Radulov’s milestone wins leadership battle. October 1 round-up

Tuesday’s big game saw Lokomotiv defeat Eastern Conference leader Avtomobilist thanks to Alexander Radulov’s 250th goal in the KHL. There were two shoot-outs in Moscow, with CSKA winning its second derby of the season against Dynamo and Traktor edging a verdict at Spartak. Kunlun hit five for the second time in three days, recovering from 0-2 to win at Salavat Yulaev. Dinamo Minsk overpowered Admiral with Chris Tierney scoring his first in the KHL, and Sochi ended a five-game skid at home to Severstal.

Graovac inspires Red Star fightback

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Kunlun Red Star 5 (0-0, 2-0, 0-5)

Red Star scored five unanswered goals in a storming third period to post back-to-back wins over KHL powerhouses. After Sunday’s 5-4 victory at SKA, this was another memorable success for the Dragons.

Tyler Graovac was the visitor’s hero. He scored twice in the space of a couple of minutes midway through the final frame to wipe out Ufa’s 2-0 lead. His first came as he jumped out of the box to finish off Spencer Foo’s counterattack; the second was a similar play but Graovac made the rush himself to tie the game.

There had been little sign of danger for Salavat Yulaev up to that point. The home team had the better of a goalless first period and got ahead in the second. Danil Alalykin’s power play goal broke the deadlock before Josh Leivo extended his productive streak to 15 games with the second home goal.

But after Graovac’s double, Viktor Kozlov’s team fell apart alarmingly. A Red Star power play saw Luke Lockhart put the visitor in front. An unwise bench challenge put the Dragons back on the PP and Danny O’Regan capitalized to pot his first KHL goal. And, in the closing seconds, Hudson Elynuik opened his account with an empty-net tally to complete another five-star show for Mikhail Kravets’ team.

Radulov settles summit meeting

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 OT (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Alexander Radulov scored his 250th KHL goal to settle that battle of the leaders in Yekaterinburg. His OT winner saw Lokomotiv consolidate its status as the overall leader in the KHL standings, while Eastern Conference top dog Avtomobilist could be joined on 16 points if Ak Bars defeats Amur tomorrow.

The Motormen suffered a 2-6 loss against Ak Bars in their previous game and also lost forward Curtis Valk to injury. That persuaded Nikolai Zavarukhin to change things up. Vasily Filyayev played his first game of the season and centered the second line alongside Brendan Leipsic and Brooks Macek. Nick Merkley was promoted to the top line.

That new-look forward line had to contend with the familiar Lokomotiv defense. As usual, Igor Nikitin’s team was disciplined and organized at the back and routinely snuffed out any danger long before it approached Daniil Isayev’s net. It didn’t always make for roller-coaster hockey – the closest we came to a goal was an Alexander Polunin shot against the piping in the first minute. As the teams settled to their tasks, chances were scarce and Isayev got to the intermission with just four saves to his credit.

It came as a surprise when two needless Lokomotiv penalties at the start of the second period gave Avtomobilist two chances on power play. However, the visiting PK was as unyielding as ever and there was only one real scoring chance when Anatoly Golyshev saw his close-range effort stopped by Isayev.

That pattern remained until late in the second period when the home offense finally began to pose some bigger questions. Once again, though, the defense was alert to the danger, cleaning up loose pucks around the net and keeping the scoresheet blank.

In the third, once again, the teams produced a battle of attrition. Lokomotiv enjoyed more possession after the intermission but much of the playbook seemed pedestrian. At the other end, Avto’s attempts to counter were infrequent and easily managed. It was little surprise that this one moved into overtime.

Although scoring chances were few in regulation – the teams managed just 34 shots on target between them – the extras produced the winning goal. Lokomotiv seemed to bring a little more energy than the home team and that saw a slick combination set up Radulov for his landmark goal on 63:31. It represented a first win here since 2018 for the Railwaymen.

Dominant Dinamo demolishes Admiral

Dinamo Minsk 7 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (0-1, 4-0, 3-1)

The Bison turned this game around in the second period, wiping out an early deficit to stampede to victory over Admiral. Two goals from Vitaly Pinchuk led the way, while Xavier Ouellet extended his productive streak to four games. Sam Anas had two helpers and Chris Tierney scored his first for the club.

Before all that, Admiral produced a good first period. The visitor got in front thanks to a goal from Arkady Shestakov in the seventh minute and was good value for that lead. The stats highlighted how the Sailors enjoyed more possession and created more opportunities in the opening frame.

However, Dmitry Kvartalnov’s words during the intermission seemed to find their mark. Dinamo was much improved in the middle frame and scored four unanswered goals. The home team’s first power play of the night did not bring an immediate reward, but in the 24th minute that momentum helped Yegor Borikov tie the game. Midway through, Pinchuk put his team in front and after that Minsk began to take full control. The pressure built, Admiral ran into penalty trouble and two power play goals late in the frame effectively sank the Sailors. Pinchuk got his second with Daniil Gutik in the box for high sticking, with Ouellet getting his latest helper. That goal came moments before the end of the first of Gutik’s double minor, forcing him to sit down for the next two. The on-going power play suited Tierney just fine: the Canadian scored off a Dillon Dube assist to open his Dinamo account in only his second game for the club.

