Leaders lose out, Ufa closes in. December 8 round-up

The final day of KHL action before the December break brought defeats for both conference leaders. Lokomotiv lost 1-2 at home to CSKA, while Traktor went down at Severstal by the same scoreline. As a result, Salavat Yulaev draws level on points at the top of the East thanks to an OT win over Ak Bars in the Green derby. The day’s other derby saw Admiral defeat Amur 6-4, but there was an even higher-scoring game when Sibir won 7-5 at Kunlun Red Star. SKA edged Barys 1-0 and Torpedo held on to beat Lada 3-2 in Sunday’s other play.

Gutik’s first hat-trick settled Far East derby

Amur Khabarovsk 4 Admiral Vladivostok 6 (3-3, 1-3, 0-0)

A high-scoring Far East derby went Admiral’s way, giving the Sailors a third win over its local rival this season. That was little surprise, given the teams’ recent form: Amur lost four of its last five, while Admiral won four from five and climbed to sixth in the Eastern Conference.

The derby atmosphere was evident from the start, with both teams playing on the front foot. The opening goal came in the fifth minute when Alex Galchenyuk put the Tigers in front. That ushered in a high-scoring opening frame, with Admiral responding almost immediately. Matt Jurusik, making his Amur debut after leaving Kunlun Red Star, allowed his first goal less than 90 seconds after Galchenyuk’s opener. Semyon Ruchkin tied it up on a play that was awarded via a video review. Just 48 seconds later, the home team was in front again, with Vladislav Barulin extending his productive streak to five games (2+4 points).

Dmitry Zavgorodny tied the game for a second time, then the teams again exchanged quickfire markers through Artur Gizdatullin and Daniil Gutik. By 14:09 in the first, we had seen six goals and both starting goalies chased from the game.

At the start of the second period, Amur got in front for the fourth time as Gizdatullin scored his second of the game, this time past incoming netminder Ilya Konovalov. But this proved to the be the high-water mark for the home team. In the 26th minute, Georgy Solyannikov tied it up again and subsequently Gutik took over for the visitor. He scored twice, putting Admiral up for the first time in the game and completing his hat-trick to make it 6-4 for the Sailors at the second intermission. That’s a first KHL treble for the 23-year-old forward.

After 10 goals in two periods, the final frame was goalless. Amur’s hopes of getting back into the game suffered amid a string of early penalties. Despite surviving that test, the home team was unable to revive its early offensive prowess and fell to yet another loss.

Lada’s rally comes too late

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 Lada Togliatti 2 (3-0, 0-0, 0-2)

The home team had to withstand a third-period fightback in a game that looked to be done after 40 minutes. Lada rallied from 0-3 and made it a one-goal game but ran out of time before it could salvage any kind of reward for its efforts.

Despite taking an early penalty, Torpedo made the better start to the game. Even when shorthanded it created chances around Vladislav Podyapolsky’s net, and once on a power play of its own the host got in front thanks to Sergei Goncharuk’s persistence in front of goal.

Lada strayed again, picking up another fairly needless center ice penalty five minutes later. Torpedo again took advantage, this time through Dmitry Kagarlitsky. The third home goal was at equal strength but Lada still contributed to its own downfall. This time, a defensive error helped Vladislav Firstov set up Vasily Atanasov to make it 3-0. Atanasov had a hand in all three goals as Torpedo took control of the game.

Torpedo’s first problem of the night came late in that first period when Nikita Artamonov picked up an injury that kept him off the ice for the rest of the game. The home reshuffle coincided with a more active performance from Lada at the start of the middle frame. That culminated in a power play for the visitor, but nothing more. After that, the balance of play returned to its accustomed pattern: Torpedo in control, Podyapolsky working hard to keep his team in some kind of contention.

After dominating the first two periods, Torpedo found itself under pressure in the third. For the first time in the game, Lada managed to gain the upper hand in terms of puck possession and shots on goal. That led to Ivan Romanov slicing through the home defense to reduce the arrears in the 49th minute. That offered a glimmer of hope, but by the time Arkhip Nekolenko added a second on 59:22 there was already too little time left in the game. Torpedo closed out a closer win than seemed likely at the second intermission, Lada suffered a second successive loss.

Spartak goes into break with a win

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

Spartak reeled off a third successive victory to maintain second place in the Western Conference. Alexei Zhamnov’s team goes into the December break three points clear of city rival Dynamo and eight adrift of leader Lokomotiv.

Both teams had debutants on defense today: for Vityaz, Alexander Figurin played his first KHL game, while Mikhail Sidorov returned to the league after leaving Neftekhimik in the summer. For Spartak, Stepan Frolov lined up alongside Veniamin Korolyov. The 20-year-old stands two meters tall and has already proved a solid contributor in the VHL.

