Dragons stun SKA, Ak Bars hits Avto for six. September 29 round-up

Sunday’s shock result saw Kunlun Red Star halt SKA’s five-game hot streak with a 5-4 win in St. Petersburg. Ak Bars also enjoyed a big road win, defeating Eastern Conference leader Avtomobilist 6-2. Dynamo and Neftekhimik produced an entertaining encounter that ended in a shoot-out win for the host. And in Minsk, Severstal got its first win in four with a 3-2 success over Dinamo.

Six of the best for Ak Bars

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Ak Bars Kazan 6 (1-3, 0-1, 1-2)

Ak Bars reeled off a sixth successive victory, upsetting Eastern Conference leader Avtomobilist on home ice. Although the Motormen maintain their grip on top spot in the standings, today’s winner currently has the best PPG ratio in the section: 14 points from nine games against Avto’s 15 from 11.

Among the home team’s distinctions in its four-game hot streak was a proud record of not allowing a single goal at equal strength in that run. Today, though, the record fell. Ak Bars got its first goal of the game in the ninth minute when Nikita Dynyak and Dmitry Katelevsky deceived the home defense to present Yegor Babenko with a gilt-edged opportunity. That tally came 30 seconds after the Motormen took the lead through Maxim Denezhkin, whose goal was set up by a defense-splitting pass from Artyom Kashtanov.

After that exchange of goals, Ak Bars forged ahead. A misplaced pass from Nick Ebert saw Dynyak set up Katelevsky to make it 2-1. And the home defenseman’s unhappy afternoon continued when Yegor Korshkov got the better of him on the way to scoring Kazan’s third goal. That convinced Zavarukhin to send Vladimir Galkin on in place of starting goalie Evgeny Alikin.

Avtomobilist’s problems intensified at the start of the middle frame. The home team started on the PK and allowed a goal to Dmitrij Jaskin just 18 seconds after the restart.

Zavarukhin began to shuffle his lines and Avto created a couple of chances to strike back. One raid saw the puck stopped right on the goal-line, another ended with debutant Nikita Miller testing Timur Bilyalov from close range. But there was no change in the scoreline.

At the start of the third, Ak Bars moved into energy-saving mode and allowed Avtomobilist more space to play. Gradually the home team got back into the game and Stepan Khripunov redirected Stephane Da Costa’ blast into the net in the 46th minute to raise some hopes of a fightback.

However, nobody could build on that success. Kirill Semyonov quickly added a fifth for Ak Bars and Ilya Safonov finished the job with a power play goal in the 55th minute.

Late goal keeps Wolves on losing run

Dynamo Moscow 5 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 SO (1-2, 1-1, 2-1, 0-0, 1-0)

Two teams in contrasting form produced a high-scoring tie in Moscow. Neftekhimik arrived on a five-game skid, while Dynamo had back-to-back wins to suggest that its uncertain start to the season might be coming to an end.

However, the visitor went close in four of those losses while one of the Muscovites’ victory was again struggling Barys. The contrast in form may never have been as great as the stats alone suggested, and the game that ensued proved there was little between the teams.

Dynamo made a flying start thanks to Artyom Ilyenko’s first-minute goal. But that proved to be a shaky foundation. Almost immediately, Ilyenko went to the box. The home PK was tested and found wanting: Evgeny Mityakin’s power play goal tied the scores on 3:39.

There was more to come: German Tochilkin put Neftekhimik up midway through the frame, then early in the second a goal from Jean-Sebastien Dea padded that lead.

The Blue-and-Whites recovered. Pavel Kudryavtsev pulled a goal back in the 33rd minute, then a five-on-three power play led to Yegor Rimashevsky tying it up early in the third. Special teams continued to be influential: Neftekhimik grabbed a short-handed goal to regain the lead through Bulat Shafigullin after 47 minutes and looked like it might have a winner. However, another Dynamo power play encouraged Alexei Kudashov to play 6-on-4. And, 72 seconds from the end, Daniil Pylenkov scored to drag the game to overtime.

