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Avangard seals playoff spot despite loss. January 28 round-up
Traktor’s 5-4 win at Avangard was perhaps the most exciting game of the day. However, the result could not prevent Omsk from confirming playoff hockey this season: Amur’s loss at home to Metallurg means the Hawks became the second team from the East to book its ticket. Elsewhere, the bottom teams in each conference climbed off the foot of the table: Kunlun Red Star won in overtime at Sochi, while Admiral edged a nine-goal thriller against Salavat Yulaev to move in front of Barys, beaten by Ak Bars. There were also victories for Lada at Neftekhimik, CSKA at Severstal and Dinamo Minsk over Sibir.
Amur suffers ninth straight loss
Amur Khabarovsk 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (0-2, 1-0, 1-1)
The Tigers fell to a ninth successive loss, continuing a skid that has seriously undermined a playoff push in Khabarovsk. Although Amur remains just four points adrift of eighth place, the current slump means Andrei Martemyanov’s team has work to do to progress into post season.
Metallurg has no such worries. The Eastern Conference leader booked its playoff spot on Friday and today’s success extended its lead in the standings to three points. Today, the Steelmen quickly stole the initiative: an early power play led to a second-minute goal from Nikita Mikhailis and Danile Yurov doubled the lead midway through the first period.
However, Amur posed a regular threat on the counterattack and that led to the home team pulling a goal back in the middle frame. Vyacheslav Barulin had more than one opportunity to test Nikita Podskrebalin in the visitor’s net and he found the net in the 32nd minute when he stuffed home a rebound off the goalie’s pads.
Shortly after that, Kirill Kapustin’s double minor gave Magnitka a chance to restore its two-goal advantage. Despite some intense pressure, Amur held on and late in the frame Barulin went close to potting his second of the afternoon.
That meant that game was very much alive going into the third. Amur had an early power play but could not convert. Denis Zernov almost capitalized on a turnover to extend Metallurg’s lead but was denied by Igor Bobkov. Amur saw more of the puck, forcing the Steelmen to play on the counter. One of those counterattacks paid dividends late in the game when Nikita Grebyonkin – so effective on loan with Amur last season – made it 3-1.
The home team hit back immediately thanks to Ivan Mishchenko’s goal when he redirected Yefim Gurkin’s long shot. That set up a couple of minutes of Amur pressure in search of a tying goal, but Metallurg withstood the pressure to claim the verdict. Amur’s defeat means that Avangard confirmed its playoff spot.
Sailors prevail in nine-goal epic
Admiral Vladivostok 5 Salavat Yulaev 4 OT (0-0, 2-2, 2-2, 1-0)
A rousing battle in Vladivostok saw both teams lead by two as they traded eight goals in regulation. However, overtime saw Admiral snatch a win that lifts it off the foot of the Eastern Conference standings.
Although the first period ended goalless, there was no shortage of incident. Notably, Admiral had an early goal wiped out by a successful bench challenge from Viktor Kozlov as the teams traded chances.
After the break, goals arrived. Alexander Gorshkov and Dmitry Buchelnikov grabbed a couple of quick ones for Admiral, giving the home team a 2-0 lead. However, after allowing two goals in two minutes at the start of the session, Salavat Yulaev scored two goals inside a minute at the end. Alexander Chmelevski was involved in both, assisting Ivan Drozdov before scoring himself 31 seconds later.
The third period was almost a mirror image of the second. Salavat Yulaev scored twice early in the session, thanks to Danil Bashkirov and Sergei Shmelyov. In response, Kirill Petkov scored on the power play, then in the 56th minute Cliff Pu scored his first since joining from Kunlun Red Star.
That took the game to overtime and, as usual, Salavat Yulaev replaced goalie Alexander Samonov with a fourth skater. This time, the positive intent was not successful: Anton Berlyov won possession and fired into the empty net from his own zone to give Admiral the verdict.
A tale of two Tkachyovs
Avangard Omsk 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 (3-2, 0-2, 1-1)
Avangard’s Vladimir Tkachyov wasted no time in announcing his return to action for Avangard. However, despite a goal after 65 seconds, he finished on the losing side after Traktor’s Vladimir Tkachyov collected three assists in a nine-goal thriller in Omsk.
