The end of the skids. November 27 round-up

Two of Wednesday’s KHL games saw teams bring an end to some unhappy streaks. Sibir had lost eight home games in a row prior to the visit of Barys, but a shut-out from newly-selected All Star Denis Kostin backstopped a 2-0 victory. Lada was on a six-game skid, but won on the road at Severstal thanks to another shut-out – Vladislav Podyapolsky had 44 saves in a 3-0 verdict. Both Sochi and Ak Bars had won their previous game, and the Tatars carried on with that momentum thanks to a 3-2 scoreline in overtime.

Kostin celebrates All-Star call with shut-out

Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Barys Astana 0 (1-0, 1-0, 0-0)

Denis Kostin’s third shut-out of the season backstopped Sibir to victory over Barys. Kostin made 26 saves to keep the visitor at bay, while goals from Timur Akhiyarov and Vladimir Butuzov secured the win.

Kostin was today confirmed as an All-Star pick for next year’s showpiece event here in Novosibirsk, along with team-mate Trevor Murphy. He retained his position in the starting line-up despite the return to fitness of Anton Krasotkin, who was named as back-up ahead of Dmitry Lozebnikov, just signed from Amur.

In the first period, Kostin was barely called into action. Barys managed just five shots on goal and the best chance fell to Alikhan Omirbekov. He got on the rush during a penalty kill, but was halted by a foul from Taylor Beck.

The only goal of the first period came after 15 minutes when Akhiyarov potted his first of the season. The defenseman was the first to react to the rebound from a Sergei Shirokov effort. For a player more used to blocking shots than taking them, this was an unusually attacking performance: Akhiyarov might have claimed a second when he unexpectedly arrived on the slot to test Andrei Shutov again.

In the second period both teams had chances. The best of them probably fell to Alikhan Asetov, who came close to tying the game. At the other end, Georgy Belousov was the latest player to bring the best out of Shutov. However, the visiting goalie was beaten for a second time late in the session when Vladimir Butuzov wired a precise shot from distance to double the lead. Roman Rukavishnikov picked up an assist on that play to celebrate his 600th KHL game.

In the final stanza Barys had chances to get back into the game. Batyrlan Muratov spurned perhaps the best of them, while Kostin remained on top of everything that came his way. As the clock ran down, Sibir assumed control of the play and calmly closed out a win, moving to within a point of eighth-placed Avangard.

Podyapolsky stars as Lada halts skid

Severstal Cherepovets 0 Lada Togliatti 3 (0-1, 0-1, 0-1)

Pavel Zubov got his first win as acting head coach of Lada. His team rode 44 saves from Vladislav Podyapolsky to claim a 3-0 win in Cherepovets. The verdict ends a six-game losing streak for the Motormen, while Severstal failed to score again after its 0-2 loss to Salavat Yulaev in the previous game.

Lada made a fast start. Ostap Safin opened the scoring on 2:05, getting to the slot in time to steer home Vladislav Syomin’s feed from the left-hand boards. Severstal challenged the play, claiming offside in the build-up, but the review confirmed Safin’s fifth goal and 15th point of the season. The home team then had to kill a delay of game penalty before beginning its quest for a way back to level terms.

The Steelmen didn’t do a bad job of creating chances in the first period, firing 18 shots at Lada’s net. However, Vladislav Podyapolsky preserved his team’s lead to the intermission.

The second period brought another quick goal for Lada. This time, Rafael Bikmullin was on target in the 23rd minute, snaffling a rebound from Magomed Sharakanov’s point shot. And when the visitor began the third stanza on the power play, you better believe there was another early goal in the offing. This time it was Nikita Mikhailov on the PP to make it 3-0 and put the Lada losing streak firmly in the rear-view mirror.

Severstal got a chance to begin its fightback when Safin took a double minor for high sticking in the 45th minute. The home team even had the puck in the Lada net, but a bench challenge saw that effort called back for interference on Podyapolsky. And that was pretty much the end of any hope of a home fightback. Lada celebrated a long-awaited victory while the home team reflected on its failure to score in successive games.

Double delight for Galimov, mixed fortunes for Seroukh

HC Sochi 2 Ak Bars Kazan 3 OT (1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Despite trailing twice in Sochi, Ak Bars managed to take the game to overtime thanks to two goals from Artyom Galimov. Then, in the extras, Dmitrij Jaskin scored on the power play to give the visitor a hard-fought verdict.

Sochi got off to a dream start with a goal after 43 seconds. Daniil Seroukh continued his good recent form with his third tally in five games. The 27-year-old pounced on the rebound from Sergei Popov’s shot to beat Maxim Arefyev. Seroukh is something of a late developer, only breaking into the KHL last season after years of VHL play at Zauralye and Molot. This is already his most productive season in the top league.

However, Ak Bars was not too disturbed by allowing that early goal. The visitor had the better of the play in the first period and tied the game after 16 minutes. Just as in Moscow two days earlier, Ilya Safonov had the assist for Galimov to score.

Sochi got back in front in the second period with Seroukh involved again. This time, he steered the puck back towards the blue line, where Vasily Machulin fired home through traffic. Arefyev felt that he was impeded by Timur Khafizov’s presence in front of the net, but a bench challenge did nothing to change the outcome, and the home team led again.

The Leopards protected their lead until midway through the third period. However, when Safonov punished a sloppy attempt to bring the puck out of the defensive zone, his productive partnership with Galimov struck again. Safonov moved down the board, dished it off to the center of the zone and Galimov had time and space to finish it off for 2-2. That’s Galimov’s 13th of the season and his fourth in as many games.

That took matters into overtime, and Sochi had to make do without Seroukh. After two positive contributions, the home forward took a penalty at the end of regulation and that proved fatal for his team. Ak Bars took advantage of the extra man and Jaskin won the game with a goal after 53 seconds.