The extras could not separate today’s foes, but the shoot-out went Dynamo’s way thanks to successful efforts from Jordan Weal, Nikita Gusev and Dmitry Rashevsky.

Dragons hold off SKA surge to record shock win

SKA St. Petersburg 4 Kunlun Red Star 5 (0-2, 1-2, 3-1)

This was the shock result of the day, and possibly of the season so far. SKA came into Sunday’s game on a run of five wins and was looking to draw level on 15 points with second-placed Spartak. By contrast, Kunlun had lost its last four games by an aggregate score of 17-5. By any rational measure, this was the safest of home bankers.

But the joy of sport it that results are not always entirely rational. The Dragons breathed fire in this game, scorching SKA with clinical finished and frustrating the host with some determined defense. If the home team began the day deflated by the loss of injured Evgeny Kuznetsov for two months, it ended with a painful headache as Red Star made a mockery of the form guide.

The first period set the tone. SKA had a big territorial advantage – 7:12 time on attack against 2:46. The shot count also favored the home team. Yet Red Star grabbed two unanswered goals. A combination of strong goaltending from Jeremy Smith, plus markers from Nail Yakupov (on one of his previous clubs) and Parker Foo secured a defensible lead for a massive underdog.

However, 2-0 is often regarded as the slippiest lead in hockey. So Kunlun raised its game – particularly on offense – in the second stanza. A 24th-minute power play goal from Spencer Foo made it 3-0. The play brought Rourke Chartier his second assist of the game and chased SKA’s starting goalie Artemy Pleshkov from the game. Nikita Serebryakov replaced him.

SKA managed to get a goal back quickly through Zakhar Bardakov. The Dragons challenged the play but ended up with a delay of game penalty, inviting the home team to ride that momentum back into the contest. However, the visiting PK was solid and, at the other end, the power play showed what it could do as well. Technically, Adam Clendening’s first KHL tally was an equal-strength effort, hitting the net just as Ivan Demidov returned to the ice. In practice, though, this was a goal create on the PP and much helped by Brandon Yip’s work in screening Serebryakov.

Early in the third, Austin Wong thought he had the visitor’s fifth of the game. This time a bench challenge paid off, and Wong lost his goal after a review spotted an offside on the play. But the next big SKA gamble – pulling the goalie on 49:07 to maximise power play potential – backfired. KRS withstood the pressure before Ryan Merkley stepped out of the box and onto the scoresheet with an empty-net goal.

At 1-5, the game should have been over. But SKA played out a 13-goal barn-burner last time out against Severstal and was about to ensure another high-scoring battle today. Barakov’s second of the evening looked like mere consolation, but a late onslaught saw Mikhail Grigorenko and Valentin Zykov make it a one-goal game before the hooter brought relief for an anxious Kunlun defense.

Severstal snaps skid in Minsk

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

After a run of three losses, Severstal got back on track with a hard-fought victory in Belarus. Both teams had the lead in this one, but late in the game two former Dinamo defensemen combined for Kirill Pilipenko to win it for the visitor.

Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team enjoyed a run of four wins from five, so when Sam Anas put the home team up in the fourth minute, confidence oozed around the Minsk Arena. However, Severstal showed on Friday that it can score goals and managed to tie the game before the intermission: Pilipenko’s assist saw Danil Aimurzin on target on 18:10.

The second period was almost a mirror of the first. Severstal got up early thanks to Alexander Skorenov: the Belarusian forward got his fourth of the season on a return to his homeland. However, Dinamo replied through Alexander Volkov midway through the game.

Severstal won it in the 57th minute. Joe Duszak and Yanni Kaldis were both popular, productive defensemen when they played in Minsk. Today, though, the picked up assists on the visitor’s winning goal. Kaldis banged in a shot that went wide. It rattled around the boards to Duszak at the point, and his pass found Pilipenko who went on to score the decisive goal.