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Dynamo goes to the top, SKA makes it 10 in a row. December 1 round-up
Traktor marked its 1,000th KHL game, but suffered a 2-4 loss to Dynamo Moscow. That puts the Blue-and-Whites clear at the top of the Western Conference. SKA came from 0-2 down to beat Vityaz in overtime and claim a 10th successive victory. Avangard also came from behind, beating Neftekhimik in a shoot-out after trailing 1-3. Amur handed Dinamo Minsk a fourth successive loss, and Lokomotiv goalie Sergei Murashov posted a first shut-out in the league to defeat Sochi.
Another loss for Minsk
Amur Khabarovsk 2 Dinamo Minsk 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)
Dinamo suffered a fourth successive defeat, while Amur moved up to ninth in the East after halting its two-game skid.
The Tigers caught Dinamo napping at the start of the game. Kirill Kapustin opened the scoring in the first minute. However, that fast start did not set up the home team for a comfortable evening. The Belarusians responded well to that early setback, and not even a power play late in the frame could help Amur take the initiative.
In the second period, Amur doubled its lead. This time, the home team scored on the power play after Vitaly Pinchuk went to the box. It took some time to create the scoring chance, but in the final seconds before Pinchuk’s return, Kirill Panyukov found space on the slot to beat Alexei Kolosov.
At the other end, home goalie Igor Bobkov performed heroically to silence Minsk’s first power play of the game, then had to do it all again almost immediately when Evgeny Grachyov followed Alexander Khokhlachyov into the box.
Dinamo eventually solved Bobkov in the 52nd minute when Roman Gorbunov pulled a goal back. There was still time for the visitor to save the game, but Amur held on to take the win.
Hawks rally from 1-3 to beat Neftekhimik
Avangard Omsk 4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 SO (0-2, 1-1, 2-0, 0-0, 1-0)
In Neftekhimik’s previous home game, a 3-0 lead was not enough to beat Metallurg and the Wolves lost in a shoot-out. Today was a similar story, with Avangard recovering from 1-3 to hand the visitor another shoot-out loss. The wins sees the Hawks close to within three points of Magnitka at the top of the Eastern Conference, and the Siberians have two games in hand.
Neftekhimik was lifted by the return of defensive leader Lukas Klok as Oleg Leontiev made changes following the Metallurg defeat. And the visitor made a good start to the game. True, there was an anxious moment when Ivan Nikolishin got clean through on Andrei Tikhomirov’s net, but otherwise the Wolves looked lively in the first period. A full two minutes of five-on-three power play could not bring an opening goal, but with the teams at even strength Grigory Seleznyov finally put the visitor in front in the 14th minute.
As the intermission approached, home captain Damir Sharipzyanov gifted the puck to Nail Yakupov. He couldn’t score himself, but Evgeny Kashnikov followed up to convert the rebound and make it 2-0 before the break.
Neftekhimik began the second period by killing a penalty. Reid Boucher and Valentin Pyanov went close, but the visitor held on. However, Avangard kept getting power play chances, and Boucher converted one in the 35th minute to bring the Hawks back into the game.
With 13 seconds left to play in the period, Neftekhimik extended its lead thanks to a piece of individual skill from Danila Popov. His goal made it 3-1 at the second intermission, but that lead evaporated in the space of 90 seconds in the third period. Igor Martynov’s power play tally reduced the arrears, then Sergei Boikov hauled the home team level. That prompted a change of goaltender for the visitor, with Filipp Dolganov taking over from Tikhomirov. He kept Avangard out until the end of overtime, but was beaten twice in the shoot-out as Ryan Spooner and Boucher both found the target. At the other end, Ilya Proskuryakov let nothing past him as Avangard snatched the win.
Dynamo spoils Traktor’s party
Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 Dynamo Moscow 4 (0-2, 2-1, 0-1)
Chelyabinsk celebrated Traktor’s 1,000th game in the KHL, welcoming veterans of the club to the arena. Today’s team donned a special jersey for the occasion and it was perhaps fitting that the opposition came from Dynamo Moscow, who also faced Traktor in its only Gagarin Cup final appearance to date.
However, Dynamo was in no mood to play the gracious guest. The Blue-and-Whites lost at SKA last time out but knew that a win here would move them clear at the top of the Western Conference. The visitor took the initiative right away, posing plenty of questions for rookie goalie Vyacheslav Buteyets on his first KHL start. It was a surprise when Traktor was the first team to get the puck in the net, but a bench challenge denied Alexander Sharov the opening goal.
