Metallurg out in front, SKA rallies to extend winning streak. November 25 round-up
Metallurg moves three points clear at the top of the KHL standings after a 3-1 win over Western Conference leader Spartak. Eastern rival Ak Bars snapped its losing run with a hard-fought verdict at Vityaz, while Salavat Yulaev defeated Traktor thanks to a late scoring flurry. In-form SKA rallied from 0-3 to defeat Torpedo in a shoot-out in the big game in the Western Conference. Sibir got a vital win over Neftekhimik in the Eastern playoff race, and Avtomobilist edged Lada in overtime.
Playoff battle goes in host’s favor
Sibir Novosibirsk 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (1-1, 0-0, 2-0)
This was a clash of two teams battling for a spot in the top eight. Sibir had the edge going int othe game, but a regulation-time win for Neftekhimik would see it leapfrog today’s host into eighth position. Sibir head coach David Nemirovsky brought back defenseman Dinar Khamidullin after injury and named Anton Khudobin as back-up goalie, the 2014 World Champion’s first appearance on a KHL game sheet since 2011.
In the opening frame, the home team struggled with penalties. Three separate fouls gave Neftekhimik ample time on the power play, and helped the visitor outshoot Sibir 17-4 in the first period. There was even 1:18 of five-on-three play for the Wolves, but the chance did not produce a goal. Instead, Sibir opened the scoring with a shorthanded effort from Artyom Mikheyev. However, there was a late goal for Neftekhimik, Alexander Dergachyov tying the game with the teams at equal strength.
In the middle frame, both teams had power play chances but neither could add to the scoring. Indeed, the teams generated relatively few shots on goal. Only a late chance for Neftekhimik’s Nikita Khlystov came close to giving either side the lead, but Anton Krasotkin was alert to the danger and quickly came off his line to snuff out the opportunity.
In the third period, Nemirovsky reshuffled his lines and promoted Pavel Gogolev to the top line. The gambit paid off: the new-look first line grabbed the game-breaking goal after Andy Andreoff won a puck battle on the slot and made it 2-1.
Neftekhimik had chances to save the game and even on the PK the visitor was close to tying the scores when Bulat Shafigullin got on the breakaway. However, Sibir held on and put the game beyond reach when Andreoff grabbed an empty-netter with 51 seconds left to play.
Magnitka tightens its grip at the top
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Spartak Moscow 1 (1-0, 0-1, 2-0)
In advance of this battle between two Conference leaders, Andrei Razin produced another one of his trademark bold decisions. Today he removed his most prominent line, scratching Pavel Akolzin, Denis Zernov and Maxim Karpov and replacing them with Maxim Mukhametov, Mikhail Grass and Jean-Sebastian Dea.
Dea found himself in the thick of the first big incident of the game midway through the first period. He took a big hit from Roman Rukavishnikov, which triggered a fight between the Spartak D-man and Magnitka’s vengeful Nikita Grebyonkin. The pair received major penalties, with Grebyonkin getting an extra two minutes for roughing.
Meanwhile, Metallurg’s stars in the previous game against Traktor continued to impress. Danila Yurov’s line dominated that encounter, and produced two more goals today. Nikita Mikhailis, who had a role in all six goals against Traktor, opened the scoring late in the first period. Then, in the 48th minute, Yurov restored the home lead after Andrei Loktionov brought Spartak level in the second.
For the visitor, much was expected of Nikolai Goldobin. The KHL’s scoring leading moved to Moscow directly from Metallurg, where he spent three seasons. He was a popular figure with the fans, who welcomed him warmly today, but found his consistency under question last season under Ilya Vorobyov. This season, Goldobin has picked up points with impressive regularity, but he was unable to add to his total on his return to Magnitogorsk.
Instead, Magnitka closed out a 3-1 win with Arkhip Nekolenko completing the scoring in the 54th minute. The result opens a three-point gap at the top of the standings, while Spartak remains level on points with Dynamo at the Western summit.
Birthday celebration for Salavat Yulaev
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 0 (0-0, 0-0, 4-0)
Salavat Yulaev celebrated the club’s birthday today, and marked the occasion with an emphatic win over Traktor. However, the final scoreline was somewhat misleading: it took 47 minutes for the home team to solve visiting goalie Zach Fucale before running away with the game in the closing stages.
The pre-game ceremonies inspired a fast start for the home team, but Traktor manage to match that. At one end, Josh Leivo hit the post for Salavat Yulaev, at the other Albert Yarullin forced a smart glove save from Alexander Samonov.
In the second period, Traktor had several dangerous counterattacks. Nikita Tertyshny was closest to giving the visitor the lead, but he fired his power play chance straight at Samonov. At the other end, Alexander Chmelevski’s line did a good job of keeping play in front of Fucale’s net, but could not find the finishing touch. Leivo again came to prominence late in the frame with a shot that crashed into the goalie’s helmet, leaving the Canadian slightly groggy before he could return to the game.
