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Hawks extend winning run, Dynamo hits back at Ak Bars. November 21 round-up
Dynamo enjoyed a revenge win over Ak Bars, taking a 4-1 verdict and cutting Spartak’s lead in the standings to two points. The Red-and-Whites went down 1-2 at Lokomotiv, with Daniil But’s goal late in the first period making the difference. Avangard’s fine form continues: the Hawks recorded a 10th successive win with an OT result at Traktor. Amur edged Admiral in the second Far East derby of the season, and Neftekhimik returns to the Eastern playoff spots with a 3-2 success against Salavat Yulaev.
Second Far East derby goes to Amur
Amur Khabarovsk 2 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (1-0, 0-1, 1-0)
The Tigers bounced back to win the second Far East derby of the season. Game one of this rivalry went to Admiral on Sunday as Amur fell to a third successive loss and failed to score for the second time in those three outings. Today, Andrei Martemyanov’s men started to put things right with a morale-boosting success over their local rival.
The win was a reward for Martemyanov’s reshuffle. He mixed up almost all his lines, with only the third defensive pair and fourth attacking line remaining intact. That fourth line was also promoted to the top six. Those five players were all on the ice for the opening goal in the 13th minute, with Vyacheslav Gretsky and Sergei Lapin forcing a turnover before Artur Gizdatullin fed defenseman Alexander Shchemerov for a point shot that enabled Gretsky to score on the rebound.
Amur held its lead until midway through the second period. But then the home team saw an attack break down. Denis Golubev sped away from Viktor Baldayev and beat Igor Bobkov in the Tigers’ net to tie the game.
Beaten for the tying goal, Baldayev responded by potting the game-winner at the start of the third. Once again, Gizdatullin’s trio was involved and the center’s face-off win was crucial to set up the blue-liner’s strike.
In the closing stages, Bobkov found himself the busier of the two goalies. However, Amur’s defense did a good job of keeping the Sailors away from any dangerous areas. Of 30 attempts, only nine made it to the home netminder and he stopped all of them to secure the win.
Tkachyov, Shabanov extend hot streaks
Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 Avangard Omsk 2 OT (0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Avangard recorded a tenth successive victory with an overtime success at Traktor, while in-form forwards Vladimir Tkachyov and Maxim Shabanov continued their hot streaks.
In the first period, Traktor had the territorial advantage but was unable to convert that into any kind of lead in the stats, never mind an opening goal. Visiting netminder Andrei Mishurov did well to deny Danil Yurtaikin and Charles Robinson, while his opposite number Zach Fucale made smart stops to deny Tkachyov and Reid Boucher’s efforts on the counter.
At the start of the second, Traktor stepped up the pressure. Avangard iced the puck on more than one occasion, and Anton Burdasov was close to opening the scoring with an effort that dinged the crossbar. However, after surviving that pressure, the Hawks opened the scoring midway through the frame. A wild shot from home defenseman Alexander Shepelev cost his team possession, and Avangard had three forwards bearing down on Fucale’s goal. Tkachyov was one of them, and he finished the play to extend his hot streak to 11 games.
Shabanov is also in terrific form right now, and he extended his productive run to 13 games shortly after that. Avangard killed Mark Verba’s penalty, but as he returned to the game, Yurtaikin’s pass picked out Shabanov in space and his shot beat Mishurov to tie the scores.
Having scored, Traktor again had the territorial advantage but again struggled to create dangerous chances. Avangard looked more threatening, especially on the power play. Ivan Nikolishin hit the post, and Igor Geraskin somehow fired over the top of an open net.
In the third period, both teams were increasingly cautious. Once again, Avangard relied on the counterattack while Traktor had more of the puck. Gradually, that saw the home team intensify its efforts to win it while the Hawks were happy to defend in depth and keep the scores tied until the end of regulation.
In the extras, Mikhail Kravets called Mishurov to the bench as soon as his team won possession. With an extra skater, Avangard quickly fashioned a scoring combination with Boucher applying the finish.
Three quick goals do the job for Neftekhimik
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (1-0, 2-1, 0-1)
The Wolves moved back into the playoff places with a hard-fought win over Salavat Yulaev. After opening a three-goal lead, the home team found itself hanging on in the third period as the visitor made it a one-goal game.
Neftekhimik took control of this game with three goals either side of the first intermission. Ilya Khokhlov opened the scoring in the final second of the first period, converting a power play. Bulat Shafigullin assisted on the opener, then scored number two after 32 seconds of the middle frame. And his good game continued with an assist on yet another power play marker for Khokhlov on 22:21.
