KHL press office
exclusive for khl.ru
Nine in a row for SKA, 11 on the spin for Magnitka. November 28 round-up
The KHL’s big games saw the form leaders continue their hot streaks. SKA beat Dynamo Moscow 5-3 to post a ninth successive victory. Metallurg’s run is even longer at 11 games, but it took even more to save it: Andrei Razin’s team came from 0-3 to win in a shoot-out at Neftekhimik. Ak Bars blanked Lada, Admiral won its Far East derby at Amur and Anton Khudobin suffered a debut defeat as Severstal edged Sibir 2-1.
Admiral edges latest Far East battle
Amur Khabarovsk 2 Admiral Vladivostok 3 SO (0-0, 0-1, 2-1, 0-0, 0-1)
This was the third meeting of these Far East foes in 10 days, and the games are getting closer each time. Admiral got its second win of the series, but only after a shoot-out in Khabarovsk.
Both teams were hoping to rebound from losses in their previous games. The visitor gave Vasily Demchenko his first start in goal after his move from Avangard, while Amur recalled forwards Kirill Slepets and Ignat Korotkikh, as well as defenseman Viktor Baldayev.
Neither team could force a breakthrough in the first period. Amur had a power play chance early on and took the early initiative. However, the home team could manage nothing more than a couple of decent looks for Alexander Khokhlachyov. Admiral came into the game more as things progressed, but Igor Bobkov was not over-extended in the Tigers’ net.
In the middle frame, Demchenko came to the fore. The home team began to up the pressure, starting with a good effort from Yegor Korshkov. For several minutes, Demchenko was kept busy as the Tigers looked for the kill. The goalie’s reward for his hard work was to see his team take the lead late in the frame. A swift counterattack had Amur in trouble; Dmitry Buchelnikov had everyone in the arena expecting a shot, then he dished off the puck for Alexander Shevchenko to find the open corner of the net. On the very next shift, Giovanni Fiore was close to making it 2-0, but his shot rebounded off the piping.
Amur turned it around in the third period. The partnership between Korshkov and Vladislav Barulin made the difference with the latter tying the game before his colleague made it 2-1 in the 52nd minute. However, Admiral hit back, and a short-handed goal from Denis Golubev tied the scores with five minutes to play.
That sent us to overtime. Amur had the better of the extras, coming close to scoring on the power play with Korshkov again to the fore. Once again, Demchenko held the Tigers at bay and he went on to make five saves in the shoot-out. Semyon Pankratov found the net at the other end to give the Sailors the verdict.
Khudobin’s debut can’t save Sibir
Sibir Novosibirsk 1 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (0-1, 1-0, 0-1)
Veteran goalie Anton Khudobin made his Sibir debut, a mere 3,989 days after his previous KHL appearance for Atlant on Dec. 26, 2012. The veteran didn’t have the easiest of starts, though, as Severstal scored on him inside four minutes.
His new team-mates didn’t give Khudobin a whole lot of protection early on: Fyodor Gordeyev’s penalty saw Kirill Pilipenko convert the power play for his 20th goal of the season. Pilipenko’s hot streak is now eight games, matching Severstal’s club record, and he is just two goals behind Vadim Shipachyov’s record of 22 goals in a single regular season for the Steelmen. That record was set in 2011-2012, even before Khudobin’s previous appearance in the league.
Sibir was looking to post a fourth straight victory in Tuesday’s game, but returning to action just 24 hours after edging Kunlun 3-2 meant the home team lacked a bit of energy. Severstal’s greater pace ensured that the visitor had the better of the play for much of the first period. It took 18-year-old forward Vladimir Mikhalyov to bring the buzz back for Sibir: midway through the game he darted past two defensemen and fired in a shot that rebounded for Andy Andreoff to tie the scores. Mikhalyov has just four KHL appearances, and that was his third point. File under ‘one to watch’.
The teams traded power plays at the start of the third period, but the decisive goal came at equal strength. It went to Severstal after Adam Liska won a foot race to get to the puck, then produced a fantastic pass from behind the net to set up Ruslan Abrosimov for the go-ahead goal.
The home team tried to find a way back, but visiting goalie Konstantin Shostak was in good form. His defense helped out: even when Khudobin went to the bench, Severstal kept Sibir’s six skaters away from the danger zone to close out the game.
Huge comeback stretches Magnitka’s streak
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 SO (0-0, 3-1, 0-2, 0-0, 0-1)
Metallurg moved three points clear at the top of the KHL overall standings after coming from behind to beat Neftekhimik. It took a huge comeback from 0-3 to preserve the visitor’s winning streak, which now extends to 11 games.
After a goalless first period, Neftekhimik got on top in the second. The Wolves were looking for a win to close on the top eight in the East, and also wanted to improve on two previous losses to Magnitka this season (3-8 and 1-3). As the game approached the midway mark, Bulat Shafigullin opened the scoring, and a couple of minutes later, Alexander Dergachyov doubled the lead. When Evgeny Mityakin scored on 32:29, it spelled the end of Alexander Sudnitsin’s evening and brought Ilya Nabokov to the crease for the visitor.
