Close in the east, comfortable in the west. November 18 round-up

There were contrasting games on Monday’s KHL card. The action started in the Urals, where Metallurg edged Salavat Yulaev in overtime and Neftekhimik halted Avtomobilist’s winning streak with a hard-fought 3-1 verdict. Later, in the west, there were solid home wins for Spartak and SKA against Admiral and Amur respectively.

Wolves halt Avto’s winning run

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 (0-1, 1-1, 0-1)

After three wins over Neftekhimik already this season, Avtomobilist brought some youngsters into the team for its fourth and final game against the Wolves. Forward Vladislav Razdyakonov, 20, made his first appearance of the season, while his 22-year-old colleague Stepan Borisov had his KHL debut. Brendan Leipsic was scratched but Nick Ebert returned to the defense after injury.

From the opening moments, neither team was keen to hang around in center ice. Attacks came at both ends, with Neftekhimik often looking the more dangerous. That reached its logical conclusion in the ninth minute when Jean-Sebastien Dea skated around a strangely passive defense to set up Grigory Seleznyov for the opener.

In response, Maxim Denezhkin broke clear on Filipp Dolganov’s net but was fouled. The result was a home power play rather than a penalty shot, but the Motormen struggled to generate much with the extra man. It wasn’t until late in the frame that Avtomobilist began to threaten in earnest: Borisov tested Dolganov, and Ebert thumped in a powerful slapshot.

Despite that late flourish, the home team could not score in the first period and Nikolai Zavarukhin switched up his lines in the second. But after a couple of lively early shifts, Neftekhimik again stepped up the tempo and doubled the lead after a long visit to the Avtomobilist zone. Bogdan Kiselevich fired the puck to the slot, where Seleznyov’s redirect brought him and his team a second goal of the night.

In response, Brooks Macek took the game to Neftekhimik. He emerged from the box and almost scored a trademark goal. Then, a couple of minutes later, he found the net from his preferred position in the circle to convert a power play. With half of the second period to play and the margin back to a single goal, Avtomobilist looked for an equalizer. However, it took a bench challenge from Zavarukhin to save a third goal after Neftekhimik’s German Tochilkin bundled the puck into the net from close range: goalie interference wiped out the play.

The third period saw Avtomobilist wiling to test Dolganov with shots from all angles. However, quantity outstripped quality. Neftekhimik was happy to keep it tight and protect its lead, dragging the opposition into puck battles and keeping play to the perimeter as far as possible. The tactic worked, despite a power play for Avto with 4:30 left on the clock. Now the visitor had to put in the hard yards to kill that penalty before finally sealing the game on Evgeny Mityakin’s empty net goal.

That confirmed the end of Avtomobilist’s seven-game hot streak. The Motormen remain second in the east, but failed to gain ground on leader Traktor.

OT specialist strikes again

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 OT (2-1, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Metallurg maintained its current tendency to win in overtime thanks to Denis Zernov’s strike in Ufa. In its last six games, the defending champion has won five, four of them in the extras. Today’s success also extended a long winning streak for Magnitka in Ufa; it’s now seven games since Salavat Yulaev has enjoyed a home win over this opponent.

The home team had bad news before the start when Josh Leivo, so often Salavat’s trump card this season, was unable to play. That prompted a reshuffle that saw Yegor Suchkov replace Sheldon Rempal on the first line, while the Canadian joined Alexander Sharov’s trio.

Suchkov almost opened the scoring in the first shift, narrowly failing to convert Nathan Todd’s feed at the back door. Metallurg responded with a dangerous effort from Daniil Vovchenko from close range then got the first power play of the game. Ufa survived that scare and then opened the scoring when Alexander Chmelevski converted a kind bounce off the boards.

Metallurg responded quickly with a power play goal from Roman Kantserov, getting the puck past Alexander Samonov at the second attempt. However, the home team was not deterred. Artyom Pimenov saw a great chance denied by Alexander Smolin in the Metallurg net before Yaroslav Tsulygin’s slapshot deflected off a skate and into the net for 2-1.