Early in the third, Vladislav Yefremov finally got the puck behind Fucale, only to see his play ruled out following a bench challenge for interference on the goalie. Finally, in the 48th minute, the home team got in front. Oddly enough, the goal came on the penalty kill with Danil Bashkirov breaking the deadlock while Chmelevski sat out a double minor. Then Chmelevski returned to the game with immediate effect, stepping out of the box to double the home lead. Leivo got the goal his efforts deserved to put the game out of reach, then Yefremov made up for his earlier disallowed effort to make the final score 4-0. Samonov made 35 saves to record his fourth shut-out of the season.
Da Costa fires Avto past Lada
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Lada Togliatti 2 OT (1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0)
After several experiments with his roster in recent weeks, Nikolai Zavarukhin went back to basics for Avtomobilist today. Stephane Da Costa and Anatoly Golyshev were reunited, as was the Makeyev-Valk-Macek line. Defenseman Denis Barantsev returned from injury, having completed his rehab in the VHL.
Back in a familiar formation, Avtomobilist immediately looked more at ease on the ice and produced more attacking play than in recent games. However, a bright start amounted to little when Ivan Romanov opened the scoring in the 13th minute. That goal came shortly after Lada killed a penalty; the next home power play was more effective. Nick Ebert got the tying goal and the teams went to the intermission at 1-1.
The import defenseman potted his second early in the second period, catching Vladislav Podyapolsky out of position to make it 2-1. Shortly after that, Avto got four minutes on the power play, but could not extend its lead.
Typically, the home team is a safe bet to defend a lead in the third period. Today, though, things didn’t quite work out. In the closing stages, Vladislav Chervonenko tied the game at 2-2 when he burst down the wing and fired in a shot that took a deflection to beat Vladimir Galkin in the Avtomobilist net.
In overtime, Lada’s trio over-committed to an extended spell of attacking possession and lost sight of Da Costa. The Frenchman took advantage, skating clear to beat Podyapolsky and give Avtomobilist the win. It was the first time since Oct. 13 that Yekaterinburg could celebrate victory over a rival currently in a playoff spot.
Ak Bars holds on to end dismal run
Vityaz Moscow Region 2 Ak Bars Kazan 3 (1-1, 0-1, 1-1)
Ak Bars arrived in Balashikha on a run of poor form. The visitor had just one win in seven previous games, while Vityaz had five wins from its previous six. As we saw in Kazan’s previous game, a 0-1 loss at Kunlun, recent form can outstrip historical pedigree and many among the home support would have been quietly confident ahead of this one.
That confidence took an early jolt when Evgeny Svechnikov opened the scoring in the second minute. Earlier in the season, that might have put Vityaz in deep trouble. Today, though, the home team has greater belief and Scott Wilson tied the game within a minute.
The scores remained level until the midway stage, when Ak Bars regained the lead through Dmitry Kagarlitsky. He was assisted by Vadim Shipachyov, who picked up his first point since breaking through the 900-point mark on Nov. 16.
Early in the third, Svechnikov scored his second of the game to make it 3-1. That marks the 27-year-old’s first two-point game since returning to Russia in the summer. However, there wasn’t much comfort for long as Alexander Yaremchuk quickly pulled one back. The home team continued to press for a tying goal, but could not get past Timur Bilyalov again and finished on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline.
Zykov saves SKA from defeat
SKA St. Petersburg 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 SO (0-2, 0-1, 3-0, 0-0, 1-0)
The home team’s six-game winning streak came under serious threat against Torpedo, but a big fightback in the third period saved Roman Rotenberg’s men from defeat. Valentin Zykov made the difference, scoring twice in the third period before finishing the shoot-out with a successful attempt.
The visitor is showing signs of returning to its early-season form after a sticky run, and there was much to like about its game in the early stages. Igor Larionov’s men adapted to the circumstances they would face in Petersburg, ditching their trademark all-out attacking style and instead relying on defensive hard work. Despite SKA having more than seven minutes of attacking possession, the home team managed just seven shots on target. A further nine were blocked by the visiting defense.
At the other end, clinical finishing made all the difference. Torpedo claimed two goals from five shots, with Alexei Kruchinin grabbing a second-minute opener and Anton Silayev increasing the lead in the ninth minute to chase Johan Mattsson from the net.
The home team was helped in the opening frame by regular Torpedo penalties. It had no such assistance in the second, and the visitor made plenty of its three power play chances. Torpedo found itself able to dictate the play for longer periods, and extended its lead on a Bogdan Konyushkov PP marker.
Down by three with 20 to play, SKA faced a long road back into the game. However, Zykov found the right path. He scored twice at the start of the third, the second on the power play, to put this battle right back into the balance. When Nikolai Kovalenko took a penalty in the 55th minute, SKA responded with a time-out and a switch to six-on-four play – a high stakes gamble that paid off when Alex Galchenyuk tied the game on 55:30.
In the extras, Rotenberg resisted the temptation to play without a goalie again. Instead, he saw his team enjoy the bulk of the possession. Vladimir Alistrov was closest to deciding the issue, but he was denied by Ivan Kulbakov as the game went to a shoot-out. Now Serebryakov came to the fore, winning every duel with Torpedo’s forwards. At the other end, Marat Khairullin and Zykov were both on target to give SKA the verdict.