Tierney added a helper in the third as Ilya Usov potted a short-handed goal in the 48th minute. And there was more to come. Alexander Volkov extended his productive streak to four games with an assist as Josh Brook made it 6-1, Dmitry Zavgorodny pulled a goal back for Admiral and Anas had the final say with a seventh goal as he finished on 3 (1+2) points for the game.

Zavragin defies Severstal

HC Sochi 1 Severstal Cherepovets 0 (0-0, 1-0, 0-0)

A big goaltending performance backstopped Sochi to victory over Severstal. Yegor Zavragin stopped everything that came his way. His performance ensured that Jesse Graham’s fourth goal of the season was enough to snap a five-game skid thanks to a 1-0 verdict. The Canadian defenseman struck late in the second period to break the deadlock.

However, the Leopards would surely never have been in with a chance here were it not for some big goaltending from Zavragin. Severstal favors an attacking approach and dominated the first period (13-6 in shots, 6:57 vs 2:44 for attacking time) without finding a way through.

In the second, Severstal again had much more attacking possession. This time, though, Sochi was able to get more shots away. And, in the 36th minute, one of them found its target: Graham profited from Artur Tyanulin’s successful turnover as Severstal tried to clear the zone and got into a shooting position before beating Alexander Samoilov from long range.

That proved to be the only goal. Zavragin finished the game with 36 saves to secure his first KHL shut-out. Sochi celebrates only a third win of the season but remains on the foot of the Western Conference.

Shabanov seals shoot-out win for Traktor

Spartak Moscow 2 Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 SO (1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

An entertaining game needed a shoot-out to separate the teams in Moscow. Both teams held the lead during regulation, and Traktor survived a late penalty in the extras. But the verdict went to Traktor, with Maxim Shabanov claiming the winning goal.

The game began at a lively tempo. There were early chances at both ends and, by the middle of the first period, both teams were acquainted with the penalty box. It was during a passage of four-on-four that Spartak opened the scoring: Pavel Poryadin went round the back to set up Savikov, whose backhand shot was blocked by Zach Fucale but only as far as the waiting Ivan Morozov, who gobbled up the chance. Traktor did not slow down and managed to tie the game just before the intermission. Steven Kampfer took Shabanov’s pass at the top of the right-hand circle and drilled the puck low to the slot; it bounced off the skate of Andrei Svetlakov and into the net to make it 1-1.

At the start of the second, Spartak almost got back in front after catching Traktor on a line change. Adam Ruzicka and Alexander Pashin got an odd-man rush but Fucale’s stick save denied the Slovak forward. After that, Traktor began to press and that led to a 27th-minute marker for Shabanov. He stuffed home the rebound from a venomous Artyom Blazhiyevsky shot to put the visitor up 2-1.

That lead lasted just five minutes before Mikhail Maltsev tied it up. Pashin led another counterattack and when he found Sergei Telegin blocking his shooting lane, he slipped the puck to Maltsev for the finish.

There were no further goals in the third period. Spartak came closest, but Poryadin’s one-timer flashed over the bar after good work from Nikolai Goldobin. That sent the game into overtime where, again, nothing could separate the teams. The home team got a big opportunity in the final minute of the extras when Traktor defenseman Grigory Dronov went to the box. However, despite Alexei Zhamnov’s time-out, the Red-and-Whites could not find the answer in OT.

The shoot-out was also tense: Spartak got up 3-1 at one stage, but Traktor recovered to take it into sudden death before Shabanov sealed the win.

CSKA rallies from 0-2, wins in shoot-out

Dynamo Moscow 3 CSKA Moscow 4 SO (2-2, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

A compelling Moscow derby went all the way to a shoot-out. Dynamo got an early 2-0 lead but could not hold on. The Blue-and-Whites regained the advantage in the second period, but ended up going to overtime before Dmitry Gamzin outwitted every home forward he faced in the shoot-out. That secured a hard-fought victory for CSKA.

Dynamo got the lead in the seventh minute and Artyom Kudashov, son of head coach Alexei, contributed with his first point in the KHL. The 19-year-old defenseman, making his 28th appearance, saw his shot redirected home by Cedric Paquette. And there was more for the home team to enjoy midway through the first period when Brennan Menell doubled the lead. The defenseman joined the attack, collected a loose puck and fired in a shot that took deflections off Gamzin’s glove and the inside of the post before crossing the line.

However, CSKA managed to extinguish that lead before the intermission. Dmitry Samorukov pulled one back, then the visitor spent almost two minutes on a delayed penalty before Nikita Okhotyuk batted down an elevated puck to make it 2-2 with just 29 seconds on the clock.

There was more good news for the visitor when Max Comtois took a cross-checking penalty at the start of the second period. This time, though, Dynamo held on and CSKA was unable to add to its momentum. After that, amid chances at both ends, the home team looked slightly more adventurous and reward came in the 31st minute. Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi restored the Blue-and-White lead after some great work on the boards from Artyom Mikheyev to set him up.

In the third period, CSKA tied it up again. A long passage without a break ended with Vitaly Abramov bringing the visitor level in the 47th minute. Ruslan Iskhakov charged through the middle, drawing four opponents to him. His shot was crowded out, but the puck bounced kindly for Abramov to fire home the rebound.

In the extras, CSKA got on the power play in the second minute. That encouraged Ilya Vorobyov’s team to push for a winner but Dynamo held firm and took the game to a shoot-out. In that contest, Gamzin did not allow a single goal, while Abramov and Konstantin Okulov found the net at the other end to give CSKA the verdict.