The Metallurg power play always posed a threat. Early in the second stanza, Nikita Mikhailis would surely have scored had his stick not snapped at the moment of shooting. Midway through the frame, Robin Press converted another PP to tie it up at 2-2. The visiting PK also had to do its thing when Dmitry Silantyev was assessed a major for checking to Mikhail Naumenkov’s head. Suchkov had the puck in the net during that power play, but Andrei Razin successfully challenged the play and the game remained tied.

The third period brought no change. Salavat Yulaev had a slight advantage in the play, but could not beat Smolin. Metallurg relied on intermittent counterattacks but had to wait until overtime to find a winner.

That goal arrived on 61:38 when Kantserov and Zernov charged clear unopposed. Zernov potted his third goal of the season to maintain Metallurg’s recent momentum.

Emphatic win for Spartak

Spartak Moscow 6 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (1-0, 3-1, 2-0)

The Red-and-Whites powered to victory over Admiral, making it seven wins from eight games for Alexei Zhamnov’s team. For the Sailors this was a third straight loss, and a painful one after two narrow defeats against Avtomobilist.

Ivan Morozov opened the scoring in the fourth minute. He fired home Nikolai Goldobin’s feed to add to the hat-trick he scored against Severstal last time out. And Spartak could have had more in a bright first-period performance, but had to be content with a 1-0 lead at the intermission.

In the middle frame, the home team took the game away. Morozov released Pavel Poryadin for the second goal in the 25th minute and German Rubtsov marked the midway point by making it 3-0. A power play for the visitor brought some relief, and a consolation goal for Daniil Gutik, but Spartak had this one under control. Andrei Loktionov added a fourth just before the intermission, killing off lingering hopes of an Admiral fightback.

The third period saw Vasily Demchenko take over in goal from Andrei Mishurov. However, he could do little to stem the Spartak tide. Penalty trouble for the Sailors invited the home team forward again and again. Rubtsov got his second of the night to make it 5-1, then Mikhail Maltsev wrapped up a 6-1 victory in the 46th minute.

Tigers lack bite as SKA gets back on form

SKA St. Petersburg 6 Amur Khabarovsk 3 (2-0, 3-2, 1-1)

SKA returned to third place in the West, overtaking Dynamo Moscow with a comfortable win over Amur. The Tigers continue to struggle, falling to a 13th successive loss.

The home team’s recent form has not been impressive either, with six defeats in the last seven games. However, a fast start again an opponent low in confidence set SKA up nicely in this game. Vladimir Alistrov opened the scoring in the fourth minute off an Arseny Gritsyuk feed. Two minutes later, leading goalscorer Sergei Plotnikov doubled the advantage with his 13th goal of the season. Given Amur’s difficulties, it already felt like a long road back for the visitor.

To the Tigers’ credit, they gave it a good go. In rest of the second period, Amur escaped any further damage. Then, early in the second, the visitor pulled a goal back through Yakov Rylov on the power play. However, SKA’s quality made the difference. Ivan Zinchenko added a third, and a minute later Evgeny Kuznetsov produced a highlight reel moment to make it 4-1. Skating at speed, he scooped a loose puck onto the blade of his stick, lifted it off the ice and slung it into the top corner past the bewildered Viktor Kobozev in the Amur net. No wonder the bird-man celebration came out for that effort.

Kobozev was called to the bench, where he might finally get a chance to see Kuznetsov’s shot when he checked the replay. Dmitry Lozebnikov replaced him, but could not make it the intermission without allowing Kuznetsov a second goal. Just before that, Rylov potted his second of the game for Amur and shortly after the visitor had the puck in the net for the third time. Alex Galchenyuk’s effort against his former club was called back for offside after a bench challenge.

The teams traded goals in the final frame. Plotnikov added an assist to his earlier tally, feeding Mikhail Grigorenko from behind the net to make it 6-2. Amur mustered a late consolation goal from Artur Gizdatullin but the search for a victory – and a full-time head coach – continues for the Khabarovsk club.