Avto motors to Eastern summit, Sailors sink CSKA. September 22 round-up

Avtomobilist is the new leader in the Eastern Conference after recording a second successive shut-out to defeat Lada. It was a good day for others in the East, with Admiral defeating CSKA in overtime before Ak Bars eased to a 5-2 win over Sochi. Dynamo Moscow bucked the trend, heading east to Khabarovsk and picking up an encouraging 2-1 verdict.

Zavgorodny double sinks CSKA

Admiral Vladivostok 3 CSKA Moscow 2 OT (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 1-0)

Both teams came into this game boosted by back-to-back wins, and neither head coach made changes to a winning roster for this game.

Initially, the visitor had the better of proceedings. CSKA enjoyed a 19-12 lead in shots on goal and parleyed that into a 1-0 lead at the first intermission when Denis Guryanov converted a power play with a wrister from the right-hand circle.

Things turned around in the second period. The shot count swung in the home team’s favor (19-6) and Ivan Muranov turned to shoot home from the right-hand circle to tie the game. It might have been even better, but Yegor Petukhov saw a late effort rebound off the post.

Unlike the first two, the third period was evenly matched. Dmitry Zavgorodny put the Sailors up when he scored off a solo rush. However, the lead lasted just three minutes before Prokhor Poltapov scored from a tight angle.

That took the game to overtime before Zavgorodny potted his second of the night to settle the outcome. That goal secured some revenge after the Sailors 2-6 loss in Moscow two weeks earlier.

Morale-boosting win for Dynamo

Amur Khabarovsk 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 (0-0, 1-1, 0-1)

Dynamo picked up an important victory on the road in Khabarovsk, where the Tigers suffered a second home loss of the season. The host had a six-day break after its 2-3 reverse against Kunlun, but the extra practice time did not do Andrei Martemyanov’s team many favors. Instead, Amur looked disjointed at times against a visitor that will be hoping today’s win kickstarts its season after a disappointing start.

Things might have been different if Alexander Khokhlachyov had made more of a couple of decent chances early in the game. On one occasion, the veteran Amur forward hit the post. However, Dynamo finished the opening frame with better stats, outshooting the home team 13-5 but failing to break the deadlock.

As in the first, the second proved fairly cautious. Dynamo continued to have more possession and more chances, while Amur’s infrequent raids often seemed more threatening. In the 31st minute, the home team had the puck in Dynamo’s net when Khokhlachyov saw his shot take a deflection and beat Hunter Miska. However, the visitor recovered late in the frame when Cedric Paquette’s power play goal tied the scores.

At the start of the third, Dynamo got in front for the first time. Despite losing an attacking power play, the visitor trapped Amur in its own zone and eventually saw Artyom Ilyenko fired home the winning goal. After that effort, tempers began to fray and midway through the frame Arnaud Durandeau and Anton Sizov clashed. The home team refused to roll over, but Dynamo did a good job of closing out the game to record only a third win in eight games.

Second straight shut-out puts Avto on top in the East

Lada Togliatti 0 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 (0-0, 0-1, 0-0)

For the second game in a row, Avtomobilist recorded a shut-out. This time, Lada was the victim as Evgeny Alikin stopped 28 shots. At the other end, Nick Merkley’s goal was enough for a low-scoring victory that puts the visitor one point clear on top of the Eastern Conference and level with Western top dog Lokomotiv on 11 points.

Lada’s previous game was in Yaroslavl, and that loss persuaded Oleg Bratash to make big changes. Every attacking line was switched up and the import line was broken up: Anthony Greco moved to the first, while Troy Josephs unexpected played on the fourth as a winger.

The visitor made its customary active start but found the home defense reluctant to allow much in the way of big opportunities. At the other end, Lada had some decent looks but tended to struggle to generate sustained pressure. Midway through the first period Lada got on the power play but Avtomobilist held on, even though Alexei Byvaltsev had to play without a stick for 30 seconds.

In the second period, there were fewer good chances. Although Avtomobilist fired in more shots, almost all of them were relatively harmless efforts from distance. Lada posed an intermittent threat, and Nikita Popugayev forced a good save from Alikin to keep the game goalless. That changed when Popugayev lost possession: Anatoly Golyshev took the puck on his own blue line and set up a two-on-one breakaway that Merkley finished off.

Neither team had come off second best in a third period so far this season. This time, the final frame was tied. Avtomobilist had to work to secure its win, especially after Nick Ebert took a major penalty after his high stick knocked a tooth from Arseny Koromyslov’s mouth. The visiting penalty kill did an excellent job, preventing Lada from establishing play in the O-zone for long spells. Even playing six-on-four could not bring a tying goal as Avto recorded its second successive shut-out and its third in eight games so far this season. It was the first for Alikin, with Vladimir Galkin responsible for the previous two.

Attacking power demolishes Sochi

Ak Bars Kazan 5 HC Sochi 2 (3-0, 2-1, 0-1)

Ak Bars hit five for the second game in a row and recorded a third successive victory. Sunday’s game was a tribute to the offensive prowess of the Kazan team: the home team eased to a comfortable verdict thanks to a dominant start.

The game was effectively done in the first period. Ak Bars went to the intermission up 3-0 after outshooting the visitor 16-3. Nikita Lyamkin opened the scoring midway through the session before two quick goals from Yegor Korshkov and Dmitrij Jaskin padded the lead late in the frame.

Artyom Galimov had two assists in that first frame and early in the second he added a goal to his account. That one came on the power play as Nikolai Chebykin sat for holding. Midway through the game, Semyon Terekhov added a fifth, leaving Sochi struggling. That was Terekhov’s first of the season and only the third of the 22-year-old’s KHL career.

Finally, Sochi got on the board late in the second stanza thanks to a goal from Timur Khafizov. The same player struck again midway through the third, grabbing a short-handed goal to move to four goals in two games. However, Khafizov’s efforts did little more than make the final score a little more respectable as Ak Bars closed out the win.