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Dynamo back on top, Amur in playoff spot. November 12 round-up
Dynamo Moscow won in Minsk to move back to the top of the KHL standings. Brennan Menell scored on his former club to claim a 2-1 victory. In the East, Amur climbs to eighth after a 4-3 win over Torpedo. Avtomobilist enjoyed a similar scoreline at Admiral, albeit after a shoot-out, and Avangard outlasted Kunlun to win 6-4. Barys ended its run of losses with a 4-1 success over Severstal, while Lokomotiv sank Salavat Yulaev with Coyotes prospect Dmitry Simashev potting his first KHL goal.
Tigers move into top eight
Amur Khabarovsk 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 (2-1, 1-2, 1-0)
The Tigers are on the prowl, and today’s win put Amur back into the playoff places. A hard-fought win over Torpedo puts Khabarovsk up to eighth in the East, one point ahead of Neftekhimik and Sibir. It also means that the home team extended its run of alternate wins and losses to eight games.
For Torpedo, this was a sudden return to earth after back-to-back wins. The visitor led in the second period but could not finish the job.
Amur got off to a good start. Uncertainty in the visitor’s defense helped Stanislav Bocharov to open the scoring after 85 seconds. The action continued thick and fast: Torpedo got on the power play after Jan Drozg’s foul, only for Anton Silayev to follow him to the sin bin and cancel out that advantage. Undaunted, the visitor managed to tie the scores while briefly shorthanded following Drozg’s return to the game: Kirill Voronin grabbed the breakaway goal with a shot that flashed wide, rebounded off the boards and bounced off goalie Igor Bobkov’s skate and into the net.
The Tigers recovered from that blow to regain the lead in the 15th minute through Yakov Rylov. He struck just as another home power play was coming to its end, firing home from the blue line.
Early in the second period, Torpedo threatened to turn the game around. Maxim Letunov tied the scores on the power play, then a couple of mintues later Sergei Goncharuk made it 3-2 to the visitor. However, Amur would not be denied. Vyacheslav Gretsky tied the game before the second intermission and early in the third Alexander Bryntsev’s power play goal turned out to be enough to win it.
Makeyev gives Avto a shoot-out verdict
Admiral Vladivostok 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 SO (2-1, 0-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Avtomobilist welcomed back two big players as it continued its Far East tour. Sergei Shirokov took Anatoly Golyshev’s place on the third line, while Nick Ebert returned as the seventh defenseman after injury ruled him out of both games in Khabarovsk. Those two games produced a win (3-2) and a loss (1-5), continuing the Motormen’s run of inconsistent form.
The visitor looked to take the early initiative, and in the opening moments Alexei Byvaltsev’s line conjured up a dangerous opportunity. However, goals were not forthcoming, and it was Admiral who took the lead in the eighth minute thanks to Alexander Shevchenko. He put away the rebound from Maxim Chudinov’s shot to open the scoring.
Avto continued to press, Brooks Macek hit the post and Alexei Makeyev tied the game midway through the opening frame. However, Admiral went into the intermission with a 2-1 lead thanks to Giovanni Fiore’s goal during a five-on-three power play.
The second period could not live up to the fast pace of the first. Admiral sat deeper, looking to absorb the pressure from Avto without committing to a high press. The visitor took time to find a way through, but tied the game in the 33rd minute on a goal from Stephane Da Costa. The Frenchman found a moment of individual brilliance to unpick the home defense.
This season has seen several poor third periods from Admiral, but today the Sailors were far more active. That led to a 3-2 lead when Leonid Metalnikov forced a turnover and went on to score, following up Shevchenko’s shot. However, that wasn’t enough to win the game: Macek tied the scores at 3-3 and sent us to a shoot-out. Admiral had the better of overtime but could not score, then Makeyev brought Avtomobilist the win, scoring both his attempts in the post-game contest.
10-goal thriller goes to Avangard
Avangard Omsk 6 Kunlun Red Star 4 (2-2, 1-1, 3-1)
The Hawks had to dig deep to subdue Kunlun in a high-scoring game in Omsk. The visitor celebrated back-to-back wins for the first time since early September on its way to Siberia, and twice led in this game before a quickfire double in the third period tilted the balance in the host’s favor.
Avangard made a flying start, with Ryan Spooner opening the scoring after 43 seconds. However, Red Star responded to take the lead by the midway point of the first period. Tyler Wong scored on a delayed penalty, then Cliff Pu made it 2-1. For both players, it was their first goal of the season.
