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Metallurg on top in the East, Moscow derby produces a thriller. February 26 round-up
Metallurg rested several key players for the visit of Avangard, but still secured a 3-1 win to claim top spot in the Eastern Conference on the final day of the regular season. Dynamo and CSKA served up a classic Moscow derby, with the home team scoring twice in the last four minutes to force overtime before Jordan Weal grabbed the winner. There were other high-scoring overtime games as Lada won 5-4 at Torpedo and Traktor edged Amur 4-3. Elsewhere, Ak Bars warmed up for the playoffs with a 4-2 victory over Admiral, while Dinamo Minsk produced a similar scoreline at Spartak. The last day of the campaign also saw wins for Barys, Salavat Yulaev and Kunlun Red Star.
Barys finishes with narrow win
Barys Astana 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 0 (0-0, 1-0, 0-0)
This was a game with little riding on it as both teams were out of the playoffs and merely completing the formalities at the end of the regular season. However, after a difficult season, Barys was looking to end with a home victory that would ensure it could not finish last in the overall KHL standings. The Kazakhs achieved that aim, albeit by the narrowest of margins.
In the early stages, Sibir looked the livelier team. Mikhail Nazarov had a decent chance and Ziyat Paigin tested Andrei Shutov from long range. Gradually, Barys came into contention and began asking questions of Anton Krasotkin at the other end. The best chance of the opening frame went to the visitor, though, with Andy Andreoff fashioning a great opportunity when he got away from his defenseman but failed to outwit Shutov.
The second period saw Sibir cool down and Barys took the initiative. Arkady Shestakov’s goal in the 27th minute followed the logic of the play in the middle frame and ultimately proved decisive. Shestakov got the touch on a David Sklenicka shot to open the scoring.
That proved to be the only goal. Barys could not convert a five-on-three power play in the third, Sibir could not beat Shutov, who finished the day with 38 saves. Both teams will hope for a more successful campaign next season.
Tkachyov cancels out Amur's fightback
Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Amur Khabarovsk 3 OT (1-0, 2-1, 0-2, 1-0)
Despite blowing a 3-0 lead, Traktor recovered to grab an overtime win against Amur. The home team finishes the regular season with three successive victories; the visitor fell to a third straight defeat.
Traktor was quick to settle into its game and deservedly opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Vladimir Tkachyov reacted fastest to the rebound from Ilya Karpukhin’s powerful shot. After falling behind, Amur improved but could not get back in the game during the first period.
In the second period, two goals in 25 seconds seemed to take the game decisively away from the Tigers. Nikita Soshnikov and Semyon Der-Arguchintsev were on target, while Anton Burdasov’s assists moved him to 400 points in the KHL. However, Amur sounded a warning when Dmitry Shevchenko pulled a goal back on the power play late in the session.
That marker inspired the visitor, and the third period saw Amur tie the game. Kirill Slepets made it 2-3 in the 45th minute, then Ivan Mishchenko tied it up midway through the session. That was good enough to take the game to overtime, but Traktor needed just 16 more seconds to finish the job. Tkachyov’s swift reactions produced the winning goal.
Magnitka secures top spot in the East
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Avangard Omsk 1 (1-0, 1-0, 1-1)
Of all Monday’s games, this was the big one. The winner in Magnitogorsk would claim top spot in the Eastern Conference and could begin preparations for a first-round series against Amur. For the loser, it would be second place and a match-up with Lada.
Despite the chance to top the conference, Andrei Razin did not forget his promise to Metallurg’s juniors. He rested a clutch of established stars and handed chances to youngsters Andrei Kozlov, Boris Osipovich and Alexander Siryatsky. By contrast, Mikhail Kravets was in no mind to experiment with his Avangard line-up, bringing back Reid Boucher and Damir Sharipzyanov after they missed Saturday’s trip to Chelyabinsk.
Kozlov, 18, was quick to make an impact. His first shift in the KHL saw him bang in a point shot that rebounded for Nikita Grebyonkin to open the scoring after 48 seconds. One shift, one point: not a bad start for the young prospect. Avangard was close to tying it up midway through the session but Boucher hit the post when he got a chance on the power play.
Another youngster, 20-year-old goalie Alexander Smolin, also made an impression. He came into the game in the first period after Magnitka’s start Podskrebalin suffered an injury. In his first shift, he made two big saves to deny Nikolai Prokhorkin and Vladimir Tkachyov, preserving the home lead.
