Lokomotiv stays on top despite loss. September 21 round-up

Saturday’s KHL action saw several teams take to the ice with hopes of moving to the top of their conference. At the close of play, Lokomotiv maintained its overall lead, despite losing in overtime to Salavat Yulaev. The point for tying in regulation moves the Railwaymen to 11 points, one ahead of Severstal, beaten at Dinamo Minsk. In the East, Salavat Yulaev joins Sibir on 10 points after the latter posted a fifth successive victory and denied Spartak the chance to close on top spot in the West. Neftekhimik also missed out on a share of first place in the East after a shoot-out loss at Metallurg, a result the lifts the defending champion from the foot of the standings. Elsewhere, Vityaz defeated Barys 4-1 and SKA rallied to defeat Torpedo 4-3.

Five in a row for Sibir

Sibir Novosibirsk 3 Spartak Moscow 1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0)

This was a battle between two in-form teams. Sibir had won its previous four games, Spartak its last three. It was also Vadim Yepanchintsev’s first engagement as head coach against Spartak, his previous KHL club. He restored Vladislav Kara to the first line, while Artyom Zhukov returned on defense but kept Denis Kostin in goal even though Anton Krasotkin had recovered sufficiently to feature as back-up.

Spartak made slightly more changes, bringing in defensemen Yegor Zaitsev and Dmitry Vishnevsky as well as freshening up the fourth line.

The Muscovites made a good start, opening the scoring with exactly five minutes played. Will Bitten took control of the puck behind the net and sent it back to defenseman Yegor Savikov, who in turn set up Andrei Loktionov. Then Pavel Poryadin went close on the power play with a shot that dinged the iron.

Sibir got back into it as the first period progressed, and a power play chance brought a tying goal. Trevor Murphy’s strike extended his productive run to four games and seven points.

After the break, Sibir came out fresh and eager to press. After a long spell with Spartak trapped in their own zone, Vladimir Butuzov’s shot from the left-hand circle put the home team up for the first time in the game. As in the first period, the visitor had a power play chance but could not beat Kostin.

The Red-and-Whites started fast in the third period as they looked to save the game. Andrei Mironov had a good chance when he was given space to pick out a shooting lane, but Kostin read his wrist shot and made the save. The home netminder also had help from his defense, which blocked 24 shots through the game. And, perhaps inevitably, Spartak paid the price for its failure to turn possession into goals: a rare foray into enemy territory saw Maxim Karpov pot his first goal since joining Sibir to make the final score 3-1.

Defending champ snaps losing run

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 SO (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

A quirk of the schedule meant that this was already the third meeting between these teams this season. Perhaps surprisingly, Neftekhimik won the first two as Oleg Leontyev’s team found itself among the early pacesetters in the Eastern Conference. More surprising, Metallurg was rooted to the foot of the overall standings with just one from six games. The defending champion was eager for improvement, while the Wolves were hoping for at least a share of top spot by the end of Saturday’s play.

Magnitka’s homecoming brought good news: Danila Yurov and Daniil Vovchenko were both fit for their for appearances of the season. Vovchenko joined Igor Geraskin and Scott Wilson, while Yurov played alongside Nikita Mikhailis and Alexander Petunin. Neftekhimik rotated three players in search of a third win over Metallurg this season.

Despite the additional Metallurg firepower, goals proved hard to come by. A decent start from the host saw Yurov fired in some testing shots, but Filipp Dolganov had the answers in the Neftekhimik net. As the opening frame drew on, the visitor came more into contention. Jean-Sebastien Dea, who scored the game-winner on his former club last time out, was busy again but could not force a breakthrough.

The game continued in similar vein. Yurov remained the home stand-out, Neftekhimik had fewer chances but posed a threat on the power play. Goalies Dolganov and Ilya Nabokov dealt with all that came their way.

In the third period, the puck found the net at last. However, Dea’s effort was whistled off following a bench challenge for offside.

It remained goalless through the extras, with Neftekhimik killing one more power play to take things to a shoot-out. Finally, we saw some scoring with Mikhailis converting three attempts to bring Metallurg a long-awaited victory.

Battling SKA clinches tight verdict

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 SKA St. Petersburg 4 (2-0, 0-2, 1-2)

An entertaining game in Nizhny Novgorod saw SKA come from behind to edge past Torpedo. Vladislav Firstov scored twice for the home team, but Sergei Plotnikov matched that feat for the visitor to lead his team to a 4-3 verdict.

The first period belonged to the home team, and to forward Firstov in particular. He opened the scoring in the fifth minute, intercepting the puck in center ice before speeding away from two opponents and outwitting Artemy Pleshkov from close range. Later, he added a second, finishing off another counterattack after collecting Nikita Artamonov’s pass.

However, the 2-0 scoreline was harsh on SKA. The visitor had more of the play and regularly tested Ivan Kulbakov. He made 18 stops in the opening frame alone, while the puck was around his net for more than nine minutes.