Tkachyov had not featured since Jan. 12, but showed no signs of rustiness as he joined Reid Boucher’s counterattack and scored with his first shot of the game. That kicked off a blistering start for the home team, with Tomas Jurco doubling the lead after four minutes and Damir Sharipzyanov making it 3-0 inside 10.
Traktor, though, did not panic. No time-out, no change of goalie. Instead, the visitor retrieved two markers before the intermission. Sergei Kalinin ended a 36-game wait for a goal by scoring on his boyhood club. Then Alexander Rykov, playing his first game on Traktor’s top line, made it 2-3 in the 16th minute. While Avangard’s Tkachyov grabbed the early attention, Traktor’s Vladimir Tkachyov also made an impact: he assisted on both goals.
At the start of the second, Nikita Soshnikov tied the game on the power play. That prompted Mikhail Kravets to swap his goalies, sending Andrei Mishurov to replace Pavel Khomchenko. But now the visitor was in the ascendancy and Vitaly Kravtsov gave Traktor the lead for the first time in the game as the action reached midway.
After seven goals in 30 minutes, the teams finally remembered how to defend. Traktor, in particular, tightened up in front of its own net and Avangard found it hard to generate the kind of dangerous offense we saw in the early stages. It wasn’t until late in the middle frame that Zach Fucale found himself busy in the visitor’s net, and a tying goal had to wait until the start of the third when Boucher made it 4-4.
That lifted the Hawks for a time, but a fifth goal was not forthcoming. Instead, a delayed penalty saw Traktor’s Maxim Shabanov produce a lacrosse goal to win it for the visitor. Tkachyov collected his third assist of the game. Despite today’s defeat, Avangard still confirmed its place in this year’s playoffs due to Amur’s loss earlier in the day.
Barys slips to the basement
Barys Astana 1 Ak Bars Kazan 3 (1-2, 0-0, 0-1)
Ak Bars secured its fourth victory in four encounters with Barys this season. The home team ended a two-game goalless run but could not escape a fifth successive defeat as it dropped to the foot of the Eastern Conference.
The visitor got ahead in the fifth minute. Nelson Nogier went to the box and Ak Bars needed just five seconds to convert the power play. Dmitry Yudin scored the opener. Almost immediately, Barys took another penalty but managed to kill that one successfully. However, Ak Bars continued to press while playing at equal strength and Kirill Semyonov doubled the lead in the 13th minute.
At the end of the first period, a power play goal for David Sklenicka ended the Barys drought. That, coupled with a fairly even shot count, suggested that the game was a close contest. However, Ak Bars always looked the livelier. The home defense had to block 10 shots in the first period and it wasn’t until the middle frame that the action genuinely evened out.
In the final stanza, Barys took control of the play. The home team outshot Ak Bars 16-4 but could not find the tying goal. Instead, Mitchell Miller completed the scoring in the 47th minute.
Podyapolsky blanks Neftekhimik
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 Lada Togliatti 2 (0-0, 0-1, 0-1)
Vladislav Podyapolsky was Lada’s hero in Nizhnekamsk. The visiting goalie made 50 saves to backstop a shut-out win for the visitor. As a result, the Wolves missed the chance to consolidate their grip on eighth place. Neftekhimik still holds a four-point lead over both Sibir and Amur, but has played more games than its immediate rivals.
The first period outlined the way the game would progress. Although the early exchanges were fairly equal, Neftekhimik gradually took greater control of the action. However, there was no way past Podyapolsky.
At the first intermission, it felt like a matter of time before the home team found the net. In the second period, though, Pavel Kulikov gave Lada a 25th-minute lead when he scored on his team’s first shot of the session. Now the host needed greater urgency about its attacking play, but for much of the middle frame it struggled to generate good opportunities against a well-drilled opponent.
