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Dynamo back on top, rare loss for SKA. December 23 round-up
Another overtime win saw Dynamo move back to the top of the KHL standings after edging past Neftekhimik. In-form SKA suffered only its second loss since early November, falling 1-3 at Torpedo. Defending champion CSKA is still struggling for form and lost out in OT at Lokomotiv, while Barys also needed the extras to see off Sochi. The day started with Sibir defeating Ak Bars 4-2.
Ak Bars stumbles in Siberia
Sibir Novosibirsk 4 Ak Bars Kazan 2 (2-0, 1-0, 1-2)
Sibir continues to make progress following the departure of head coach David Nemirovsky. Today, interim boss Sergei Krivokrasov bounced back from his first loss in his current role to secure an impressive 4-2 win over Ak Bars. His experienced opponent, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, cut a frustrated figure as his team struggles for consistency and admitted after the game that he could not really explain what was going wrong.
The home team made changes after a 1-4 loss at Lada in the previous game. Andy Andreoff returned after missing the trip to Togliatti for family reasons, Ziyat Paigin made his first appearance after his transfer from Avangard and Nikolai Prokhorkin – widely linked with a move before the upcoming trade deadline – sat it out, passing the ‘C’ to Nikita Korotkov and allowing Taylor Beck to center the first line.
Beck has a reputation for scoring on Ak Bars, but defenseman Nikita Yefremov may be trying to acquire something similar for himself. He’s not a regular on the team, far less a frequent scorer. However, half of the 22-year-old’s four career goals have come against Kazan after he opened the scoring with a short-handed effort today.
When playing at equal strength, Sibir looked the livelier team. Towards the end of the first period, Pavel Gogolev doubled the lead, releasing Ivan Klimovich on the counter and keeping pace with the play to convert a return pass from the young forward.
After the intermission, Ak Bars improved. Stanislav Galiyev dinged one off the crossbar, but overall the visitor could not find the cutting edge it craved. Instead, Sibir extended its lead when Timur Bilyalov was beaten by a long-range effort from Ilya Morozov and Bilyaletdinov decided it was time to deploy understudy goalie Amir Miftakhov.
Midway through the frame, Evgeny Svechnikov laid a big hit on Beck and took two minutes for kneeing. Moreover, the visiting forward needed to be helped from the ice, although he managed to return to action.
And not only did he return to the game, Svechnikov also found a way past Denis Kostin in the Sibir net to reduce the arrears early in the third. That inspired hopes of a fightback, and when Slava Voynov had the puck in the net in the 52nd minute, Ak Bars believed it could save the game. Sibir’s bench begged to differ, challenging the play for offside. However, the appeal was dismissed, reducing the home lead to a single goal and handing Ak Bars a power play.
Unfortunately for the visitor, its PP was not on its game today. Sibir held on, then Andreoff added a fourth goal when the teams were back to full strength. That proved to be the final incident of note as the home team took a 4-2 win and tightened its grip on eighth place in the East.
Kazakhs halt skid, Sochi still struggles
Barys Astana 3 HC Sochi 2 OT (1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)
Two struggling teams met in the Kazakh capital. Sochi arrived on a six-game skid, while Barys had lost its previous four, prompting a second change in coaching this season. Today, the home team managed an OT win, giving Oleg Bolyakin his first victory since he assumed interim charge during the international break.
The game started with an unpleasant reminder for Barys: forward Jeremy Bracco left the club a few games into this season. Now he’s at Sochi, and after just 42 seconds he gave the visitor the lead. The American forward clearly had a point to prove on his first return to Kazakhstan.
However, Sochi’s lead was shortlived. Anthony Camara, who moved to Astana at the start of November from Neftekhimik, tied the game in the fourth minute. That makes it four games in a row that Camara has found the net, and five out of the last six. Considering he managed just three goals in Nizhnekamsk before his move, it’s fair to say he’s settling in well in his new club.
The second period also saw a quickfire exchange of goals. This time, David Sklenicka put Barys in front, only for Kirill Rasskazov to swiftly tie it up at 2-2.
It remained 2-2 until the final buzzer. Then, in overtime, Arkady Shestakov’s goal separated the teams and ended the host’s skid. Sochi, meanwhile, must wait to get off its own losing run.
