Loko wins again, Dynamo survives Vityaz rally. November 6 round-up

Lokomotiv is 12 points clear of SKA at the top of the Western Conference after claiming a ninth successive victory. But a shoot-out verdict over Torpedo was a tight one for the league leader. In Wednesday’s other action, Dynamo Moscow defeated Vityaz for the third time this season, despite three points for the visitor’s Derek Barach.

Kayumov sinks Torpedo in shoot-out

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 SO (1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

The league leader enhanced its position at the top of the standings after completing a ninth successive victory. However, Torpedo put up a real fight in this battle of the Volga cities, taking the game all the way to a shoot-out. Artur Kayumov got the decider once again, just as he did in Friday’s shoot-out win in Kazan.

This was a big day for both goalies. Loko’s Alexei Melnichuk got a rare start ahead of Daniil Isayev, while Ivan Bocharov got the nod for Torpedo. As a result, both goalies were facing their former clubs.

There wasn’t much work for either of them at the start, but amid a low-key opening Torpedo managed to break the deadlock in the ninth minute. Artyom Misnikov, the latest young forward to make an impression at Torpedo, was the scorer when he raced onto Mikhail Orlov’s feed and fired past Melnichuk. That was a wake-up call for Lokomotiv and the home team started to test Bocharov, but struggled to generate sustained pressure. Nonetheless, late in the opening frame the Railwaymen tied it up when Daniil But’s redirect steered the puck home.

Torpedo responded to that setback and had the better of the second period, keeping Loko locked in its own zone for long periods. There was even a five-on-three power play, but the home defense hung on.

As the game moved into the third period, the play got bogged down on the boards and in the corners. Chances were hard to come by, although Alexander Radulov tested Bocharov at one end and Keaton Thompson launched a dangerous attack at the other. Loko wasted a power play chance late in the game and, instead, had to rely on a shoot-out. Torpedo swapped goalies, sending Ivan Kulbakov into the net, but he was beaten by Kayumov as Lokomotiv edged yet another victory.

Blue-and-Whites bounce back

Dynamo Moscow 4 Vityaz Moscow Region 3 (2-0, 1-1, 1-2)

This was the third meeting of these teams this season, and Dynamo maintained a 100% record over its near neighbor. The home team recovered from a shoot-out loss to Torpedo two days earlier and has now taken at least a point from each of its past nine games (seven wins, two shoot-out losses).

The home team rested Maxim Motorygin, bringing Hunter Miska back into action. Matvei Guskov replaced Yegor Rimashevsky. Vityaz made no changes to the team that won 4-1 at Dinamo Minsk last time.

This season, Vityaz has a reputation for grabbing early goals – nobody has score more in the first five minutes. Today, though, the visitor allowed an early one when Max Comtois set up Dmitry Rashevsky for the opener after 107 seconds. A fast start was followed by a goal close to the hooter when Nikita Gusev set up Brennan Menell for 2-0.

Early in the second period, Gusev got Dynamo’s third, this time on a delayed penalty. Dmitry Shikin replaced Maxim Dorozhko in the Vityaz net as Pavel Desyatkov looked to shake up his team.

The incoming goalie was in action quickly, but managed to prevent any further damage. And the next goal went to the visitor when Derek Barach snaffled one from a pass from behind the net in a manner reminiscent of the Dynamo opener.

That was the first of three points for Barach in the game. Late on, he grabbed two assists at the visitor produced a strong finish. By then, though, Dynamo had its fourth after Maxim Dzhioshvili claimed a power play tally. Igor Golovkov replied for Vityaz, then there was a skirmish that saw Guskov, Daniil Pylenkov and Frederik Gauthier in the box. Vityaz had time for one more – Barach and Buchelnikov combining for Ilya Arkalov – but hopes of snatching a dramatic tie were quashed when Barach’s high stick sent him to the box with 21 seconds left.