1,000 games for Biryukov, 26 penalty shots in Kazan. January 21 round-up
It was a day of big numbers. Salavat Yulaev defenseman Evgeny Biryukov became the first player to make 1,000 KHL appearances, helping his team to an OT win over Amur. Ak Bars and Spartak went to a shoot-out after a 3-3 tie in Kazan, and it took 26 attempts for the home team to edge the verdict. Severstal and Avangard both saw their seven-game winning streaks ended, losing at Metallurg and Lokomotiv respectively. Torpedo rallied from 0-2 to beat CSKA in OT, while Neftekhimik edged Admiral 3-2.
CSKA blows lead, loses in OT
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 CSKA Moscow 2 OT (0-1, 1-1, 1-0, 1-0)
CSKA blew a 2-0 lead at Torpedo and fell to defeat in overtime. Igor Larionov made just one change from the team that lost at home to Vityaz last time out, bringing Nikolai Kovalenko back. Sergei Fedorov, whose team snapped a three-game skid in Astana, made more changes. Ivan Fedotov returned in goal, Vladislav Provolnev replaced Colby Williams and Mikhail Grigorenko took Yegor Fateyev’s place.
The early stages were all about CSKA’s offense. From the first shift, the visitor attacked and generated plenty of chances. When the Muscovites got on the power play for the first time, it led to Vitaly Abramov opening the scoring in the ninth minute.
Torpedo looked better at the start of the second period and repeatedly tested Fedotov. However, the next goal went to CSKA when Pavel Karnaukhov shot through Adam Huska’s five-hole. By now, though, Torpedo thought it could see a way to goal. The comeback began with a shorthanded tally after Maxim Letunov took advantage of a breakdown in communication between Fedotov and Sergei Plotnikov late in the second stanza.
From that point on, the home team looked the likelier to score. The tying goal arrived midway through the third when Igor Larionov Jr got his sixth of the season. In the closing stages, CSKA posed the greater threat but once the game went to overtime, a penalty for Plotnikov proved costly. With an extra man, the home team secured the win thanks to Denis Yan’s goal off a great feed from Vladislav Firstov.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (1-0, 2-1, 0-1)
Table-topping Metallurg halted Severstal’s seven-game winning streak in a hard-fought game in Magnitogorsk. Thus, Magnitka head coach Andrei Razin defeated his former club for the first time since leaving Cherepovets in the summer.
In the opening frame, the home team had a slight edge throughout. A one-goal lead at the first intermission was fair reward for Metallurg’s efforts. The breakthrough came late in the stanza when Maxim Karpov and Pavel Akolzin skilfully converted a two-on-one rush.
Early in the second, an unfortunate deflection saw the puck fly into Yegor Yakovlev’s neck, causing the home captain to miss a few shifts. That helped Severstal get back into the game, and Ruslan Abrosimov found space on the slot to fire home the equalizer. That reawakened the home team, and a counterattack saw Nikita Mikhailis set up Danila Yurov for the go-ahead goal.
Late in the frame, two former Severstal players combined to extend the lead with a power play goal. Igor Geraskin, who rejoined Razin in the Urals after starting this season with Avangard, set up Daniil Vovchenko, revitalized after linking up with Razin once again, to make it 3-1 in the dying moments of the middle frame. Goalie Ilya Nabokov played a big role as well: his stretch pass kicked off the play and earned the youngster an assist, the 20-year-old’s second point in the KHL.
Magnitka could have put the game beyond reach at the start of the third when it had a five-on-three advantage. However, Severstal held on and managed to reduce the deficit when Alexander Skorenov scored with 10 to play. But that was as close as the visitor got.
Victory in Biryukov's 1,000th game
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Amur Khabarovsk 2 OT (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 1-0)
The big news in Ufa was Evgeny Biryukov’s 1,000th appearance in the KHL. The veteran defenseman is the first man to reach that figure in the league, and one of just 18 players to reach 1,000 games in top-flight Russian play. He’s currently second on the all-time appearance list behind Danis Zaripov (1,324 games).
The big day demanded a home win, but Amur, battling for a playoff place, was not about to roll over. Andrei Martemyanov’s men were looking to snap a five-game skid and put the pressure on an opponent currently in third place in the East. The Tigers opened the scoring in the seventh minute when Stanislav Bocharov converted the first power play of the game, and that lead lasted until the intermission.
Ufa replied with a power play goal of its own in the second, Nicolas Meloche finding the net with a precise wrist shot. However, Bocharov’s second of the game restored the visitor’s lead early in the third. It took another power play for Salavat Yulaev to tie the game once more, this time thanks to Alexander Sharov. And overtime saw the home team remove goalie Alexander Samonov before Josh Leivo potted the winner.
