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Dynamo proves too strong for Dragons. January 25 round-up
Goals either side of the first intermission set Dynamo on the path to victory at Kunlun Red Star in Thursday’s only KHL action.
Kunlun Red Star 1 Dynamo Moscow 5 (0-1, 0-1, 1-3)
Alexei Kudashov’s men moved to second place in the West, stepping in front of SKA and joining leader Lokomotiv on 76 points thanks to goals from Dmitry Rashevsky, Yegor Martynov, Eric O’Dell, Jordan Weal and Pavel Kudryavtsev.
Dynamo took the initiative in the first period, forcing home goalie Matt Jurusik into 16 saves. However, he was beaten in the 18th minute when O’Dell played the puck out from behind the net for Rashevsky to score his 20th of the season. A couple of minutes after the break, Martynov doubled the lead when he collected an Artyom Ilyenko feed and fired home from the right-hand circle.
The teams traded goals at the start of the third. KRS got the first power play of the night, and Devin Brosseau took advantage to pull a goal back. However, as soon as Dynamo was back to full strength, the visitor reinstated the two-goal cushion. Rashevsky and O’Dell reversed their roles from the opening goal and the Canadian scored his 22nd of the season.
The Dragons tried to force the issue. Another power play in the closing stages saw goalie Matt Jurusik replaced with a sixth skater. However, Dynamo got possession and Weal scored into the empty net to seal the verdict. Kudryavtsev added some gloss to the final score with O’Dell collecting his third point of the game on that 56th-minute play.
Thursday’s defeat leaves Kunlun at the foot of the Western Conference standings. The Dragons travel to Sochi at the weekend for back-to-back games that may well determine who gets the wooden spoon at the end of the season.