That lead might have been increased late in the first period, but Avangard successfully challenged a play for interference on its goalie. Midway through the second, though, the home team made it 2-0. Grebyonkin raced clear, only to be denied by Pavel Khomchenko; Vladislav Yeryomenko followed up to force the rebound into the net.
Avangard responded with a goal at the start of the third, finally getting past Smolin. A long spell of pressure from the visitor ended when Prokhorkin found space to score from the slot. After that, the Hawks poured forward in search of an equalizer. Smolin had to be alert to stop the puck on his goal line after a long shot threatened to sneak through his defenses.
However, the final word went to Metallurg. A penalty for Sharipzyanov late on stymied the visitor’s attempted surge and Igor Geraskin’s power play goal put the game beyond the reach of his former team-mates.
Drozdov treble downs Severstal
Salavat Yulaev 4 Severstal Cherepovets 3 (2-1, 0-2, 2-0)
This was another game that would not affect the final standings. Salavat Yulaev was assured of third place in the East and a playoff match-up with Traktor, while Severstal was set to face Spartak after securing fifth place in the West.
Both teams rested senior players, and Severstal made Danil Aimurzin captain for the day on his first game against his hometown team. However, it turned out to be a game dominated by home forward Ivan Drozdov. He scored two quick goals in the first period, profiting from defensive errors each time, to give Salavat Yulaev a commanding lead.
However, Severstal turned things around fast. Ruslan Abrosimov pulled a goal back before the intermission, then the second period began with two goals in 31 seconds as Ilya Ivantsov and Dmitry Moiseyev fired the Steelmen into the lead on 22:32.
At the start of the third, Salavat Yulaev got the break it needed to tie the game. On the power play, a kind bounce off the pad of Severstal’s teenage goalie Grigory Volkov saw Drozdov complete his hat-trick. Then came late drama when Gleb Kuzmin potted a last-minute winner.
Kazan holds off Admiral's recovery
Ak Bars Kazan 4 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (3-0, 0-0, 1-2)
A fast start saw Ak Bars to victory in its final game of the regular season. Three unanswered goals in the first period made the difference here, although the visitor battled back strongly in the third. Ak Bars goes into its playoff series against Avtomobilist on the back of two wins at the end of the season.
The early stages were all about the home team. Dmitry Yudin opened the scoring in the sixth minute. Semyon Koshelev doubled the lead 90 seconds later. Then, on 14:40, Kirill Semyonov made it 3-0. The home team finished the first period with three goals off nine shots and was in complete control.
In the second period the teams failed to score. Admiral began to show more of an attacking threat, though, after barely troubling Timur Bilyalov in the opening session. However, it wasn’t until the final frame that the Sailors found the net. Dmitry Zavgorodny got the visitor on the board in the 43rd minute and it wasn’t long before Libor Sulak made it 2-3. Suddenly, the game was back in the balance.
Unfortunately for Admiral, an untimely high sticking call on Kirill Petkov proved decisive. Ak Bars used the power play to add a fourth goal, Ilya Safonov striking midway through the third. That was the final significant action of the evening as the home team closed out the win.
Rare Kalabushkin goal seals Lada’s comeback
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 Lada Togliatti 5 OT (1-0, 2-1, 1-3, 0-1)
Torpedo’s uncertain end to the regular season brought a seventh successive loss after Igor Larionov’s team blew a winning position against Lada. The OT reverse ended home hopes of pipping CSKA to sixth place in the west and sets up a playoff pairing against SKA.
This was a frustrating loss for the home team. Torpedo led 2-0 on goals from Mikhail Orlov and Daniil Bokun. Later it held 3-1 and 4-2 leads, but Lada kept chipping away. In the final 10 minutes, Yegor Babenko and Alexei Vasilkov hauled the game back to 4-4.
There was an unlikely hero in overtime. Lada’s 24-year-old defenseman Evgeny Kalabushkin has been a regular player through the season, making 42 appearances for Oleg Bratash’s team. However, he had yet to score his first goal in the KHL. He could hardly have left it later for this regular season, but after three minutes of the extras he struck to give the Motormen the verdict.
