Wolves halt Loko’s winning start, Ak Bars blanks Magnitka. September 14 round-up

Goalie Filipp Dolganov made 46 saves to end Lokomotiv’s winning start to the season. Neftekhimik won 1-0, absorbing huge pressure in Neftekhimik. Also in Tatarstan, Ak Bars blanked Metallurg to win its home opener 2-0. Avtomobilist was the day’s big scorer in a 6-1 win over previously undefeated Salavat Yulaev, while Spartak continued its bright start with a 4-2 success over Torpedo. There were also victories for Severstal over CSKA and Traktor at Sochi.

Macek at the double as Motormen impress

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (2-0, 1-1, 3-0)

After back-to-back losses, Avtomobilist got back to form with an emphatic victory over Salavat Yulaev. The 6-1 scoreline was all the more surprising considering that Ufa was undefeated in its opening three games of the season and went into action hoping to finish the day with at least a share of the lead in the Eastern Conference.

Those ambitions were undermined in the first period. The Motormen made an active start to the game and dominated the opening exchanges. Midway through the first, Sergei Zborovsky opened the scoring when his shot from wide on the left took a deflection to beat Alexander Samonov in the visitor’s net. Ufa had chances to tie the game, but Evgeny Alikin kept his goal intact before Alexei Byvaltsev doubled the home lead in the final minute before the intermission.

Early in the second period, Avtomobilist extended its lead on the power play. Alexander Chmelevski sat for high sticking and Brooks Macek redirected a Jesse Blacker point shot into the net.

Then came Salavat’s best spell of the game. Chmelevski emerged from the box and pulled a goal back in the 28th minute, banging in a one-timer from close range off Josh Leivo’s feed. Then Leivo had a great chance to bring his team right back into the game. Daniil Karpovich was penalized for throwing his stick towards the puck and the officials immediately awarded a penalty shot. However, Leivo put his attempt wide of the target after a good approach to Alikin’s net.

Despite that disappointment, Ufa continued to press and had the better of the play in the latter stages of the middle frame. However, the visitor could not carry that momentum into the third. Leivo talked himself into trouble as the players left the ice and Avtomobilist converted that power play at the start of the final frame through Curtis Valk. He raced onto a Stephane Da Costa pass and fired in a shot that hit the crossbar before bouncing into the net off Samonov’s back.

Thereafter, the home team closed out the win and added a couple more goals to their tally. Macek got his second of the game before Anatoly Golyshev completed the scoring. The home captain finished with 1+1 and moves to five points from five games this season.

Dolganov defies Lokomotiv

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)

Filipp Dolganov produced a huge performance to record his first shut-out of the season and lead Neftekhimik to a hard-fought win over previously unbeaten Lokomotiv.

Visiting head coach Igor Nikitin travelled to Nizhnekamsk for his 600th game behind the bench in the KHL. Moreover, he was seeking his 400th career win and looking to maintain the Railwaymen’s undefeated start to the 2024-2025 campaign. But 46 saves from Dolganov shattered that hope.

Neftekhimik, meanwhile, offered a real test. The Wolves won three out of four at the start of the season, including back-to-back success against defending champion Metallurg. Now there was a chance to test the team’s strengths against last year’s other Gagarin Cup finalist.

The visitor had the better of the first period in most senses. Lokomotiv outshot Neftekhimik 16-5 and enjoyed roughly twice as much attacking possession. However, the key stat at the first intermission favored the home team: the home team got the first power play of the game, and Nikita Khoruzhev claimed his first KHL goal when he got to the slot in time to steer Dmitry Zhukenov’s feed into the net.

That lead lasted until the end. Neftekhimik rarely posed an attacking threat but Dolganov was brilliant and his colleagues backed him up with 21 blocked shots to claim a memorable backs-to-the-wall victory.

Home delight for Ak Bars in Kazan opener

Ak Bars Kazan 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 1-0)

Traditionally, these two clubs are among the powerhouses of the Eastern Conference. However, in the 2024-2025 season, neither made a hugely impressive start. Between them, Ak Bars and Metallurg managed just two wins from seven games and in both cases they needed the extras to secure the verdict.

This was the first game of the season in Kazan after three road games for Ak Bars, while Metallurg was on its travels after a four-game home stand. It represented an eye-catching start to the home campaign for Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men – and offered an important opportunity to reassure fans that the new head coach can make a success of a demanding role.

The opening period produced plenty of good hockey. Both teams played on the front foot and created decent chances – not least when Nikita Mikhailis hit the post for Metallurg – but there was only one goal at the intermission. That went to Albert Yarullin, whose well-taken point shot found the top corner while Dmitrij Jaskin’s presence on the slot screened Ilya Nabokov’s view. The goal came in the 15th minute, and probably reflected the balance of play up to that time.

