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Lada wins battle of Conference leaders. November 11 round-up
Saturday’s big game saw Eastern Conference leader Lada edge a shoot-out verdict over Spartak. Elsewhere, Metallurg strengthened its position at the top of the East with a home win over fellow high-flyer Ak Bars. Late in the day, SKA won at home to Neftekhimik.
Motormen snatch shoot-out win
Lada Togliatti 4 Spartak Moscow 3 SO (0-1, 2-1, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)
Saturday’s first game was a clash between the two conference leaders. Spartak arrived in Togliatti with the narrowest of leads over Dynamo in the Western Conference, while the home team was a point ahead of Ak Bars and Metallurg in the East.
For both teams, the current elevated position is something of a surprise. Lada rejoined the KHL this summer after five seasons away and although there was optimism about the quality of the squad, most outsiders felt that a solid playoff push was the limit for Oleg Bratash’s team. Spartak, meanwhile, appointed Alexei Zhamnov as head coach and saw the man behind Russia’s 2022 Olympic campaign change his philosophy to create a free-scoring team powered by Nikolai Goldobin’s swashbuckling line.
Goldobin & Co. had an early chance to shine at Lada when the visitor got on the power play in the second minute. However, the penalty came to nothing and the early stages offered little by way of goalmouth incident. At the midway stage, the teams had just two shots on target between them.
The breakthrough came in the 11th minute as Spartak took the lead. Ansel Galimov sped into Lada territory and dropped off the puck for Alexander Belyayev to take over. The 24-year-old forward did just that, wiring a shot to the top shelf for his third goal in four games. That proved to be the only goal of the opening frame, and Spartak was reasonable value for its lead at the intermission.
The visitor began the second session on the power play, but once again failed to take advantage. However, a second goal was not long in coming: Georgy Solyannikov’s misplaced pass went straight to Alexander Pashin, who gleefully accepted the gift to double Spartak’s lead.
Lada’s way back into the game was signposted by a run of penalties. Spartak briefly had a two-man advantage, then took two penalties of its own. In the middle of it all, with Lada playing five-on-four, Sergei Shumakov banged one home from close range after a series of deflections bounced the puck onto his stick. Then came an extended five-on-three situation for the home team, and Ivan Romanov tied it up in the 37th minute after corralling the rebound from a Solyannikov shot.
Undermined by ill-discipline, Spartak tightened its game in the third. That helped the Red-and-Whites get back in front in the 48th minute on Ivan Morozov’s goal. He fired home a Dmitry Vishnevsky feed with Pavel Poryadin screening home goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky.
Lada responded by raising the tempo and peppering Patrik Rybar’s net with shots. That brought a tying goal from Ostap Safin in the 54th minute. Solyannikov was involved again, sending out a stretch pass that enabled Safin to get away from defenseman Semyon Ruchkin and advance on Rybar before making it 3-3.
That took the game to overtime, and Spartak found itself on the PK at the start of the extras. However, Lada could not take advantage of the extra man and the game went to a shoot-out. In that shoot-out, Podyapolsky ruled supreme, outwitting each Spartak forward in turn. At the other end, Romanov and Kugryshev both beat Rybar to give Lada the W in a game in which it never led.
Magnitka blanks Ak Bars, Zagidulin enjoys return to form
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Ak Bars Kazan 0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0)
The big games keep on coming, and second on Saturday’s card was a showdown between second and third in the Eastern Conference. For Metallurg and Ak Bars, it was the first head-to-head meeting of the season. Magnitka was looking to record a fourth successive victory, while Ak Bars hoped to bounce back from Thursday’s loss at Lada.
Neither team could find the opening goal in an even first period. Perhaps the best moment came from a misjudgement by Ak Bars goalie Artur Akhtyamov, who skated out of his net to snuff out Nikita Grebyonkin’s rush. However, he collided with a team-mate and fell, inviting the home forward to try and squeeze the puck into an open net. The goalie recovered fast, and managed to get back and spare his blushes as the game went to the intermission goalless.
In the second period, Metallurg began to exert more pressure. The home team outshot Ak Bars 18-9, and had almost three times as much offensive possession. Eventually, that endeavor was rewarded in the 38th minute when Luke Johnson broke the deadlock. Semyon Koshelev found the American forward in center ice and Johnson advanced into the Ak Bars zone before beating Akhtyamov with a low shot.
Early in the third, a penalty on Evgeny Svechnikov invited Metallurg to increase its lead. Maxim Karpov accepted the invitation, beating Akhtyamov to the short side with the visiting goalie disconcerted by the traffic in front of him. And any doubt about the final outcome was removed in the 56th minute when Yegor Korobkin made it 3-0. At the other end, Artyom Zagidulin celebrated his first start since Oct. 27 with a 24-save shut-out.
Vorobyov’s double lifts SKA over Neftekhimik
SKA St. Petersburg 4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (3-0, 1-2, 0-0)
A strong first period put SKA in control of Saturday’s game against Neftekhimik. However, the visitor can take heart from its improvement in the latter half of the game, even though its attempted fightback never looked likely to change the outcome.
In the first period, SKA took control of the game with three unanswered goals. For the first 15 minutes or so, the play was fairly even but once the home team got in front it quickly started to dominate.
Borna Rendulic got the breakthrough in the 16th minute, grabbing a rebound on the slot and steering it past Filip Dolganov in the Neftekhimik net. A minute later, the Wolves lost the puck behind their own net, Marat Khairullin brought it out in front and his shot was deflected straight to Mikhail Vorobyov who made it 2-0.
And Vorobyov added a third just before the hooter as SKA converted a power play. Rendulic was the provider, firing the puck across the slot for his team-mate to get his second of the game.
Neftekhimik’s problems continued at the start of the second with Alexander Dergachyov beginning the middle frame in the box. On the power play, Sergei Tolchinsky fed Alexander Nikishin on the blue line and the young defenseman blasted home number four.
Things were looking bleak for the visitor, but in the latter half of the second period a couple of power play chances opened a way back into contention. First, Vladimir Bryukvin got Neftekhimik on the board after a high-sticking call on Khairullin. As the intermission approached, Nail Yakupov punished Emil Garipov’s foul with a goal from the face-off.
Neftekhimik had another power play chance at the start of the third period after Alex Galchenyuk’s foul right on the hooter. However, SKA’s PK knuckled down to prevent a third PP goal and subsequently the home team improved its discipline and played out the rest of the game at full strength. That helped to ensure that there were no unpleasant surprises as SKA completed a third win in four games.
