Traktor downs Barys again, Severstal makes it six in a row. December 24 round-up

Tuesday’s KHL card began in Kazakhstan, where Traktor defeated Barys for the second time in four days. Severstal eased to a 4-1 win over Neftekhimik, extending its hot streak to six games. Danil Aimurzin’s personal productive series is also up to six. And Sochi snapped an eight-game skid with a 4-3 verdict over Lada.

Fast start sets up Traktor triumph

Barys Astana 3 Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 (0-2, 1-2, 2-1)

Four days after defeating Barys on home ice, Traktor did it again – this time in Kazakhstan. Although Tuesday is not widely known as Christmas Eve in these parts, the visitor’s head coach Benoit Groulx knows all about the importance of starting early when preparing a successful celebration. And he conveyed that festive message to his team effectively, rewarded with two goals in the first seven minutes.

Yegor Popov opened the scoring – and potted his first of the season – in the fifth minute. Then, 90 seconds later, Vitaly Kravtsov doubled Traktor’s lead after some great work from Maxim Shabanov. Traktor’s leading scorer drew two opponents towards him before firing out an inch-perfect feed for Kravtsov to finish. The visitor held its lead to the intermission, and extended it seconds into the middle frame when Shabanov added a goal of his own. That moves him to 37 (16+21) points for the season, level with current scoring leader Nikita Gusev of Dynamo Moscow.

Even a couple of home power plays did little to lift Barys back into the game. However, when the home team found itself a man down, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev added a fourth goal when he redirected Grigory Dronov’s shot into the net. It wasn’t until late in the second period – on the resonate moment of 38:38 in the game – that the Kazakhs got on the scoreboard: Stanislav Bocharov found the net, ending a wait for a goal that began back on Oct. 7.

Inspired, the home team made a lively start to the third period. However, the next goal went to the visitor. Ostap Safin, recently arrived from Lada, scored his first for Traktor. In the closing stages, Barys managed to make the scoreline more respectable thanks to tallies from Kirill Savitsky and Anton Burdasov. However, Traktor eased to a second successive victory. 

Sochi ends month-long wait for a win

Lada Togliatti 3 HC Sochi 4 (1-1, 1-2, 1-1)

Sochi got its first victory in almost a month – and the Leopards most recent success on Nov. 25 also came against Lada. Since then, the visitor lost eight on the spin. Lada, a team which has faced its own troubles this season, came into Tuesday’s game with a 4-3 win over Avangard.

The home team, not surprisingly, was almost unchanged from that win. Sochi, meanwhile, had a new look. Several players returned after missing the 1-3 loss in Yaroslavl, while Will Bitten made his debut after joining from Spartak and Daniil Seroukh played for the first time since late November.

With Spartak, Bitten managed just one goal, back on Sep. 14. Today he opened his account for his new club at the end of the first period, cancelling out Lada’s opener from Evgeny Kalabushkin.

Parity at the intermission was a fair reflection of the play. But after the break, Sochi began to get on top. Pressure produced goals: Sergei Popov and Alexander Yaremchuk opened a 3-1 lead. Lada had to kill the first penalty of the game, but with Marsel Ibragimov in the box, Sochi not only failed to add to its lead but also allowed a short-handed goal from Mikhail Fisenko.

Sochi came close to extending its advantage at the start of the final frame, but as Mokrushev’s shot dribbled along the goal line, Alexander Volkov got back to hack it away from danger. That intervention gained added value when Ivan Romanov tied the game in the 48th minute.

At that time, Lada was enjoying the better of the game and seemed poised to ride that momentum all the way to victory. A power play late on offered what should have been a perfect opportunity to take the points. However, Sochi defended well and, against the run of play, Artyom Tyanulin struck on the breakaway to make it 4-3 for the visitor. With a minute to play, even switching to six skaters could not save the game as Sochi ended its skid.

Sixth straight success for Severstal

Severstal Cherepovets 4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (3-1, 0-0, 1-0)

It’s six wins in a row for Severstal after this comfortable home victory over Neftekhimik. The result moves the Steelmen to 48 points, level with SKA and just one point away from breaking into the top four in the Western Conference.

The damage was done in the first period, with Alexei Kruchinin playing a key role. With Severstal dominating the play, he scored twice to add to a fifth-minute opener from Timofei Davydov. Jean-Sebastien Dea got one back for the visitor, but Severstal had a well-merited 3-1 advantage at the first intermission.

In the second period the pace of the game dropped. The teams shared just 14 shots on goal between them; in the first, Severstal alone had 16 efforts on target. Twenty minutes of goalless hockey perhaps suited both teams. For Severstal, it ensured the lead remained intact, while Neftekhimik could steadily regroup with a view to a third-period fightback.

But that planned comeback never really materialized. True, the visitor found itself ahead in shots and attacking possession for the first time in the game. But there was no way past Alexander Samoilov and Severstal added a fourth goal in the 53rd minute when Danil Aimurzin converted a penalty shot after Ilya Ivantsov’s solo rush was hooked back by Vyacheslav Leshchenko. Aimurzin’s hot streak moves to six games and is now worth 9 (5+4) points.

His goal knocked the fight out of Neftekhimik, which offered little in the closing stages. Severstal completed a convincing win.