Defending champ struggles again, Atanasov hits hat-trick in vain. September 16

Metallurg suffered a five loss in six games, going down to Severstal. Former Magnitka forward Nikita Korostelyov had two crucial goals to swing the game in the home team’s favor. In Monday’s other action, Sochi defeated Torpedo 5-3 despite a hat-trick from the visitor’s Vitaly Atanasov.

Razin suffers reverse against former club

Severstal Cherepovets 5 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (2-0, 3-1, 0-1)

Metallurg’s uncertain start to its title defense did not get any better when head coach Andrei Razin returned to his former club, Severstal. A 5-2 loss left Magnitka with five losses from six games so far this season.

It took some time for this game to take flight. Both teams began cautiously and even at the end of the first period, the fans had seen just 13 shots on goal in total. However, most of them were happy enough: two of Severstal’s found the net to put the home team in a commanding position. Both of them involved good work on the slot, with Ilya Ivantsov and Kirill Pilipenko on the scoresheet.

After a cautious opening frame, the second began with a rush of goals. Metallurg needed a quick response and got one thanks to Danil Bashkirov’s first goal since arriving from Ufa. He was assisted by 19-year-old Andrei Kozlov, whose bright individual start to the season is one of the few consolations for Magnitka so far.

However, that goal was repaid twofold by Severstal. Nikita Korostelyov, a former Metallurg player, scored twice in a minute to pad the lead to 4-1 and chase Ilya Nabokov from his net. Mikhail Smolin took over between the visitor’s pipes while Severstal enjoyed its comfortable lead.

By the time Severstal added a fifth through Alexander Skorenov midway through the third, Razin was running out of options. He called a time-out, perhaps more in hope than expectation, and at least managed to halt the flow of home goals.

In the third period, at last, Metallurg began to play like a competitive team. The final frame saw the visitor outshoot its host 16-5 and spend more time on the attack than in previous sessions. While that improved the statistical picture, it didn’t make much impression on the scoreline: Yegor Korobkin got a second goal for his team, but it was scant consolation.

Sochi wins despite Atanasov hat-trick

HC Sochi 5 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 (1-1, 1-0, 3-2)

Vasily Atanasov potted a hat-trick for Torpedo, but still finished on the losing side as Sochi posted its first home win of the season. Sergei Zubov’s men began their campaign with a shoot-out success at Spartak but then suffered back-to-back losses. This was their first win in regulation, although 21-year-old Atanasov made it anxious in the closing stages.

In its home opener, Sochi never really got to grips with Traktor and lost 4-1. Today, the Leopards started better, helped by two early penalties on Torpedo, and went ahead in the 10th minute on Andrei Nikonov’s first goal of the season. Atanasov cancelled that one out, converting his team’s first power play of the night in the 15th minute. That barely reflected the balance of play: in the opening frame, Sochi fired 26 shots at Ivan Kulbakov and allowed just five at the other end.

At the start of the second period, Jesse Graham restored the home lead. This time, Sochi kept Torpedo at bay despite facing some serious pressure from the visitor. Goalie Yegor Zavragin, making his first KHL start, was suddenly the busier of the two netminders. He stopped 18 shots through 20 minutes as Torpedo’s forwards flexed their muscles in vain.

Atanasov ended that resistance at the start of the third, but Graham got his second in the 46th minute to restore Sochi’s lead. Then came a home power play and Graham turned provider with an assist on Artemy Kuznetsov’s goal. That two-goal cushion was enough for the home team. Atanasov completed his hat-trick in the 53rd minute to keep the game alive, but Denis Vengryzhanovsky, who began his KHL career with Torpedo, sealed the result with an empty net goal.