for Avangard to convert the five-on-three advantage, with Ryan Spooner on target.
Down 2-5, CSKA seemed to have little hope of saving the game. However, there was still time for more scoring in the third. A flurry of action midway through the final stanza brought three markers in 57 seconds. Pavel Karnaukhov and Darren Dietz were on target for the home team, but their efforts sandwiched Boucher’s hat-trick goal as Avangard took a game-winning 6-4 lead. It’s worth noting that the visitor scored six goals off just 23 shots at Ivan Fedotov, while CSKA had 41 efforts on target in a losing cause.
Tolchinsky penalty shot sinks Traktor
SKA St. Petersburg 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 OT (1-1, 1-0, 1-2, 1-0)
SKA’s previous game brought a 2-3 loss at Spartak, with the winning goal coming in the final second of an emotionally charged night in Moscow. Alexander Kadeikin lost the crucial face-off before Spartak’s winner, and he was scratched from tonight’s team. Borna Rendulic also missed out.
Traktor opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Anton Burdasov, who returned to Chelyabinsk after three seasons in Petersburg, collected Vitaly Kravtsov’s pass in center ice and advanced to beat Nikita Serebryakov.
In response, SKA began to assume control of the puck and tied the goal in the 13th minute. Vasily Glotov advanced to test Zach Fucale, and Vladimir Alistrov reacted smartly to take the rebound away from Vladimir Tkachyov and score from close range.
Early in the third period, SKA got in front. Burdasov’s mishit clearance dropped kindly for Emil Galimov, who advanced into open space and beat Fucale on the short side. The game continued at a lively tempo, and SKA had further good chances but was unable to extend its lead. Marat Khairullin tested Fucale, Alistrov hit the piping and in the final seconds Sergei Tolchinsky set up Arseny Gritsyuk for a one-timer that the goalie did well to deny.
After all that pressure, Traktor may have felt it caught a break when it got to the intermission down by just one goal. The visitor killed a penalty at the start of the third, and then tied the game. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev made it 2-2, scoring on the second phase of an attack that started with a dangerous effort from Burdasov. Then came a power play for the visitor midway through the frame, but that chance brought only a short-handed goal for Stepan Falkovsky as SKA regained the lead.
The defenseman’s effort was almost enough to win the game in regulation. There were 26 seconds left on the clock when Traktor’s last surge forced overtime. Danil Yurtaikin, who got his first goal for Traktor in Tuesday’s win at CSKA, grabbed another late marker to salvage a point.
Both teams had chances in the extras, but the key moment came in the final minute of the added five. Tolchinsky was bearing down on Fucale’s net when Kravtsov dragged him back to deny a shooting chance. The officials awarded a penalty, and Tolchinsky showed that without interference from a defenseman, he had the measure of the goalie in a one-on-one situation.
