Amur suffers 14th loss, Dynamo outlasts Sibir. November 20 round-up

Spartak romped to a 7-3 win over Amur in Moscow, extended a miserable run for the Tigers. It’s now 14 games since the Khabarovsk club got a win. That loss, coupled with a 2-1 success for Barys over Metallurg, leaves Amur further adrift at the foot of the table. Towards the summit, Dynamo returned to third place in the West after its pressure finally paid off at home to Sibir. Severstal snapped a four-game skid to beat Admiral 2-1 and Ak Bars won the Tatarstan derby 2-0 at home to Neftkhimik.

Barys beats lackluster Metallurg

Barys Astana 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (1-1, 1-0, 0-0)

A hard-fought victory over Metallurg puts Barys within four points of the playoff spots in the East. Although the Kazakhs remain in 11th place, they are just two wins behind Lada in eighth despite a chaotic stat to the season that has seen three head coaches behind the bench since September.

Today’s game started with a goal from Maxim Mukhametov after 90 seconds. The Barys forward returned to his homeland in the summer after helping Metallurg win the Gagarin Cup – and in his first meeting with his former club he made a swift impact. However, Magnikta was not distracted by that early goal and soon tied the game when Vladislav Yeryomenko’s rush saw him set up Dmitry Silantyev to make it 1-1.

Generally Metallurg enjoyed the lion’s share of possession. However, there was no further scoring in the first period, and the second saw Barys regain the lead. The home forwards pounced on an error from Robin Press and Kirill Panyukov converted Alikhan Asetov’s pass from behind the net. That was one of just two shots on goal for Barys in the middle frame. The Steelmen continued to pepper Nikita Boyarkin’s net with shots, but the home goalie always found the answer.

The visitor had a great chance to tie it up early in the third but failed to capitalize on a power play. And, back at full strength, Barys began to pose a threat on the counterattack with Anton Burdasov painfully close to a third goal. The final 90 seconds saw Metallurg playing six-on-five, but there was no way through as the Kazakhs held on to make it three wins from the past four games. 

Neftekhimik fires blanks, Ak Bars claims second derby win

Ak Bars Kazan 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 1-0)

The second Tatar derby of the season again saw Ak Bars come out on top. The home team split the goaltending duties between Timur Bilaylov and Amir Miftakhov, but the pair stopped all 30 shots from Neftkehimik to backstop a 2-0 verdict.

The home team dominated the first period, spending more than twice as much time on the attack as Neftkhimik and outshooting its guest 14-7. That led to a logical conclusion: Albert Yarullin fired Ak Bars in front midway through the frame.

However, visiting goalie Filipp Dolganov was in good form for Neftekhimik and his efforts ensured that this was no runaway victory. True, the Wolves seldom seemed ready to take control of the play. However, while it remained 1-0, there was always a chance for the visitor. And Ak Bars had concerns of its own: in the 32nd minute, starting goalie Bilyalov left the ice and went straight to the locker room. Miftakhov took his place between the piping.

Miftakhov found himself facing Neftekhimik’s strongest play of the evening. In the third period the visitor clearly believed it could save the game and took the action to Ak Bars. However, while the understudy goalie stopped 16 shots through the frame, the home team secured its win midway through the session. Artyom Galimov potted a second goal to give some breathing space, and Miftakhov’s impressive performance guided his team over the line.

Mukhanov’s goal snaps Severstal’s skid

Severstal Cherepovets 2 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)

A four-game skid saw Severstal drop to eighth in the Western Conference ahead of today’s game. But victory over Admiral saw Andrei Kozyrev’s team atone for a 1-7 humbling at Vityaz last time out. The home team’s performance arguably deserved a more convincing scoreline as it rarely allowed the Sailors to pose an attacking threat.

The first period saw Severstal well on top. Keen recover from the heavy weekend loss, the home team outshot Admiral 19-4. However, the only effort to beat Ilya Konovalov came from Mikhail Ilyin midway through the session. He was assisted by Kirill Pilipenko and Danil Aimurzin, who continue to score freely this season.

It was a similar story in the second period. Admiral was again held to just four shots as Severstal dictated the game. Timur Mukhanov doubled the lead in the 29th minute, but there was no further reward as Konovalov performed a brave rearguard action to keep his team in the game.

The final stanza saw the balance of play level off. Admiral outshot Severstal 10-9 in the third period and managed to pull a goal back. However, Yegor Pastukhov’s last-minute effort was too late to do anything more than deprive Konstantin Shostak of a shut-out.

Dynamo wears down Sibir resistance

Dynamo Moscow 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (0-1, 1-0, 3-1)

Sibir suffered a fifth straight loss despite taking an early lead in Moscow. Dynamo recovered to hit the front for the first time with 10 minutes to play and went on to seal its fourth successive victory. It was also a second win in less than a week for Alexei Kudashov’s team against this opponent, following a 2-1 verdict in Novosibirsk on Nov. 15.

Sibir had not managed a win since its epic fightback in Magnitogorsk on Nov. 1. However, the visitor had cause for optimism in the eighth minute when its defensemen combined for the opening goal. Trevor Murphy was the provider, bringing the puck down the left before sending it back to Fyodor Gordeyev at the point. Gordeyev’s shot was too good for Maxim Motorygin and Sibir had a lead that it would take to the intermission.

However, Dynamo finished the first period strongly and went on to tie the game in the 26th minute. Nikita Buryanov, who returned to Dynamo at the start of October, potted his third goal of the season to make it 1-1.

Although the home team continued to dominate the game, it wasn’t until midway through the third period that Dynamo got in front. Nikita Gusev’s 11th goal of the season broke the deadlock after good work from Cedric Paquette to unpick the Sibir defense. Then Paquette screened Denis Kostin to help Brennan Menell make it 3-1 on the power play in the 56th minute.

That felt like the final word, but Sibir refused to roll over. Ilya Morozov brought the game back to life in the 58th minute, only for Max Comtois to seal the win with an empty-netter. The Canadian forward now has five points in two games; his team moves back in front of SKA into third place.

14 successive defeats for sorry Amur

Spartak Moscow 7 Amur Khabarovsk 3 (3-1, 3-0, 1-2)

Amur’s unhappy run continues. The Tigers slumped to a 14th successive loss after a thrashing at Spartak. For the second game in a row, the KHL’s basement dweller allowed six goals.

On a run of dreadful form, Amur’s first priority had to be keeping the game tight early on. However, when former Spartak man Ilya Talaluyev took a penalty in the third minute, it invited the Red-and-Whites to open the scoring through German Rubtsov. Further goals from Alexander Pashin and Adam Ruzicka had the home team in control before Viktor Baldayev pulled a goal back for the visitor.

When Amur made a solid start to the second period, it was possible to see a way back for the visitor. Even if more goals seemed unlikely, the Tigers at least looked to have stemmed the tide of Spartak scoring. However, Yegor Savikov added a fourth just past the midway mark. Then the last minute of play brought two more Spartak tallies: Alexander Belyayev and Ivan Morozov put the result far beyond doubt.

The third period brought another rush of goals. Amur killed a penalty then got a consolation goal on the power play thanks to Vladislav Barulin. Spartak went right down the ice to make it 7-2 through Nikolai Goldobin, only for Amur to get its third of the night thanks to Ignat Korotkikh. The three goals arrived in the space of 1:42, but after that the game calmed down and the final score was 7-3 for Spartak.