Loko wins big battle in Kazan. February 21 round-up

Wednesday’s big game saw two of the high flyers in their respective conferences meet in Kazan. However, visitor Lokomotiv came out on top, thanks to a strong first period and a big game from Daniil Isayev. Earlier, Salavat Yulaev eased to a 3-0 home victory.

Samonov celebrates seventh shut-out

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Admiral Vladivostok 0 (1-0, 1-0, 1-0)

A goal in each period lifted Salavat Yulaev to victory over Admiral. The win guarantees Ufa a top-three finish in the Eastern Conference.

The home team rested several leading players, with Viktor Kozlov keeping an eye on the up-coming playoff campaign. Admiral, already eliminated from post season, was without import forward Giovanni Fiore.

Salavat Yulaev had the better of the first period, dominating the shot count. That effort was rewarded with a power play goal when Nikolai Kulemin banged home a diagonal feed to break the deadlock.

Admiral’s best chance came early in the second period. Daniil Gutik got clean through on Alexander Samonov’s net and earned a penalty shot. However, Samonov stopped that effort on his way to a seventh shut-out of the season. A few shifts later, the home team increased its lead when Nicolas Meloche redirected a Evgeny Timkin shot into the net.

In the third, Salavat Yulaev closed out the game effectively. Danil Bashkirov added a third goal, while Samonov remained unbeaten to preserve his shut-out.

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Isayev keeps Ak Bars at bay

Ak Bars Kazan 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 (1-3, 1-0, 0-1)

Lokomotiv closed on the Western Conference leaders with a good win on the road at Ak Bars. Goalie Daniil Isayev, impressive throughout this season, had another excellent game to frustrate a powerful home offense, while the visitor took its chances at the other end.

The Railwaymen were quick to open the scoring. In the first four minutes, the visitor got up 2-0 on goals from Yegor Averin and Sergei Andronov.

A lesser opponent might have folded at this point, but Ak Bars is always a tough team on home ice and steadily played its way back into the game. Some great play from Semyon Koshelev brought a goal back and put the outcome right back in the balance. Having arrived in Kazan in December from Metallurg, Koshelev has made a big impact: tonight was the 10^th time in his last 13 games that he found himself among the scorers.

At that point, the next goal was always going to be crucial, and it went to Lokomotiv late in the frame when Maxim Beryozkin struck on the power play.

The middle frame was better for the home team. There was no repeat of that fast start from Loko and Isayev found himself under constant pressure. His best save robbed Riley Barber of a seemingly certain goal and he also outwitted Vadim Shipachyov when the experienced forward got a one-on-one break. Isayev was only beaten when Loko ran into penalty trouble: Kirill Semyonov’s tip steered a Stanislav Galiyev effort beyond the goalie’s grasp. Subsequently, Lokomotiv’s usual defensive composure went missing, and Ak Bars could count itself unfortunate not to be level at the second intermission.

Given the situation, Igor Nikitin sent his team out to play pragmatic hockey in the third. It wasn’t always pretty, but it got the job done. Loko got a helping hand from home D-man Kirill Adamchuk, whose error created the opportunity for Pavel Kraskovsky to make it 4-2. Once back in front by two, Lokomotiv reverted to its preferred defensive game, offering few chances for Ak Bars to save the game.

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