Loko wins summit clash, CSKA halts Dynamo’s run. November 28 round-up

The big game of the day produced a big performance from Maxim Beryozkin. He scored a hat-trick as Lokomotiv sank Eastern Conference leader Traktor 4-2. In the Moscow derby, CSKA again defeated Dynamo. A 1-0 verdict owed much to 38 saves from Ivan Prosvetov. Avangard’s incoming head coach Guy Boucher has plenty to think about as his new team lost 2-4 at Avtomobilist, while Salavat Yulaev enjoyed a second successive shut-out and beat Vityaz 4-0. SKA lost in a shoot-out at Admiral, Neftekhimik shrugged off a last-minute equalizer to beat Spartak in OT.

SKA slips up in shoot-out

Admiral Vladivostok 3 SKA St. Petersburg 2 SO (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)

The Sailors made it back-to-back wins with a shoot-out success over SKA. The loss denied the visitor the chance to move into third place in the West ahead of Dynamo.

In the first 10 minutes, both teams had power play chances. However, Admiral could not take advantage of its numerical advantage while SKA opened the scoring in the 10th minute on a PP goal from Alexander Nikishin.

The home team ended the first period on another power play and while SKA escaped punishment before the hooter, there was no reprieve at the start of the second period. Nikita Soshnikov scored his 10th goal of the season and his 199th point to tie the game.

In the 48th minute, Soshnikov made it 200 career points with an assist as Jack Rodewald put Admiral in front. But it wasn't enough to win the game. SKA recovered and tied it up with six minutes left on Marat Khairullin’s strike.

Overtime could not produce a winner, but the shoot-out was dominated by home goalie Andrei Mishurov. He did not allow a single goal from four SKA attempts. At the other end, Soshnikov was on target along with Dmitry Zavgorodny to win it for the Sailors.

Denezhkin’s double leads Avto past Avangard

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 Avangard Omsk 2 (0-1, 2-0, 2-1)

Avangard’s first game since the announcement that Guy Boucher was taking over as head coach early next month illustrated the task facing the new man. Defeat on the road in Yekaterinburg leaves the Hawks just one point clear of ninth-placed Sibir – a precarious position at the end of a three-game winning streak.

To make matters worse, Avangard blew a first-period lead. After surviving a couple of early scares - Stephane Da Costa missed an open corner from a couple of meters out, Nick Merkley saw a goal ruled out for offside on a bench challenge – Avangard’s active press produced some joy for the visitor. Semyon Chistyakov broke up an Avtomobilist attack, Ryan Spooner launched the counter and Chistyakov himself joined in to open the scoring in the 18th minute.

Brooks Macek was twice close to tying the game on a power play that straddled the first and second periods. That ushered in a middle frame dominated by Avtomobilist and the home team changed the course of the game around the midway mark with two goals in 22 seconds. Da Costa struck first to tie the game, then on the next shift Ryan Merkley’s error was punished by a counterattack that brought Maxim Denezhkin the go-ahead goal.

For a time, Avtomobilist continued to attack at will and it wasn’t until late in the middle frame that the visitor began to pose a renewed offensive threat. However, the Motormen remained in control, extending the lead midway through the third on Denezhkin’s second of the night and padding that advantage thanks to Semyon Kizimov with four minutes to play. Chistyakov got a consolation effort for Avangard late on, but Avtomobilist took the win and closes to within three points of Eastern Conference leader Traktor.

Samonov enjoys back-to-back shut-outs

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Vityaz Moscow Region 0 (0-0, 3-0, 1-0)

This was a second successive shut-out win for Salavat Yulaev after it blanked Severstal in Cherepovets. Vityaz, meanwhile, fell to a third straight loss after overtime reverses against Spartak and Lokomotiv.

After blowing a 4-1 lead over Spartak, the Vityaz coaching staff switched it up. Alexei Makeyev made his debut for the club following his move from Avangard, partnering Stanislav Yarovoi and Andrei Chivilyov on the third line. Ruslan Pedan was back on the second defensive pair. Ufa, meanwhile, welcome back Josh Leivo after injury and he joined Alexander Chmelevski and Denis Yan on the top line. Captain Grigory Panin was also back in action after missing the previous game. 

Vityaz made the brighter start to the game but gradually the home team took the initiative. The first period was goalless, but the closest moment came when Sergei Varlov hit the post from long range.

The breakthrough came after 34 minutes when Nathan Todd opened the scoring on the power play. He steered Leivo’s pass beyond Maxim Dorozhko and opened the floodgates. Two goals in 25 seconds saw Danil Alalykin and Denis Yan take the game away from Vityaz.