In the early stages of the second period, Torpedo looked much better. Helped by a series of power plays – including a spell of five-on-three – the home team finally enjoyed some extended time in the SKA zone. However, it could not turn that pressure into more goals and found itself pegged back by two quick tallies at the other end. Sergei Tolchinsky and Plotnikov struck within the space of two minutes to tie the game.

Both SKA and Plotnikov rode that wave into the third frame. Two minutes after the restart, the visiting forward potted his second of the game when he finished off a neat combination with Vladimir Alistrov.

From that point on, the visitor dominated the game. By the 53rd minute, the shot count for the third period was 16-1 in SKA’s favor. Pressure brought penalties, and a five-on-three power play saw Grigory Kuzmin pot his second goal of the season.

Game over? Not quite. A home power play offered a lifeline, and that was gratefully grasped by Maxim Letunov to make it 3-4 with four-and-a-half minutes to play. That gave SKA some anxious moments towards the close, but the visitor held on and climbs to fifth in the West.

Ufa fights back from 0-2, wins in OT

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 OT (1-0, 1-0, 0-2, 0-1)

Salavat Yulaev rallied from 0-2 to win in Yaroslavl in a clash between two high-flyers. Both teams had lost just once this season, and both had their eyes on topping their conferences before the start of today’s play.

Initially, things looked good for Lokomotiv. A hard-hitting first period did not generate many scoring chances, but the home team edged in front after 17 minutes on a powerful shot from Alexander Yelesin.

The second period was similar with the teams again producing more hits than goalbound shots. And, again, that suited the Railwaymen: in the 26th minute, after some strong forechecking in the Ufa zone, Stepan Nikulin doubled the lead.

However, Salavat Yulaev never looked overwhelmed. The visitor started the third period on the power play and Sheldon Rempal’s goal offered a way back into the game. He deflected a shot from fellow Canadian Josh Leivo past Daniil Isayev to make it 1-2. Then, with five to play, another power play chance saw Leivo tie the game. He fired home a powerful effort from the right-hand circle to take the game into overtime.

The winning goal came in the 64th minute. Alexander Chmelevski completed a good day for Ufa’s imports with a solo effort. He stormed down the right wing and cut inside to pick out Isayev’s top corner and settle the outcome. The point from the tie in regulation was enough to put Lokomotiv clear of all-comers in the overall standings, Salavat Yulaev’s win gives it a share of the Eastern Conference lead alongside Sibir.

Straightforward success for Vityaz

Vityaz Moscow Region 4 Barys Astana 1 (2-1, 2-0, 0-0)

With a comfortable victory over Barys, Vityaz snapped a three-game skid. The result leaves the Kazakhs at the foot of the KHL standings, overtaken by Metallurg earlier in the day.

The home team wasted little time in getting ahead. Ivan Chekhovich, who joined from Lokomotiv in the opening week of the season, scored his first for his new club in the fourth minute. The home team had a slight advantage throughout the first period, but allowed Barys to tie the scores in the final minute when Adil Beketayev found the net. However, Vityaz went to the intermission with a 2-1 lead: Yegor Voronkov struck in the final second of play.

In the middle frame, the host looked rather more comfortable. Barys, perhaps disheartened by that last-gasp goal, struggled to get into the game. Vityaz had 16 shots in the session, but it wasn’t until the latter half of the period that it extended its lead. Both goals came on the power play, first from Ivan Vorobyov then, four minutes later, for Derek Barach.

The third period brought no further scoring as Vityaz closed out the game to secure a comfortable win.

Severstal’s streak ends in Minsk

Dinamo Minsk 3 Severstal Cherepovets 1 (0-0, 1-1, 2-0)

Roman Gorbunov’s third-period goal was enough to lift Dinamo to victory over Severstal. With Lokomotiv losing at home, the visitor had the chance to go top of the table with a win today. However, Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team generated plenty of offense throughout the game and, after firing in 40 shots at Konstantin Shostak, secured a narrow verdict.

Although the first period was goalless, both teams put the puck in the net. First, Severstal thought it had the lead after eight minutes but the Dinamo bench challenged the play and saw its claim of offside upheld by the video review. Four minutes later, the roles were reversed: the visiting bench claimed interference on Shostak and the home team was left frustrated.

The first legitimate goal arrived in the 29th minute. Alexander Volkov found a vital bit of space and Sam Anas found him from behind the net to set up the opener. Severstal responded six minutes later when Dinamo failed to clear its lines. Danil Aimurzin traded passes with Mikhail Ilyin before sweeping a shot past Andrei Tikhomirov.

The winner came in the 45th minute. Joe Duszak, once of Dinamo, took a penalty and his former club capitalized. After a face-off win, Minsk circulated the play for Gorbunov to get a shooting lane from the left-hand circle and the forward made no mistake. With three seconds to play, Andrei Stas completed the scoring into an empty net, snapping Severstal’s three-game winning streak.