That changed in the third. Neftekhimik released the handbrake and poured forward. Podyapolsky faced 24 shots in the final frame, and stopped all of them. At the other end, Lada rarely featured but Kulikov got his second of the night into an empty net to seal the win.
Sochi’s fightback fails in OT
HC Sochi 3 Kunlun Red Star 4 OT (0-2, 1-1, 2-0, 0-1)
The Dragons moved off the foot of the Western Conference after grabbing an overtime victory in Sochi. However, Kunlun did this the hard way, blowing a three-goal lead before Parker Foo potted the winner.
Sochi came into the game in good form, winning four of its last five to move away from the basement. However, Red Star made a great start and led at the intermission thanks to two goals from Luke Lockhart.
In the second period, Brandon Yip added a third for the visitor, and it looked like the Leopard’s recent upswing was heading for an abrupt halt. However, Jesse Graham pulled a goal back before the break and gave the home team some hope.
That hope became reality in the third. Marat Khusnutdinov set up Nikolai Chebykin to make it 2-3 early in the session. Then the former SKA man scored himself to tie the game in the 49th minute. Neither team could win it in regulation, and the Dragons recovered their composure to take the verdict in the extras. The teams meet again tomorrow, and twice more in February.
CSKA survives Severstal pressure, delivers big win
Severstal Cherepovets 2 CSKA Moscow 6 (0-0, 2-3, 0-3)
Two goals from Maxim Mamin led CSKA to victory at Severstal. However, it took the defending champion some time to seize control of this game, and a flurry of quick goals in the third period were necessary to kill off the home team’s resistance. As a result, the visitor moves ahead of Severstal into sixth place in the West.
Things might have turned out differently if Severstal had converted its first-period pressure into goals. Ivan Fedotov had plenty to do to ensure the opening frame remained scoreless and his impressive work culminated in a double save right before the hooter.
At the start of the second, CSKA got ahead. Mamin opened the scoring in the 24th minute, and Severstal’s problems were compounded by an unsuccessful bench challenge. That gave the visitor a power play, and Pavel Karnaukhov took advantage to make it 2-0. Ruslan Abrosimov pulled one back, but Mamin’s second of the game – again on the power play – restored that two-goal cushion.
Even so, it could easily have been level at the second intermission. Danil Aimurzin pulled one back, and right on the hooter a deflected shot dinged Fedotov’s post as Severstal ensured the game was still alive going into the third.
However, that final frame saw the intrigue evaporate surprisingly quickly. In the 46th minute, Vladislav Kamenov grabbed another power play goal – CSKA’s third of the night. A minute later, Alexander Samoilov’s timely poke check denied Prokhor Poltapov, but the visitor shrugged off that disappointment and scored twice in a minute. Mikhail Grigorenko and Takhir Minghachyov did the damage, taking the game away from Severstal in a matter of seconds.
Pyshkailo’s double leads Dinamo to victory
Dinamo Minsk 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 1 (1-0, 0-0, 3-1)
Today’s victory sees Dinamo open a 14-point gap over ninth-placed Sochi. The Bison look well set to secure a playoff spot and could mathematically secure their spot next week if results go their way.
Sibir, meanwhile, remains four points off the pace in the East, but has a game in hand over eighth-placed Neftekhimik. However, the Siberians are on a run of just one win in six games and need to arrest that slide if they are to extend their season into March.
Today’s game saw Dinamo get in front in the 15th minute thanks to a shorthanded goal from Sergei Kuznetsov. That was a fair reward for a good start from the home team, which dominated the first period and outshot Sibir 12-5.
The second stanza followed a similar pattern, but Minsk could not add to its lead as Denis Kostin made 13 saves. However, Kostin was beaten early in the third as the Bison built the lead their efforts deserved. Nikita Pyshkailo was the key player. He made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute, then added a third in the 48th, shortly after Sibir killed a penalty.
Sibir got a lifeline when Andy Andreoff scored on a five-on-three power play, but that was as close as the visitor came. Kostin went to the bench as Sibir tried to grab another goal on the continuation of its PP, but instead Dinamo made it 4-1 when Kodie Curran shot into an empty net to complete the scoring.
