New leader in the East, goal blitz in Omsk. December 28 round-up

Salavat Yulaev took over at the top of the Eastern Conference thanks to a 2-0 victory over Severstal on Saturday. That result, coupled with Traktor’s 0-4 loss at Ak Bars, puts Viktor Kozlov’s team two points clear. There was a high-scoring game in Omsk, where Avangard beat Lada 7-6. However, goals were hard to come by at Admiral, where Sibir’s second successive shut-out secured a 1-0 verdict. Metallurg also won a tight affair, beating Avtomobilist in a shoot-out after a 1-1 tie. Torpedo enjoyed a home win over Barys in Saturday’s late game.

Kostin defies Sailors

Admiral Vladivostok 0 Sibir Novisibirsk 1 (0-1, 0-0, 0-0)

Sibir goalie Denis Kostin posted his second shut-out in a row to give the visitor a narrow victory in Vladivostok. Five days earlier, the Siberians won 4-2 against the Sailors on home ice and, in between those two games, there was a 2-0 road win at Barys. Kostin’s personal shut-out streak now extends to 138:59.

In a low-scoring game, teams often focus on blocking up center ice and making it hard for creative players to shine. That’s exactly how the first period played out here: the first 12 minutes yielded just seven shots on goal. With five to play in the opening session, Sibir got ahead. Admiral’s defense was pulled out of position and Maxim Karpov banged a Kirill Rasskazov feed into the net.

In the second period, Admiral stepped up its offense. There was both quantity and quality on display around Kostin’s net with the visiting goalie frequently called into action to protect his team’s lead. The second period saw the host outshoot Sibir 11-3 but fail to tie the game.

That pattern continued in the third, with Sibir rarely spotted in the Admiral end. The game was already into its final 10 minutes before the visitor managed its first shot of the frame. However, the defensive work was solid and Kostin’s goaltending was on point. He finished with 33 saves, Sibir took the verdict.

Winning start for Boucher at Avangard

Avangard Omsk 7 Lada Togliatti 6 (3-2, 3-2, 1-2)

After low-scoring hockey in Vladivostok, Saturday’s next action could hardly have been more different. Incoming head coach Guy Boucher finally took his place behind the Avangard bench and he oversaw a spectacular game before securing a debut victory.

Boucher was not the only new face involved for the Hawks, with Konstantin Okulov making his debut following a move from CSKA. He lined up on the wing alongside Ryan Spooner and Reid Boucher, taking the place of the injured Emil Galimov.

The action started with a rush of goals. Reid Boucher opened the scoring in the fifth minute, and 54 seconds later a great feed from Mike McCleod set up Mikhail Gulyayev to make it 2-0. But within a minute the home defense failed to pick up Danil Yutaikin on the wing and he skated through to beat Nikita Serebryakov and get Lada on the board. Stung, Avangard scored yet again on the next shift through Ilya Kablukov, chasing Alexander Trushkov from the visitor’s net. In total, the teams shared four goals in less than three minutes, and the game was not yet eight minutes old.

Incoming netminder Maxim Tretiak managed to cool Avangard’s red-hot start, and the next goal went to Lada. Magomed Sharakanov pulled one back midway through the first period. Sharakanov then tied the game at the start of the second to usher in another high-scoring frame. Okulov marked his debut with a goal to restore Avangard’s lead, then the home team scored twice in the 29th minute. Okulov moved to two goals for the night with a short-handed effort, and 24 seconds later Ivan Igumnov made it 6-3. Game over?

Not for a moment. Lada responded with goals either side of the intermission. Evgeny Kalabushkin and Dmitry Kugryshev made it a one-goal game. However, seconds after Kugryshev’s goal, a home power play saw Okulov set up McCleod to make it 7-5. That goal was important: Lada found a sixth tally in the 54th minute through Arkhip Nekolenko, but could not complete the fightback in an enthralling contest.

Kantserov makes the difference for Magnitka

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 SO (0-0, 0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Roman Kantserov saved Metallurg from defeat in Yekaterinburg. The youngster tied the game for the defending champion late on, then potted a shoot-out winner to frustrate the Motormen.

Both teams handed debuts to new signings. Borna Rendulic and Nikita Kamalov made their Metallurg debuts, while the home team used Alexander Sharov as a left winger. He reprised his role when playing for head coach Nikolai Zavarukhin at Sibir in the past.

However, neither team was able to blaze much of a goal trail. Metallurg started strongly and its approach play looked good. Despite that, there wasn’t much of a clear goal threat from the visitor. Avtomobilist steadily managed to move play towards Ilya Nabokov’s net and almost forced the opening goal amid powerful pressure from the first line. Maxim Denezhkin went close, but Nabokov found the answer.

Kantserov had a decent chance late in the frame, but his time would arrive much later in the game. The second period saw Metallurg have the better of the chances but again fail to make a breakthrough, even after earning the first power play of the game. Early in the third, Avtomobilist got its first look with an extra man, but the home PP was no more effective than the visitor’s.