Neither team could force an opening in the first period. Vityaz had the better of the start, testing Dmitry Nikolayev from the earliest moments of the game. Ivan Vorobyov was especially lively, with five attempts in the first 10 minutes. Despite that home pressure, the best chance of the opening frame went to visiting forward Nikolai Goldobin, who saw his shot ding the piping midway through the session.

Spartak began the second period by killing a penalty, then immediately opened the scoring once back to full strength. Ivan Morozov’s diagonal feed set up captain Dmitry Vishnevsky to make it 1-0. It didn’t take long for Alexander Pashin to extend the lead, nor for Derek Barach to pull one back for the home team. Alexander Daryin had a great chance to tie the game for Vityaz, but Nikolayev slammed the door on his breakaway. A few seconds later play was at the other end and Pashin got his second of the night, firing off Dmitry Shikin’s pads from a dead angle. That was the end of Shikin’s evening, with Maxim Dorozhko coming into the game. Midway through the second period, Sergei Kalinin made it a one-goal game, potting his second goal of the season, and it stayed at 2-3 until the intermission.

For a long time, the third period was scoreless. Vityaz looked to force the issue as it sought a tying goal, but the key moment came five minutes from time when German Rubtsov scored Spartak’s fourth to seal the win.

Leivo wins latest Green Derby

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Ak Bars Kazan 2 OT (1-0, 1-1, 0-1, 1-0)

The second edition of this season’s Green Derby brought a second victory for Salavat Yulaev over its big rival from Kazan. The result moves Ufa level on points with Eastern Conference leader Traktor, which lost at Severstal later in Sunday.

Early in the game, both teams took penalties. However, neither could convert their power play chances. The opening goal came in the ninth minute with the teams back at full strength: Salavat’s fourth line forced a way through when defenseman Alexander Komarov got two shooting chances from long range and 19-year-old Artyom Nabiyev redirected the second past Amir Miftakhov in the visitor’s net. That halted Miftakhov’s shut-out streak at just over 150 minutes.

The young forward was close to doubling the lead soon after, but Miftakhov denied him from close range. Late in the opening frame, Ak Bars threatened a tying goal with a dangerous power play but at the crucial moment Artyom Gorshkov got a big block in to preserve the 1-0 advantage.

After the intermission, Ak Bars severely tested the home defense. Ufa stood up well to the challenge, but ultimately fell to the skills of Dmitrij Jaskin and Kirill Semyonov, who combined to set up Nic Petan for the tying goal.

Parity lasted less than three minutes. Salavat Yulaev got on the power play and Josh Leivo took the opportunity to remind everyone of his scoring qualities. The teams headed to the second intermission with the host up 2-1.

At the start of the third frame, Ak Bars got the jump on the home team. With 19 seconds played, Jaskin tied the game on a swift and effective attack. Subsequently, neither team could find a winner in regulation and the game reached 60 minutes deadlocked at 2-2.

In overtime, Leivo was the home team’s hero. He potted his second goal of the night to win it with one minute and 11 seconds remaining on the clock. 

Abramov’s double halts the league leader

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 CSKA Moscow 2 (0-0, 0-1, 1-1)

Few teams have got much from Lokomotiv this season as the Railwaymen stormed to the top of the standings. However, CSKA defeated the league leader for the second time today, recording a fourth successive win to go into the December break in high spirits.

The home team welcomed back Alexander Radulov and Byron Froese, both of whom missed the previous game. Denis Isayev, back-up in Wednesday’s OT win at Amur, also returned to the starting line-up.

However, the home team’s prospects were hampered by too many penalties in the first period. CSKA got three power play chances but could not find a legitimate goal. Nikita Nesterov saw his effort whistled back for interference on Isayev as the opening frame finished goalless.

After the break, Lokomotiv sought to boost its offense and quickly established itself in the CSKA zone. Maxim Shalunov’s line caught the eye, and midway through the frame a home power play put the puck in the visitor’s net. Once again, though, goalie interference was the call and this time Rushan Rafikov was denied.

The first legitimate goal of the game arrived in the 36th minute from Vitaly Abramov. His effective partnership with Maxim Sorkin and Prokhor Poltapov clicked once again and, as against Torpedo in the previous game, he found thenet.

Abramov was also the key figure in the third period. Although Loko had chances to tie the game, everything changed in the 56th minute. First, Ivan Drozdov had a great chance on the breakaway. He failed to score, but Isayev was adjudged to have thrown his stick, giving CSKA a penalty shot. Abramov could not convert that chance, but seconds later he got his goal from open play when he buried a Poltapov feed from behind the net.