Poryadin’s double not enough for Spartak
Spartak Moscow 2 Dinamo Minsk 4 (0-2, 1-1, 1-1)
Dinamo warmed up for its playoff series against Dynamo Moscow with victory in the Russian capital against Spartak. It was the Bison’s second win over the Red-and-Whites since the turn of the year.
The game took a decisive turn late in the first period. For much of the opening stanza there was little to choose between the teams. However, Sergei Kuznetsov opened the scoring in the 17th minute, potting the rebound after Pavel Denisov’s point shot rebounded off Dmitry Nikolayev’s pads. Then Michal Cajkovsky went to the box, and Brett Ritchie struck on the power play to double the lead.
Spartak responded early in the second with a power play goal from Pavel Poryadin. Then came a penalty shot for the home team after Alexander Pashin’s run on goal was illegally halted by Timofei Kovgorenya. Pashin skated up to Alexei Kolosov’s doorstep and looked for the top left corner, but the Dinamo goalie reacted to make the save. The visitor got back into the game and extended its lead midway through the second period through leading scorer Sam Anas.
The home team responded in the 50th minute when Poryadin potted his second power play goal of the game. However, Nick Merkley made it safe for Dinamo with an empty-netter 10 seconds before the end.
Lockhart ends season with OT winner
Kunlun Red Star 2 Vityaz Moscow Region 1 OT (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 1-0)
Like many of Monday’s games, this one could not change the standings. Kunlun’s ninth place in the West represented its highest position since reaching the playoffs in its debut season, while Vityaz was destined to finish 23rd out of the 23 KHL clubs following Barys’s 1-0 win earlier in the day.
That might explain why the most memorable incident of the first period was a fight between Brandon McMillan and Yegor Zubov. The pair clashed after McMillan caught the Vityaz man with his stick; Zubov had the better of the subsequent grappling.
The opening goal had to wait until late in the second period, when Vitaly Popov put the visitor in front. However, Red Star’s captain Brandon Yip tied it in the 49th minute and that was enough to take us to overtime. The extras saw Luke Lockhart win it for Red Star.
Late drama as Dynamo denies CSKA
Dynamo Moscow 4 CSKA Moscow 3 OT (0-0, 1-2, 2-1, 1-0)
A thrilling Dynamo fightback saw this year’s table topper record an eighth successive victory – and its fourth in four games against Moscow rival CSKA. Down 1-3 late in the third, the home team recovered to win in the extras, while Nikita Gusev set a new KHL record for points scored on the power play in a single regular season campaign.
The first period was goalless, but the second began with an early goal for Dynamo. Gusev, who broke Sergei Mozyakin’s single-season scoring record on Saturday, collected an assist as Dmitry Rashevsky scored on the power play. That moves Gusev to 43 points on the power play this season, matching another Mozyakin record.
However, it didn’t take long for CSKA to hit back. The visitor got its first power play of the game and quickly converted it thanks to Anton Slepyshev’s sharp turn and shot in front of Maxim Motorygin’s net. Another penalty for the defending champion late in the frame led to a second goal. Andrei Mironov was just returning from the box when Maxim Mamin corralled a loose puck as it came back off the boards and niftily lifted a backhander into the net.
The third period saw Nikita Nesterov extend CSKA’s lead, but there was still time for Gusev to beat that Mozyakin power play record. Late in the game, Vladislav Provolnev sat for cross checking to give the host a five-on-three. Dynamo called a time-out, and Alexei Kudashov’s play worked to perfection. It took just four seconds for Gusev to set up Rashevsky for his second of the night. The power play continued, and Jordan Weal fired a wrist shot through traffic to tie the game. CSKA challenged the play, claiming interference on goalie Ivan Fedotov. The review upheld Sergei Fedorov’s complaint, but a minute later Eric O’Dell scored a legitimate goal to force overtime.
A scuffle at the end of regulation saw Dynamo start the extras on the power play. Kudashov tried to press home that advantage by removing goalie Motorygin and playing five-on-three, but CSKA held on. However, the home team had all the momentum and secured the victory in the final minute of the extras when Weal found the net once again. This time there was no challenge and Dynamo celebrated a hard-fought win.
Despite today’s loss, the point secured by reaching overtime ensured that CSKA would finish the season in sixth place in the West. That sets up a playoff series against Lokomotiv.