Finally, after 52 minutes, Avtomobilist managed to find a way through. Defenseman Jesse Blacker was the unlikely source, beaten two opponents before placing his shot beyond Nabokov’s reach.

That looked likely to be the winning goal, but late in the game Metallurg managed to save itself. With 1:49 on the clock, Andrei Razin took advantage of an icing to call Nabokov to the bench for a sixth skater. And the extra man worked out: Rendulic opened up the defense with a great pass for Kantserov, who squeezed home a shot from a tight angle.

In overtime, both teams had a good breakaway chance. Stepan Khripunov might have won it for Avto, then Igor Geraskin went close to Metallurg. But it ended in a shoot-out and Kantserov was the only player to find the net, giving Magnitka the verdict and moving the visitor a point clear of its host in fourth place.

Ufa on top, Severstal’s winning streak ends

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Severstal Cherepovets 0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0)

For the second time this season, Salavat Yulaev defeated Severstal 2-0. This time, the result had consequences: the home team moved two points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference with two games in hand. Meanwhile the visitor saw a six-game winning streak come to an end.

A goalless first period began with the home team testing Konstantin Shostak in the Severstal net. However, the visitor had the better chances in the opening frame. Alexei Kruchinin tested Alexander Samonov from a tight angle while one-time Ufa prospect Danil Aimurzin was lively as he looked to extend his six-game hot streak.

The middle frame saw plenty of action. The teams were quick to move from defense to offense, creating a frantic spectacle. And midway through the game, the first home power play became a turning point. Yegor Suchkov found an accurate shot to beat Shostak. In the final seconds, Danil Alalykin doubled the home lead.

That left Severstal with no option but to attack in the third. Salavat Yulaev was ready for the test and also showed a willingness to respond on the counter where possible. Two power plays offered the best chances for Severstal to get back into the game, but there was no way past Samonov. He finished with 29 saves to backstop his team’s rise to the top.

Gatiyatulin bests former club

Ak Bars Kazan 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 0 (0-0, 2-0, 2-0)

Salavat Yulaev’s win put it temporarily on top of the standings. However, to stay there would require a favor from Green Derby rival Ak Bars. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team has its own ambitions for top spot – today’s game puts the Kazan team just four points off the pace. In addition, the former Traktor head coach had a point to prove after losing 1-3 on his first visit to his former club early in the season.

The first period was cautious. The teams traded just 11 shots on goal. Ak Bars had the better opportunities, but Zach Fucale was up to the task and stopped the couple of decent shots he faced.

Things changed with the first power play of the game. Semyon Der-Arguchintsev sat for hooking in the 27th minute and Ak Bars was quick to convert the chance. After winning the face-off, the home team neatly executed something straight from the coach’s playbook: Nic Petan sent the puck left-to-right for Artyom Galimov to launch a one-timer past Fucale.

Late in the frame, Traktor got its first PP. However, that merely brought a short-handed goal for Ak Bars. Galimov was on target again, jumping on a loose puck and skating away to beat Fucale with a de facto penalty shot.

That 2-0 lead looked like a tough ask for Traktor going into the final frame. And, in the end, the only further scoring came from the home team. In the 52nd minute Dmitrij Jaskin made it 3-0, scoring the first goal of the night at equal strength. And Petan finished the job with an empty netter after Benoit Groulx sent out a sixth skater with 2:52 on the clock.

Second period rush sees Torpedo back on form

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 Barys Astana 1 (0-1, 3-0, 0-0)

A strong second period saw Torpedo snap a three-game skid. Igor Larionov’s team recovered after allowing the first goal and – perhaps more importantly – limited Barys to a single marker. In its previous three games, Torpedo allowed 17 goals.

Given that recently porous defense, it would have been forgivable if an early Barys goal set alarm bells ringing for the home team. Stanislav Bocharov, who played here in the 2019/2020 season, provided just that alarm when he opened the scoring in the second minute. Bocharov now has two goals in three games after a drought that had been approaching three months.

The rest of the first period was even, with Barys unable to build on its promising start. And a penalty on Ilya Khokhlov just before the intermission gave Torpedo the initiative when the middle stanza got underway. The home team could not convert its power play, but two seconds after the box door opened, Dmitry Kagarlitsky tied the game.

From then on, the home team took charge. Vasily Atanasov put Torpedo up 2-1 in the 26th minute, and Igor Larionov Jr. added a third midway through the session. Slava Voynov collected his second assist of the night on that play.

Barys offered little attacking threat in the second period. The visitor managed to ask a few more questions of Ivan Bocharov in the third period, but rarely produced the kind of sustained pressure that might have sparked a fightback. Torpedo closed out the win and opens a five-point gap to ninth-placed Vityaz in the Western Conference.