Wolves consolidate in eighth place
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (0-0, 2-1, 1-1)
The Wolves continue to make the most of their elevation to the top eight following Sibir’s points deduction. A second successive victory moves Neftekhimik to 55 points, three clear of ninth-placed Amur and level with the tally Sibir had gathered before last week’s ruling stripped the Novosibirsk club of four points.
Admiral dropped to the foot of the Eastern Conference after that ruling – Barys picked up four points after Sibir forfeited its two wins in their early-season meetings, and was unable to close the gap today. After a goalless first period, the visitor fell behind in the second. Bulat Shafigullin’s shorthanded goal opened the scoring, then Yegor Korbit doubled the lead midway through the session.
Giovanni Fiore scored late in the second period to give Admiral hope, but Neftekhimik would not be denied. The home team soaked up plenty of pressure in the third, then grabbed a power play goal through Evgeny Mityakin in the 56th minute. That effectively settled the outcome, although Kirill Petkov pulled one back for Admiral late on.
Kovi’s late strike can’t save Spartak
Ak Bars Kazan 4 Spartak Moscow 3 SO (2-2, 0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)
An Ilya Kovalchuk goal in the last moments of regulation earned Spartak a point in Kazan. However, the shoot-out loss means that Alexei Zhamnov’s team still needs one more point to officially secure its playoff place.
There was a fast start to this game. Maxim Tsyplakov put Spartak ahead in the first minute, only for Dmitry Kagarlitsky to tie it up in the fifth. Then the visitor ran into penalty trouble, but while Yegor Zaitsev served a double minor for high sticks, Tsyplakov got his second of the game to restore the Red-and-White lead. Late in the opening frame, Artyom Lukoyanov made it 2-2 when he got on the end of Dmitry Katelevsky’s feed to the far post.
The second period brought 10 minutes of penalties, but no goals. The best chance went to Ak Bars, with a dangerous counterattack late in the session seeing Kagarlitsky go close to his second goal.
Early in the third, the home team went ahead for the first time. Riley Barber fired the puck into the zone, Ilya Safonov picked up possession and glided past Joey Keane before wiring a wrist shot into the net from the circle.
That looked like it would be the winner. Ak Bars defended solidly until the closing moments, but Kovalchuk broke that resistance. Playing six-on-five, Spartak pushed the home team back into its zone. Dmitry Vishnevsky played the puck along the blue line for Kovalchuk, and he fired a shot through traffic into the net.
In overtime, Spartak began on the power play and Timur Bilyalov pulled off a big double save to keep the teams level. That set up the shoot-out and eventually Ak Bars prevailed.
The shoot-out turned into an epic, with both goalies in fantastic form. The teams shared 26 attempts on goal, with Spartak’s Alexander Belyayev and Ak Bars’ Semyon Terekhov on target in the early exchanges. Then came a long series of saves and misses before Vadim Shipachyov finally ended it in favor of the home team.
Avangard’s hot streak cools in Yaroslavl
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Avangard Omsk 1 (0-0, 2-0, 2-1)
Sunday saw the league’s two best winning run come to an end. After Severstal lost at Metallurg, Avangard surrendered its seven-game hot streak at Lokomotiv.
The first period was goalless, although Lokomotiv had rather more of the play and outshot the Hawks 14-5. Despite that statistical advantage, there were few moments of real danger for Pavel Khomchenko in the visitor’s net.
Things began to heat up in the second. Lokomotiv got on the power play at the start of the session and Khomchenko made a couple of big stops to deny Ivan Chekhovich and Alexander Polunin. The breakthrough came midway through the session when Sergei Andronov fired in a shot from the blue line. Khomchenko kept it out, but could not control the rebound and Pavel Kraskovsky was on hand to put it in the net.
Soon after, a defensive breakdown almost handed Maxim Shalunov a second goal for the home team. This time, Khomchenko had the answer, but the visiting goalie was beaten again late in the frame when Chekhovich scored on the power play.
Early in the third, Reid Boucher’s power play marker offered Avangard a lifeline. Then Nikolai Prokhorkin’s dangerous feed to the back door was almost converted by Ivan Nikolishin as Lokomotiv wobbled. The home team responded by upping its forecheck, looking to hold Omsk in center ice and keep the danger away from Daniil Isayev’s net.
Late in the frame, the Railwaymen finished the job. Nikita Kiryanov forced a turnover, advanced and fired a shot against the post. The rebound dropped for Chekhovich to get his second of the game. Then came a penalty for the home team, persuading Avangard to play six-on-four for the remaining minutes. However, the visitor coughed up the puck and Rushan Rafikov fired into the empty net to seal the verdict.