That changed the game. Nabokov would play out the remainder of the night without allowing a goal – including five saves in the shoot-out. At the other end, Metallurg began the long journey back. Yegor Yakovlev got one back on the power play just before the intermission, and penalty trouble hurt the home team in the third period. Rafael Bikmullin got into trouble after picking a fight with Yakovlev, and Danila Yurov converted the power play. That’s three games in a row with Yurov among the goals.
The tying tally came in the 51st minute thanks to another youngster, Roman Kantserov. Now Metallurg had the momentum, and the visitor thought it had a winner in regulation when the video officials called for a review on a 58th-minute play. However, after checking the tape, the officials could not confirm that the puck crossed the line and the game went to overtime.
The extras could not separate the teams and in the shoot-out Nabokov performed superbly to win all five of his duels. At the other end, Nikita Mikhailis had the only successful attempt to give Magnitka an unlikely win.
Bilyalov backstops Ak Bars success
Ak Bars Kazan 2 Lada Togliatti 0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0)
Timur Bilyalov won a goaltending duel against former Ak Bars man Vladislav Podyapolsky to help Kazan record back-to-back victories for the first time since Nov. 7. Bilyalov stopped 20 shots to backstop a 2-0 win, with goals from Dmitry Yudin and Dmitrij Jaskin making the difference.
The first period was something of a slow burner. Neither team created many good chances, although Ak Bars outshot Lada 10-4 through 20 goalless minutes. The visitor had an early opportunity when Vadim Shipachyov took a penalty in the third minute, but failed to make much of an impact with its power play.
Late in the opening frame, Ak Bars got a PP chance. That proved to be a warm-up for the second period, when Vladislav Syomin was called for tripping and Yudin found the net 18 seconds later. With his team-mates generating traffic in front of the net, Yudin launched a wrister from the blue line to beat Podyapolsky and open the scoring.
There was more to come from the home team midway through the frame as Jaskin doubled the lead. The Czech forward won possession in the corner, played the puck to Shipachyov in the circle and took up a position on the slot ready to redirect his partner’s shot into the net.
Shortly after that, Lada had another power play chance. Once again, though, despite weaving some pretty patterns, the visitor was unable to test Bilyalov. Then, back at full strength, an Ak Bars breakaway ended with Nikolai Demidov pulling back the goalbound Shipachyov. The home forward stepped up for the resultant penalty shot, but could not get the puck past Podyapolsky’s pads.
In the latter stages of the second period, Lada began to show more attacking intent. And, with the visitor desperate to salvage the game in the third, that pattern continued until the end. However, Bilyalov remained on top of his game to keep the Motormen at bay. Ak Bars held on to record a win that goes some way towards calming nerves in Kazan after a recent run of poor form.
Khairullin’s double ends Dynamo’s resistance
SKA St. Petersburg 5 Dynamo Moscow 3 (1-0, 2-1, 2-2)
Tuesday’s big game lived up to its billing as SKA extended its winning run to nine games and denied Dynamo a return to the top of the Western Conference. The two in-form teams shared eight goals, with Dynamo rallying from 1-3 to tie the scores. However, Marat Khairullin’s marker midway through the third proved decisive.
It didn’t take long for the action to start. In the third minute, Zakhar Bardakov’s penalty handed the visitor a power play chance and Eric O’Dell forced Nikita Serebryakov into an instinctive pad save. That ushered in a period of pacy hockey, but there was only one goal in the opening frame. SKA got it, with Mikhail Vorobyov turning home the rebound after Sergei Tolchinsky’s blast cannoned into the boards.
SKA doubled its lead in the 26th minute after a turnover in center ice triggered a swift raid on Ilya Konovalov’s net. Vasily Glotov broke down the wing and dished off a pass for Vladimir Alistrov to score his 10th of the season. Dynamo responded fast through Dmitry Rashevsky, and his wrister survived a bench challenge from Roman Rotenberg. The home head coach believed that Pavel Kudryavtsev had impeded Serebryakov, but the officials saw it differently and Dynamo had a power play to follow its goal.
However, SKA killed that penalty and then went and scored a power play goal of its own. Alex Galchenyuk cut a swathe through the Blue-and-White defense, beating Kirill Gotovets and putting his shot into the far corner. After that, Dynamo raised its game. Maxim Dzhioshvili went close and the visitor finished on a five-on-three power play as the home defense began to feel the heat.
That PP brought a result early in the third. SKA saw one man return to the game, but before it got back to full strength Jordan Weal found the net after Nikita Gusev’s feed caused chaos on the slot. Another SKA penalty saw Igor Ozhiganov tie the game in the 44th minute.
With the game in the balance, Khairullin stepped up. Midway through the third, he restored the home lead with a wrister from the left-hand circle. Then he increased the lead with a short-handed effort, giving his team vital breathing space. Dynamo was unable to make any impression on that lead in the final minutes as SKA celebrated another win against prominent opposition.