Things got worse for Traktor right away. In the 10th minute, Madison Bowey took his second penalty of the game, and Cedric Paquette opened the scoring. At the time, Dynamo was up 12-1 for shots on goal and the one-way traffic continued. Vitaly Kravtsov was the next Traktor player to go to the box and this time Paquette turned provider for Eric O’Dell to double the lead.
The home team made a good start to the middle frame. Albert Yarullin reduced the deficit, then a penalty on Dmitry Rashevsky offered Traktor a good chance to tie things up. However, Dynamo killed the penalty and Rashevsky jumped out of the box to make it 3-1. That was the end of Buteyets’ game, the 21-year-old was replaced by Nikita Podskrebalin.
Traktor stayed in contention when Yarullin repeated his earlier goal, but could not improve on 2-3. Instead, after Konstantin Volkov reliably kept the home offense at bay, Maxim Dzhioshvili sealed the win with a fourth goal late in the third period.
Murashov claims first KHL shut-out
HC Sochi 0 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (0-2, 0-0, 0-0)
Sochi travelled home from the Far East with a 5-2 win over Amur. On returning to the Black Sea, the Leopards welcomed a Lokomotiv team that suffered a shoot-out loss at Torpedo in its previous game. Back in September, when the teams met in Yaroslavl, Sochi enjoyed a 5-0 win. Since then, though, Dmitry Kokorev’s team has lost some key players, most notably Borna Rendulic (now with SKA) and suffered a run of one win in 13 games prior to the victory in Khabarovsk.
Loko, meanwhile, is trying to keep pace with Dynamo and Spartak at the top of the Western Conference. Prior to the Torpedo game, Igor Nikitin’s team won three in a row. Today, it took control in the first period.
The Railwaymen scored twice in the opening frame, converting both of its power play chances. Stepan Nikulin got the first, in the ninth minute. Then, after former Loko prospect Alexander Perevalov sat for tripping, Maxim Shalunov doubled the lead in the 16th. Although the goals came on the PP, the visitor had the better of the game throughout the first period. It wasn’t until Maxim Beryozkin took a double minor late in the session that Sochi began to show some offensive intent.
Then penalty carried into the second period, and so did Sochi’s momentum. The home team was much better after the intermission, outshooting Loko 15-5 and even getting the puck in the net midway through the session. However, the visiting bench challenged the play and the review wiped out the goal citing interference on goaltender Sergei Murashov.
In the third period, Lokomotiv reasserted itself. The visitor dominated the shot count but could not find a way past Mikhail Berdin for a third goal that would end Sochi’s resistance. In the end, though, two was enough as the Railwaymen consolidate their grip on third place.
SKA rallies for OT win
SKA St. Petersburg 3 Vityaz Moscow Region 2 (0-1, 0-1, 2-0, 1-0)
The home team set out to claim a tenth straight victory, but faced a tough examination against Vityaz. Although the visitor is outside the playoff places in the West, the team is playing better under Dmitry Ryabykin and has steadily picked up points to close on Dinamo Minsk in eighth.
Today, SKA started the game with plenty of possession, but found the Vityaz defense in robust shape. The visitor kept the puck away from danger, and although SKA enjoyed plenty of possession it managed just nine shots at Dmitry Shikin. Things got better for the visitor just before the intermission: Ivan Yezhov stunned the home crowd by opening the scoring 13 seconds before the hooter.
Given SKA’s general control of the play, it seemed a fair bet that Roman Rotenberg’s team would respond in the second. However, the pattern of play was much as before. SKA had possession, but struggled to test Shikin. Vityaz defended resolutely, and added a second goal midway through the session thanks to Ivan Vorobyov.
Alexander Nikishin got SKA off the mark early in the third period. His 44th-minute tally was just what the home side needed in its quest to save the game. After that, the pressure on Shikin’s net intensified. When Vladimir Galuzin took a slashing penalty in the 54th minute, the power play was too much for Vityaz. Vladimir Alistrov needed just 33 seconds to convert the chance and tie the game.
The home team was in the ascendancy, but Vityaz held on to force overtime and guarantee at least one point for its efforts. And we were just 35 seconds away from a shoot-out before Mikhail Vorobyov potted the winner. SKA completes 10 successive wins and climbs to fourth in the West.
