Road wins for playoff chasers. February 5 round-up

Monday’s action was all about the race for the Eastern Conference playoff places – and it ended with no team gaining a clear advantage. Neftekhimik won 4-2 at Lada to tighten its grip on eighth place, but within a couple of hours Sibir’s 4-1 victory at Ak Bars ensured that the race remains as tight as ever.

Wolves grab valuable road win

Lada Togliatti 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 (0-2, 0-2, 2-0)

This was the third meeting in nine days between these times, and after the teams split the verdicts in Nizhnekamsk, Neftekhimik grabbed a road win. Lada welcomed back several leading players who missed the 2-5 loss at Salavat Yulaev: goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky, defenseman Georgy Solyannikov and forwards Troy Josephs, Pavel Kulikov and Nikita Popugayev all returned.

Neftekhimik kept faith with the team that claimed a shoot-out win over the same opposition five days earlier and was rewarded with a good start from his players. Although it took time for either offense to gel, the visitor moved ahead in the 15th minute when Jean-Sebastien Dea redirected Evgeny Kashnikov’s point shot into the net.

Lada was close to an equalizer right away. Popugayev fired a shot against the post and goalie Filipp Dolganov almost knocked the rebound into his own net as he tried to freeze the puck. After that, Neftekhimik got the first power play of the game and converted it into a second goal when Dmitry Sokolov scored 38 seconds before the intermission.

The start of the second period saw a defensive error lead to Grigory Seleznyov making it 3-0 – just 84 seconds of game time separated those two goals either side of the break. Within two minutes, Alexander Dergachyov added a fourth after Vladislav Syomin presented him with the puck. Although Podyapolsky was hardly at fault for his team-mate’s unpredictable contribution, he went to the bench to make way for Alexander Trushkov. The incoming goalie found himself under pressure, but stopped the flow of goals and finished the game without allowing another.

Trushkov was helped by a big improvement from the home team. After the shocking of falling four behind, Lada raised its game and began to create chances. Neftekhimik took four penalties in the middle frame, and was reduced to three skaters for a time, but could not capitalize on its numerical advantage.

Midway through the third period, Josephs got the home team on the scoreboard when he converted the rebound after Scott Kosmachuk’s rush. That made little difference to the outcome, although late in the game Kulikov potted a second consolation effort.

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Sibir's power play makes the difference

Ak Bars Kazan 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 4 (1-1, 0-1, 0-2)

Sibir kept its playoff prospects alive after coming from behind to win at Ak Bars. Sergei Krivokrasov’s team remains 10th in the standings, still four behind eighth-placed Neftekhimik, but cuts the gap to Amur to a single point. Moreover, Sibir still has two games against Neftekhimik to come as the battle for eighth place looks set to go the distance this season.

Ak Bars, meanwhile, missed the chance to return to the top four. The home team got the opening goal in the 16th minute through Mitchell Miller. However, a first period studded with penalties ended level after Sibir got a five-on-three power play. The home team held out until Vadim Shipachyov was released from the box, but as the PP continued Andy Andreoff got to the back door to steer Taylor Beck’s feed into the net.

The second period was also even. Ak Bars had more possession, but Sibir was a constant danger on the counter. And the visitor’s power play was on point: Alexander Radulov sat late in the frame, and Georgy Belousov struck to send Sibir to the second break with a 2-1 lead.

Midway through the third, Sibir made it 3-1. Pavel Gogolev surged down the left and fired in a shot from the tightest of angles. Home goalie Amir Miftakhov blocked the effort but could not keep hold of it, and the puck went straight to Alexei Yakovlev for a simple finish. That was only Sibir’s third shot on target in the final frame, but it took the game decisively away from Ak Bars. There was more to come, with Artyom Mikheyev potting a fourth after Miftakhov made way for an extra skater in the closing stages.

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