After that goal blitz, Neftekhimik slowed down. Indeed, the home team finished the second period with two goals from four shots. The change of pace was at least partially enforced by Salavat Yulaev. Unsurprisingly, Viktor Kozlov replaced starting goalie Iya Ezhov with Alexander Samonov. Then the visitor got a power play shortly after Khokhlov’s second goal and Alexander Chmelevski reduced the deficit. Subsequently, Andrei Tikhomirov was by far the busier goalie, but Ufa could not add to its tally before the second break.
Early in the third period, Salavat Yulaev made it a one-goal game. Nikita Zorkin was the scorer, with the defenseman collecting his second goal of the season. Nicholas Meloche gained his second assist of the night. However, that was as close as the visitor got. Neftekhimik closed out the remainder of the game to secure only a second win in six games.
But makes the difference for Lokomotiv
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Spartak Moscow 1 (2-1, 0-0, 0-0)
Loko defeated table-topping Spartak for the second time this season. Igor Nikitin’s team won its fourth game in five and moves ahead of Torpedo into third in the West. Spartak saw its three game winning streak come to an end but remains clear at the top.
The Muscovites are full of confidence at the moment, and almost punished Lokomotiv in the first minutes of the game. Maxim Tsyplakov pounced on Rushan Rafikov’s risky pass through his own slot, but could not get his shot on target.
After that scare, Lokomotiv began to assert itself and the home team went in front in the eighth minute thanks to Ivan Chekhovich. Daniil But was the architect, turning smartly behind the net and emerging on the slot to test Patrik Rybar with a low shot. The goalie padded it away, but only as far as Chekhovich, who gratefully tucked away only his second of the season.
In the 14th minute, Spartak tied the game through Tsyplakov. The forward has been in great form lately and as he fired in the puck from a dead angle, he got the bounce he wanted off Daniil Isayev’s shoulder to claim his sixth goal in four games.
Lokomotiv responded to regain the lead just before the hooter. Sergei Andronov forced a turnover in center ice and released But down the left. He added a goal to his earlier assist with a wrister that Rybar could not stop.
The home team deserved its lead at the intermission but in the second period Spartak responded well. The visitor had more of the game, and kept Isayev busy. Nonetheless, the best chance of a goalless frame went to Lokomotiv, with Georgy Ivanov picking out Stepan Nikulin at the back door, only for Rybar to pull off a big double save on both Nikulin and Alexeyev’s follow-up.
In the final period, the teams played according to their traditional tactics. Lokomotiv was happy to focus on defense and make it difficult for Spartak to get good looks at Isayev’s net. The visitor, meanwhile, tried to set up the kind of attacking combinations that have made it the league’s leading scorer this season. The clash of styles went Loko’s way: Spartak was limited to just seven attempts on target in the final frame, and Isayev’s greatest worries came in the dying seconds when Rybar went to the bench and the Railwaymen had to face six skaters. The host survived all that, and claimed a 2-1 verdict.
Revenge win for Dynamo
Dynamo Moscow 4 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (0-0, 4-1, 0-0)
The Blue-and-Whites avenged last week’s 1-4 loss in Kazan, defeating Ak Bars by the same scoreline in Moscow. In the previous encounter, Vadim Shipachyov had a goal and an assist against his former club, pushing past 900 points in the KHL. Today, Jordan Weal had a similar return against his old team-mates, although Dynamo’s import forward has some way to go to match Shipachyov’s career tally in the league.
After 20 goalless minutes, Ak Bars opened the scoring early in the third. Artyom Lukoyanov broke the deadlock in the 24th minute. That goal was against the run of play: Dynamo outshot its visitor 12-3 in the first period and enjoyed a similar measure of control in the second.
But games of hockey can turn around quickly. Within two minutes of Lukoyanov giving Ak Bars the lead, Dynamo was in front. Weal, who began his KHL career in Kazan, tied the scores on 25:27 the 38 seconds later Pavel Kudryavtsev made it 2-1 to the home team.
There was more to come from the Blue-and-Whites, with Eric O’Dell adding a power play goal midway through the session then making it four in the 36th minute. Those were the Canadian’s first goals since Oct. 30, bringing an end to an eight-game drought.
The final frame brought no more goals. Ak Bars, for the first time in the game, had more possession and more shots on target, but could not trouble Ilya Konovalov in the home net. Dynamo’s win cuts the gap on leader Spartak to two points.