Magnitka couldn’t make much headway in the second period either. Ak Bars topped the shot count 17-7, although many of those efforts were from long distance and proved straightforward for Nabokov.

Early in the third, Nikita Dynyak stuffed home the rebound from his own shot to make it 2-0. However, as he battled to finish the play, the goal came off its moorings and a video review whistled off the goal. That reprieve was followed by a couple of Metallurg power plays, but once again there was no cutting edge from the visitor. Indeed, the closest chance came at the other end, but Jaskin fired narrowly wide of the target when he was released by a team-mate.

In the 59th minute, Metallurg sent out a sixth skater. However, it could not save the game. Artyom Galimov scored into the empty net to seal the win for Ak Bars.

Two short-handed goals sink Sochi

HC Sochi 1 Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 (0-1, 0-1, 1-2)

There was no happy home opener for Sochi, with Traktor finishing its opening road trip with a comfortable win beside the Black Sea. The visitor was rarely troubled in this game, and Michal Kristof’s consolation goal for the host was too late to affect the outcome.

The first period saw Traktor well on top, with Sochi rarely looking like a home team. However, the visitor had to wait to open the scoring: Maxim Shabanov broke the deadlock 41 seconds before the intermission, potting his fourth goal in three games.

It was a similar story in the second, with Traktor controlling the play and extending its advantage thanks to a power play goal from defenseman Grigory Dronov.

Even the loss of Shabanov on an interference penalty could not upset Chelyabinsk. Mikhail Kotlyarevsky added a short-handed goal early in the third, summing up Sochi’s struggles. Kristof gave the home fans something to cheer when he scored in the 55th minute but it never looked likely to be enough. And a second short-handed goal, this time from Charles Robinson, completed a solid victory for Traktor.

Late show lifts Severstal

Severstal Cherepovets 4 CSKA Moscow 2 (0-0, 2-2, 2-0)

A dramatic late flourish handed Severstal victory at home to CSKA. Kirill Pilipenko snapped a 2-2 tie with less than four minutes on the clock to lead the host to victory. An empty-net goal ended CSKA’s hopes.

Both teams were looking to bounce back after disappointing results. CSKA blew a 3-1 lead in the third period to lose at home to Torpedo last time out, while Severstal looked out of sorts in a 2-5 loss at home to previously winless Sibir.

With that in mind, perhaps, the first period proved to be a cautious affair that produced just 12 shots on target. Severstal had more of them (8-4) and spent slightly more time on the attack, while CSKA’s defense blocked a further seven attempts before they could reach goalie Dmitry Gamzin. But neither team could force a breakthrough in the opening frame, with the visitor killing the only penalty of the first period along the way.

Goals arrived early in the second period. CSKA got up in the 24th minute through Pavel Karnaukhov, but Severstal quickly tied it up thanks to Alexander Skorenov.

A minute later, things got even better for Andrei Kozyrev’s men as Adam Liska made it 2-1. However, the lead did not last. CSKA called a time-out, Ilya Vorobyov found a way to calm his players and Prokhor Poltapov tied the game in the 37th minute.

Things remained locked at 2-2 until deep into the third period. Although Severstal enjoyed the better of the play in the final frame it took some time to solve Gamzin. However, Pilipenko made the vital breakthrough then Nikita Korostelyov found the empty net to wrap up the win.

Three-point Prince paces Spartak success

Spartak Moscow 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 (3-0, 1-1, 0-1)

It’s four wins out of five for Spartak, with its only loss coming in a shoot-out against Sochi. Torpedo saw its two-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt as Shane Prince scored 3 (2+1) points to lead his team to victory.

Spartak made a great start to the game, opening a 3-0 lead inside 12 minutes. Ivan Morozov got things started after just 47 seconds, kicking things off with a solo surge down the left to pot his third goal of the season. Then came two goals from Prince. The first was made by a lovely no-look pass from Will Bitten, while the second came on the first power play of the game when the forward converted the rebound from Andrei Mironov’s shot.

The second period went better for Torpedo. The visitor halted the flow of Spartak scoring and managed to get on the board itself when Bobby Lynch struck in the 36th minute. But that didn’t help much: 12 seconds later Bitten made it 4-1, with Prince’s assist giving him a third point in the game.

In the third period play was disrupted by a series of penalties. In the midst of it all, Sergei Goncharuk pulled Torpedo back to 2-4 with a short-handed goal. He pounced on a loose puck in his own zone and hurried down the ice to put a shot beyond Dmitry Nikolayev in the home net.