The home team tied the scores before the intermission thanks to Vladimir Tkachyov but early in the second Wong struck again to restore Red Star’s lead. The visitor was unable to hold that lead until the break, however, with Reid Boucher making it 3-3 late in the middle frame.
Two goals in 45 seconds put Omsk in control of this game in the third period. Spooner’s second of the night put Avangard in front once again, and Igor Geraskin quickly added to that lead. It was the first time either team had led by two in the game, and it proved a decisive advantage. Doyle Somerby pulled a goal back with 13 seconds on the clock, but there was no time for a late leveller. On the contrary, in the final seconds Boucher found the empty net to join Spooner on two goals in his team’s victory.
Muratov double lifts Barys over Severstal
Barys Astana 4 Severstal Cherepovets 1 (0-1, 3-0, 1-0)
Barys snapped a three-game skid after head coach Galym Mambetaliyev rang the changes. The most notable name on today’s roster was Daniil Apalkov, who returned to the KHL after a break of almost three years.
Severstal came to town looking to bounce back from a 3-5 loss at Vityaz last time out. The visitor got ahead in the first period: Apalkov took the first penalty of the game and Nikita Korostelyov converted the power play chance.
In the second period, Barys got its first power play and duly tied the game as Adil Beketayev potted his third goal of the season. Almost immediately, Korostelyov went to the box and Kirill Savitsky added a second PP marker to put his team in front. Shortly after the midway point, Batylan Muratov made it 3-1, completing a burst of three goals in barely five minutes.
That turned the game upside down and Severstal never recovered. Muratov added a fourth early in the final frame and that’s how it finished.
First goal for Simashev
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 (0-0, 1-1, 0-2)
Lokomotiv prospect Dmitry Simashev, who was the first Russian player selected in the 2023 NHL draft, potted his first goal in the KHL. The 18-year-old struck early in the third period to put the Railwaymen ahead for the first time in the game.
The young defenseman’s big moment came in the course of a lively game. Although the first period was goalless, there was no shortage of attacking intent. The two goalies, Alexander Samonov and Daniil Isayev made 21 saves between them.
The opening goal arrived early in the second period when home blue liner Pavel Koledov, once a Lokomotiv player, thumped home a point shot. However, the lead did not last long. After 44 seconds, Daniil But brought the visitor level.
In the 44th minute, Simashev joined a Lokomotiv attack and beat Samonov with a wrister from the blue line. That turned out to be the game-winner, with But increasing the lead midway through the final stanza. With three minutes to play, Salavat Yulaev got on the power play and sent out a sixth skater, but that attempt to save the game came to nought.
Muscovites on top in the West
Dinamo Minsk 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 (0-1, 1-0, 0-1)
Sunday’s “Dynamic derby” in Minsk might have been short on goals, but a 2-1 success for the Muscovites returned Alexei Kudashov’s team to the top of the Western Conference. Dynamo moves a point clear of Spartak at the top of the standings, and has a three-point advantage over Eastern Conference leader Lada.
The visitor grabbed an early lead, opening the scoring in the fifth minute. Nikita Gusev took control of a loose puck after it bounced off Dmitry Deryabin’s stick. He quickly reacted to stuff it into the net from close range to make it 1-0. That stretches Gusev’s productive streak to nine games and keeps him ahead of his colleagues in team scoring.
Once in front, Dynamo looked the better team in a lively battle. Minsk found it difficult to create much, although Vadim Moroz had a great chance midway through the session when he blasted past two defensemen but could not place his shot beyond Ilya Konovalov. Later in the first period, both teams ran into penalty trouble but there was no further scoring before the break.
At the start of the middle frame, the Muscovites had Minsk pressed back into its own zone for several minutes. Kudashov’s men did everything right, except putting the puck in the net. Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team held on, and managed to tie the game in the 38th minute through Vladislav Kodola. He was a Dynamo Moscow player last season and today he found the net on his first encounter with his former club.
There was an Ex-factor about the game-winner as well. Dynamo Moscow defenseman Brennan Menell began his KHL career in Belarus, helping the Bison make the 2021 playoffs. Now settled in the Russian capital, he claimed his third goal of the season when he converted a terrific feed from Jordan Weal. That kept up Dynamo’s habit of strong third-period performances and secured a win that puts the team back to the top of the standings.