Pylenkov fires Dynamo back to the top
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Dynamo Moscow 3 OT (2-1, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)
For the fourth time in five games, Dynamo was taken all the way. Nonetheless, after a 2-2 tie through 60 minutes, the visitor found the energy to record a fourth successive victory. The win returns the Blue-and-Whites to the top of the championship standings, two points clear of Spartak.
Neftekhimik ended a seven-game skid in its previous game, and that confidence helped the home team jump into a two-goal lead here. Midway through the first period, Nikita Setdikov opened the scoring. Then, 80 seconds later, Andrei Belozyorov doubled that lead.
However, Dynamo responded quickly. Before the first intermission, Dmitry Rashevsky got one back with his 17th goal of the season. Then, midway through the second, Pavel Kudryavtsev tied the game. Nikita Gusev’s assist on that play extended his productive streak to 11 games and took him to 52 points for the season.
Neither team could win it in regulation, and it was starting to look as though overtime would also be inconclusive. However, with 20 seconds left on the clock, defenseman Daniil Pylenkov added to his earlier helper with the winning goal.
Belevich double spoils SKA’s winning run
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (0-0, 0-1, 3-0)
These two teams are battling hard for top-four spot in the West. Torpedo has been the more consistent over the course of the season, while SKA bounced back from a sluggish start to hit a rich vein of form in recent weeks. The visitor arrived in Nizhny Novgorod with three wins and 16 goals in its previous three games, not to mention just one loss since Nov. 6.
In the first period, SKA played with confidence and determination, befitting its current run. However, while Adam Huska was the busier of the goalies, Torpedo created the better chances. A quick breakaway saw Johan Mattsson make a smart save to deny Vasily Atanasov, then towards the end of the first period Bobby Lynch fired narrowly wide from a tight angle after a dangerous feed from Oleg Li.
After the break, the visitor came out and scored after 45 seconds. SKA won an attacking face-off and Vasily Glotov found a shooting position. Twice, his efforts were blocked by Anton Silayev, but the third time was the charm as he picked out the open corner of Huska’s net to break the deadlock. Both teams had chances after that, but the big moment came late in the session when Marat Khairullin followed Alex Galchenyuk into the box, giving Torpedo a five-on-three power play to start the final frame.
That two-man advantage immediately bore fruit. After 14 seconds’ play, Bogdan Konyushkov dished off the puck for Nikolai Kovalenko, who found Mattsson top corner to tie the scores. The Swedish goalie had to remain on full alert as the home team looked to get ahead while the power play continued. SKA survived that scare and even created chances of its own once back to even strength.
However, the go-ahead goal went to the home team in the 47th minute. A turnover set Torpedo on the counterattack and Nikita Shavin brought play down the right before setting up Andrei Belevich for a close-range finish.
SKA responded by ramping up the pressure. Huska made a double save to deny Borna Rendulic and Stepan Falkovsky, then Sergei Tolchinsky fired wide from an odd-man rush. There were further big chances for Galchenyuk and Arseny Gritsyuk, but the final word went to Belevich. He got his second of the night late in the game to put the outcome beyond reach.
Shalunov strike sinks former club
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 CSKA Moscow 1 OT (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 1-0)
CSKA slipped to a third successive loss after going down in overtime in Yaroslavl. It’s the third time Lokomotiv has defeated the defending champion in five meetings so far this season.
The first period produced no goals and relatively few incidents. The Muscovites benefitted from four minutes on the power play, but rarely tested Daniil Isayev in the home net.
After the intermission, the teams were even more cautious in their approach, but the deadlock was broken at last in the 34th minute. Rushan Rafikov delighted the home crowd with his sixth goal of the season. The defenseman joined in with an attack and arrived at the back door to convert Artur Kayumov’s feed from the right wing.
CSKA tied it up in the 46th minute, but only after a video review. Konstantin Okulov played the puck back to the point, Colby Williams banged in a shot and the puck was deflected past Isayev. Nikita Nesterov was in the mix, and there were concerns that his stick was high. However, a review of the play showed that the CSKA defenseman did not make contact with the flying puck and the final touch came from Mikhail Grigorenko.
With the game tied and overtime fast approaching, it was little surprise that neither team was willing to depart from its studied approach to the game. The rest of the third period brought no goals, and neither goalie was greatly extended in the closing stages.
The same attitude prevailed in OT – no sign of Sergei Fedorov replacing his goalie with a fourth skater today. However, Maxim Shalunov, once of CSKA, produced the winning goal to give the Railwaymen the verdict.