That effectively settled the outcome. Salavat Yulaev defended carefully in the third period, guiding Alexander Samonov to his second shut-out in a row. A power play goal from Chmelevski in the 58th minute finished off a good day for the home team.

Late goal not enough for Spartak

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Spartak Moscow 3 OT (2-1, 0-0, 1-2, 1-0)

A last-minute goal saved a tie for Spartak, but Neftekhimik would not be denied its victory over the Red-and-Whites. Jean-Sebastien Dea needed just 16 seconds of the extras to give the Wolves a 4-3 verdict.

Spartak got an early lead here when Adam Ruzicka converted the first power play of the game. His team would go on to score three times on the PP. Before all that, though, Neftekhimik turned things around to build a 3-1 lead.

Grigory Seleznyov tied the scores in the ninth minute, with teenage defenseman Mario Patalakha collecting an assist for his first point since joining Neftekhimik from Dynamo. Ten minutes later, the home team had the lead when Evgeny Mityakin struck on the power play.

The middle frame was goalless but another PP early in the third saw the home team extend its lead. This time, Mityakin was among the assists as Dea made it 3-1.

In a game full of power play goals, the obvious advice to the home team was to stay out of the box. However, that didn’t happen. In the last 10 minutes, Spartak twice got on the PP and twice took advantage. Michal Cajkovsky’s strike in the 53rd minute gave hope, and the Slovak defenseman was involved again as Pavel Poryadin grabbed a dramatic equalizer on 59:14.

The visitor might have hoped that the adrenaline rush from that late goal would carry into the extras and secure a win. However, Dea had other ideas. The Canadian scored off the first shot in overtime to claim his second of the game and give his team the second point.

Beryzokin settles summit battle

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (0-0, 2-1, 2-1)

Table-topping Lokomotiv got the verdict on Eastern Conference leader Traktor in Thursday’s summit meeting. Maxim Beryozkin’s first career hat-trick decided the big game.

This was already the second meeting between the two, and once again it ended in a Yaroslavl victory. Earlier the Railwaymen took a 5-3 verdict in Chelyabinsk. However, both teams had something to prove: Loko lost the previous two games without scoring a goal, while Traktor had lost two of its last four.

That might explain the cautious start from both teams. Lokomotiv is always comfortable playing a defensive game and this time Traktor was equally happy not to force matters. It was not a huge surprise that the opening frame finished goalless as Loko’s goalless run topped 140 minutes.

Given that barren sequence, Traktor might have felt confident after taking the lead early in the second period. Vladimir Zharkov took advantage of a defensive error and found a way past Alexei Melnichuk. That did not prompt a radical change in Lokomotiv’s tactics – the counterattacking game continued – but it did bring a quick response. Three minutes later Beryozkin tied the scores, and then he went on to put Lokomotiv in front late in the middle frame. Not bad for a player on a 12-game cold streak.

By now, the Railwaymen could see that the counterpunching game was working. Early in the third, another swift attack saw Byron Froese make it 3-1. Traktor needed a quick riposte and got it when Vitaly Kravtsov found a perfect pass to set up Steven Kampfer to make it 2-3. But Lokomotiv is expert at defending a lead and, as Traktor got frustrated, a home power play saw Beryozkin complete his hat-trick and seal a 4-2 verdict for the home team.

Prosvetov snaps Dynamo’s hot streak

Dynamo Moscow 0 CSKA Moscow 1 (0-0, 0-1, 0-0)

A solitary goal snapped Dynamo’s six-game winning streak and settled this Moscow derby in CSKA’s favor. Konstantin Okulov’s effort midway through the second period settled the outcome and gave the visitor a valuable boost after losing the two previous games. Goalie Ivan Prosvetov made 38 saves on a frustrating day for the Blue-and-Whites.

Much of this game was a goaltending duel, with Prosvetov and Maxim Motorygin on top form. By the time Okulov got his goal – and his 400th KHL point – the score might have been 3-3 or even 4-4. In a high-tempo clash, both teams created good chances and both goalies distinguished themselves more than once.

Penalties proved as scarce as goals, with the first foul – a too many men call – coming late in the second period. Dynamo looked to take advantage and even enjoyed a brief spell of five-on-three as CSKA struggled, but there was no way back into the game for the home team.

The third period was a virtual procession for Dynamo. The Blue-and-Whites outshot CSKA 18-2, with the visiting defense blocking a further 12 attempts. But there was still no way through. Prosvetov kept making the big saves and managed to get his team over the line for its third victory over its capital city rival this season.