SKA wins battle of the West, Ufa stuns CSKA. December 25 round-up
In Monday’s big game, SKA edged a 3-2 verdict at Dynamo. That prevented the Muscovites from returning to the top of the standings, and puts the Petersburg club within five points of the summit. CSKA came within a minute of defeating Salavat Yulaev, but Josh Leivo struck two late goals to give the visitor an OT verdict. Earlier in the day, Vladislav Barulin’s hat-trick led Amur to a 4-1 win over Neftekhimik.
Barulin hits a festive treble
Amur Khabarovsk 4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (1-0, 1-1, 2-0)
Vladislav Barulin scored a hat-trick to lead Amur to a convincing Christmas Day victory over Neftekhimik. The Tigers came into the game looking to reduce the five-point gap to eighth-placed Sibir, while 10th-placed Neftekhimik was seeking to revitalize its playoff prospects following some improved performance after the international break.
Given the circumstances of the two teams, the opening goal was always likely to be important. After a struggle to secure the initiative, Amur made that breakthrough midway through the first period. Barulin was the scorer, making the most of a rare chance in the opening stanza.
After the intermission, Neftekhimik quickly got back on terms. Nikita Setdikov made it 1-1 in the 23rd minute. The pattern of play did not change much after that, with the teams continuing to trade chances. However, there were few big moments at either end until right before the buzzer, when Barulin turned provider and Yegor Korshkov restored Amur’s lead.
Midway through the third, Neftekhimik had a shot at salvation. Dmitry Shevchenko’s second penalty of the game – assessed a minor, but only after a video check about a possible major – gave the visitor the initiative. However, Amur withstood that challenge and not long after Shevchenko left the box he set up Barulin for his second of the night. The home forward completed his hat-trick with an empty-net goal on 57:17, ending any question about the outcome.
SKA stops Dynamo’s return to the top
Dynamo Moscow 2 SKA St. Petersburg 3 (0-1, 0-1, 2-1)
Dynamo missed the chance to return to the top of the KHL standings. The Blue-and-Whites lost out on home ice to in-form SKA. The visitor shrugged off the side effects of a rare loss in its previous game and moves to within five points of the summit after today’s success.
For much of the first period, the home team looked stronger. Dynamo outshot SKA 14-6, helped by two power plays. However, Alexei Kudashov’s men could not find the net and paid the price in the final seconds. SKA got its first penalty of the game and quickly took advantage. Alexander Nikishin dished the puck off to Sergei Tolchinsky in the left-hand circle. Tolchinsky fired the puck to the center of the zone where Mikhail Vorobyov’s powerful one-timer beat Ilya Konovalov.
The middle frame saw SKA make a stronger start, apparently eager to avoid a repeat of Dynamo’s early dominance. The play was more equal throughout the second period, with a good chance for Nikita Kamalov at the start ushering in a spell of strong SKA pressure. Then the home team got back into the game, with Cedric Paquette and Dmitry Rashevsky forcing a double save out of Nikita Serebryakov. Once again, though, the final moments of the period brought a goal for the visitor: Brendan Leipsic celebrated his return to the team with his first goal since Sep. 4.
At 0-2, Dynamo faced a long journey back into the game. However, in the 48th minute the home team got a lifeline. Eric O’Dell finally forced the puck into the roof of the net after Rashevsky had Serebryakov leaping all over his crease to protect the net.
Instead of giving the home team impetus, that goal was followed by another for SKA. Konovalov did well to stop a shot from Alex Galchenyuk but lost track of the rebound and Vorobyov pounced to pot his second of the game.
That wasn’t quite the end. With 2:03 left on the clock, Igor Ozhiganov set up a tense finale. The defenseman made an intelligent move off the right-hand boards and Rashevsky picked out his run to the slot and set him up to make it 2-3. Playing without a goalie in the closing seconds, Dynamo struggled to keep hold of the puck. SKA had three shots at the empty net, with varying degrees of accuracy, but could not find the killer goal. However, it used up the remaining time and kept Dynamo away from danger to seal a big road win.
Late drama brings victory for Salavat Yulaev
CSKA Moscow 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 OT (1-1, 1-0, 1-2, 0-1)
Josh Leivo was the Salavat Yulaev hero today, scoring a last-minute equalizer then going on to grab the winner in overtime. Despite grabbing an early lead, the visitor was behind for long stretches of Monday’s game, only to turn everything around at the death.
An absorbing encounter began with a power play goal for Sergei Shmelyov in the third minute. Prolific last season, Shmelyov has been less effective this term and today’s marker was only his fourth of the campaign. It was also his first since Oct. 15, although he missed almost a month due to injury after that.
CSKA replied quickly, however. Although the visitor continued to attack, a breakaway saw Prokhor Poltapov and Takhir Mingachyov combine to set up Vitaly Abramov for the equalizer after five minutes.
The scores remained level at the first intermission. However, CSKA began the second period with a five-on-three power play, putting Salavat Yulaev under pressure but also allowing a couple of dangerous counterattacks before the teams returned to full strength. The home team continued to dominate in five-on-five hockey, outshooting Ufa 21-7 in the middle frame. However, the only reward was a 36th-minute goal from Vladislav Kamenev to give a slender lead to take into the third.
That third period began with plenty of incident. Pavel Koledov brought Salavat level, but Artyom Pimenov’s foul led to a CSKA power play and a goal for Konstatin Okulov to restore the home advantage. Then another home PP saw Andrei Svetlakov get the puck in the net, but this time a video review called it back because the forward steered it in with his hand.
Gradually, the visitor began to pose more of an attacking threat and when the time came for a late charge, Leivo answered the call. Nikita Nesterov got tied up in the corner and lost possession, Alexander Sharov got the puck to the slot and Leivo made it 3-3 on 59:17. That sent us to overtime, and Viktor Kozlov quickly withdrew goalie Alexander Samonov to play four-on-three in the extras. Once again, Leivo was the beneficiary, wiring home a wrister from the right-hand circle to snatch an unlikely victory.
