Kuznetsov snatches victory on SKA debut

Evgeny Kuznetsov made his first appearance for SKA as the Petersburg club began its campaign at the Puchkov Tournament. However, he didn’t have an easy time in his opening game, with SKA going to a shoot-out before its new star secured the win over Sochi. Earlier, Ak Bars beat Severstal 3-0 to get its second victory of the competition. In Omsk, Traktor moved level with leader Lokomotiv in Blinov Cup. A 3-0 win over Sibir moved Traktor to five points, the same as Loko after an OT loss against Avangard. Admiral won a high-scoring exhibition game against Dinamo Minsk thanks to Stepan Starkov’s hat-trick.

Puchkov Tournament

Ak Bars Kazan 3 Severstal Cherepovets 0 (0-0, 2-0, 1-0)

After blanking KRS 1-0 yesterday, Ak Bars posted a second successive shut-out to sink Severstal. The Tatars’ top line proved too hot for the Steelmen, who lost out in their opening game at the tournament.

On Thursday, it took 42 minutes to produce the opening goal. Friday’s action was slightly higher scoring but, once again, the first period was goalless and the game was past its midway point before the deadlock was broken. This time Dmitrij Jaskin did the damage on 30:35, assisted by Albert Yarullin and Nic Petan.

Jaskin was involved once again late in the middle frame, contributing a helper as Artyom Galimov doubled the lead. On this occasion, Jaskin faked a shot before dishing off a feed that gave Galimov a simple finish.

Severstal was unable to find a way back into the game, and an empty net goal saw Galimov on the scoresheet again. Yarullin picked up his second assist of the day on that play as Ak Bars eased to a victory notable for the performance of its new-look first line.

SKA St. Petersburg 2 HC Sochi 1 SO (0-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

This was set up to be the day that Evgeny Kuznetsov came home. SKA’s new signing, perhaps the highest-profile summer trade this year, wore the ‘C’ as he appeared in Petersburg for the first time since returning from a long and successful stint in the NHL. But for a long time it was a tale of Sochi’s resistance, until Kuznetsov stepped it up and won the shoot-out for his new team

The 2018 Stanley Cup winner centered the third line, flanked by Borna Rendulic and Marat Khairullin. That trio also saw plenty of power play action, starting in the second minute. Kuznetsov was also close to setting up the opening goal, but Rendulic’s tip from his shot was stopped by Sergei Ivanov.

However, Sochi was not here solely to make up the numbers and the Leopards bared their claws midway through the first period. SKA continued to press, but an error on the blue line from Sergei Sapego enabled Kirill Rasskazov to get on the breakaway and open the scoring. After that, Sochi enjoyed two power plays but could not add to its lead.

At the start of the second period, SKA tied the game on a goal from a newly-signed forward. However, instead of Kuznetsov it was Sergei Plotnikov, previously with CSKA, who found the net.

The game remained deadlocked through 60 minutes: Sochi defended doggedly and, towards the end, there were hints of desperation in SKA’s game. On the power play late in the third, the home time had five forwards on the ice but still could not force a breakthrough.

In the extras, too, SKA got to play with a man advantage. That PP saw Khairullin ding the crossbar but fail to win the game.

In the shoot-out, Kuznetsov produced a winning performance. He converted both his attempts, leading SKA from a 0-2 deficit to a victory in sudden death. He produced two almost identical attempts and Sochi’s goalie Alexei Krasikov had no answer on either occasion.

Blinov Cup

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Sibir Novosibirsk 0 (1-0, 1-0, 1-0)

As in Petersburg, so in Omsk – the opening game of the day produced a 3-0 victory. Traktor might have pointed to fatigue after going to a shoot-out against Lokomotiv yesterday. However, Benoit Groulx opted to rest several of his more experienced players and promote some young hopefuls. They took their chance, helping to secure a good win.

Likewise, Sibir shuffled its resources, resting imports Andy Andreoff, Taylor Beck and Trevor Murphy. Sergei Shirokov also sat this one out.

Traktor made a fast start. Captain for the day Andrei Svetlakov went close early on, and the next shift saw Vitaly Kravtsov open the scoring on 1:27. With an early lead, Traktor went on to have the better of the play; Sibir only rarely tested Zach Fucale and it seemed more likely that the lead would increase, rather than being wiped out.

A second goal did arrive, but not until midway through the second period. Alexander Kadeikin’s power play effort doubled Traktor’s lead, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev’s assist doubled his points tally for the game. And there was more to come when Nikita Tertyshny added a third goal at the start of the final frame. That’s three in two days for Tertyshny, who seems to be enjoying life under his new head coach.

Avangard Omsk 3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 OT (1-0, 0-0, 1-2, 1-0)

Host club Avangard took on tournament leader Lokomotiv and grabbed an overtime verdict. For the Railwaymen, it was the second time in two days that they went to the extras and, once again, it happened on a late goal.

Loko welcomed back several players who missed yesterday’s exciting win over Traktor. Alexander Radulov, Byron Froese, Andrei Sergeyev and Daniil Isayev were all involved. Avangard, similarly, went with something approaching a full-strength line-up and had Stanislav Galimov, Linden Vey and Alexei Makeyev in the first line.

The home team made the better start to the game, and turned that into a tangible reward thanks to Ilya Reingardt’s fifth-minute opener. After that, Lokomotiv began to take the initiative but, for a long time, could not find a way to goal.

By the middle frame, the game had settled into a tight, nervous battle. For the most part, neither team was able to get on top at equal strength and despite some good power play action, both penalty kills were effective. It took until the 57th minute for that to change: Loko grabbed two quick goals with Froese tying it up before Maxim Shalunov made it 2-1. Game over? Not at all. Yesterday, Lokomotiv lost a lead in the 59th minute; today Avangard tied it up in the 58th thanks to Makeyev. That meant overtime, and after 50 seconds of play, Vey won it for the home team.

Today’s results mean that Lokomotiv and Traktor are tied on five points after three games each. Avangard is a point behind.

Warm-up game

Dinamo Minsk 3 Admiral Vladivostok 7 (1-2, 2-2, 0-3)

Friday’s only warm-up game was a high-scoring affair, and Admiral’s Stepan Starkov had most to smile about. The 25-year-old, who joined the Sailors from SKA over the summer, potted a hat-trick to lead his team to victory.

Starkov opened the scoring after just 25 seconds and Daniil Gutik doubled Admiral’s lead midway through the first. Vadim Moroz got Dinamo on the board, but the visitor extended its lead with two quick tallies early in the middle frame thanks to Starkov and Pavel Shen.

Minsk managed to launch a fightback and it was a one-goal game at the end of the second period. Ilya Usov reduced the deficit, then Moroz scored his second of the game.

But that was as good as it got for the home team. Semyon Ruchkin gave Admiral some breathing space, Starkov completed his treble and Gutik had the final say in a 7-3 scoreline.