That wasn’t quite the final word – Froese grabbed a late goal for Lokomotiv to ensure the final seconds were anxious ones for the visitor. However, this was CSKA’s day, with Abramov playing the leading role.

Steelmen to strong for Eastern #1

Severstal Cherepovets 2 Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 (1-0, 1-1, 0-0)

Eastern Conference leader Traktor fell in Cherepovets and Benoit Groulx’s team is now level on points with Salavat Yulaev at the top of the standings. Chelyabinsk still has the edge, but only by virtue of more wins in regulation.

After a strong start to the season, Traktor has slowed a little of late. This result means the team has alternated wins and losses through the last 10 games, allowing the chasing pack to close. While Avtomobilist has been unable to capitalize, Salavat’s solid form has lifted Viktor Kozlov’s men into the thick of the leadership battle in the past couple of weeks.

Today, Severstal got ahead early in the first period. Former Traktor man Alexei Kruchinin opened the scoring in the seventh minute of an evenly contested session. There wasn’t much between the teams in the middle frame either, although if Traktor shaded the balance of play in the first, Severstal had a slight edge in the second.

That middle session brought one goal apiece: Danil Aizmurzin extended Severstal’s lead in the 36th minute, before visiting defenseman Grigory Dronov halved the deficit not long before the hooter.

Traktor’s hopes of a fast start in the third were undermined by a penalty for Semyon Der-Arguchintsev three minutes after the restart. The visitor survived that, and then successfully challenged a third Severstal goal when Groulx’s coaching staff spotted a hand pass on the play. However, the table-topper was never able to generate consistent offense in the closing stages, and Severstal closed out its second win in a row.

12-goal thriller in Mytishchi

Kunlun Red Star 5 Sibir Novosibirsk 7 (1-4, 3-1, 1-2)

A crazy game in Mytishchi saw Sibir finish on top in a 12-goal thriller. Pavel Gogolev scored twice in a powerful first period for the visitor, but KRS battled back to keep this game alive until the end. Danny O’Regan got two for the home team in a losing cause.

Sibir made a great start, jumping to a 3-0 lead. Artyom Zhukov and Sergei Shirokov did the early damage, grabbing two quick goals either side of the five-minute mark. That brought Kyle Keyser into the game in place of Jeremy Smith. Next came Gogolev’s first midway through the opening frame. The Dragons hit back through Colin Campbell, but Goglev’s second of the game – again assisted by Taylor Beck and Andy Andreoff – gave the visitor a 4-1 lead at the intermission.

However, that lead evaporated in the second stanza. Joey Duszak continued his productive form since joining the Dragons, scoring a power play goal in the 25th minute. That’s his first goal following his move from Severstal; he would finish this game with two more assists and a total of 7 (1+6) points from six appearances to date. Ten minutes later, O’Regan got his first of the game, also on the PP, and just 22 seconds after that he had his second to tie it up at 4-4.

If Red Star had remained level until the intermission, the game might have ended differently. However, late in the session, Vladislav Kara restored Sibir’s lead. The visitor got ahead on a power play at the start of the third, with Andreoff needing just six seconds to add to his two helpers and give the visitor some breathing space. By the time former Dragons’ D-man Trevor Murphy made it 7-4 in the 51st minute, the game was all but done.

Kunlun kept pushing, but a second fightback was too much to hope for. In the last minute, Spencer Foo got a consolation goal but Sibir left with the win.

Solitary goal sinks Barys

SKA St. Petersburg 1 Barys Astana 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)

Barys fell to an eighth successive loss in St. Petersburg, but there was some encouragement for Galym Mambetaliyev’s team in a battling performance against SKA.

SKA has also had its struggles of late: since November, Roman Rotenberg’s team has just four wins from 11 games. That might have encouraged the head coach to deploy an experimental roster. The third line comprised Sergei Tolchinsky and Mikhail Grigorenko, who missed the previous game, alongside Borna Rendulic, who returned to action in the previous game after six weeks’ absence. Belarusian defenseman Sergei Sapego was also back for the first time since Oct. 30, although he found himself benched once again before the first period was done.

The only goal of the game came in the first period. Arseny Gritsyuk converted a feed from Marat Khairullin in the 14th minute to separate the teams. SKA had the better of the first period and went on to dominate the second, but could not add to its lead. A shot count of 29-13 through 40 minutes yielded just one goal, meaning the home lead was always vulnerable.

In the third period, only a bench challenge preserved SKA’s advantage. Barys got the puck in the net, but Stanislav Bocharov’s effort was ruled out for offside after a video review. That was as close as the visitor came, although there was one late chance to tie the game. SKA held on and goalie Pavel Moisevich made 20 saves for his shut-out.