Leivo keeps up scoring form. January 20 round-up

Salavat Yulaev forward Josh Leivo scored his fourth hat-trick in less than a month to inspire his team to a 4-0 win over Avangard. The result ended the Hawks’ undefeated run in 2025. It also kept Ufa second in the East, ahead of Ak Bars. Kazan won in a shoot-out at Admiral, while conference leader Traktor edged Vityaz 4-3 on home ice. Metallurg needed overtime to win at Neftekhimik, while the day’s only Western Conference action saw Torpedo sink Spartak in a shoot-out.

Ak Bars sinks Admiral again

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Ak Bars Kazan 2 SO (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Ak Bars claimed back-to-back wins in Vladivostok, adding today’s shoot-out verdict to a 5-2 victory on Saturday. In the first game, the Sailors looked rather better than the final score suggested: the home team managed 46 shots on goal in a losing cause and was undone by clinical Kazan finishing.

The visitor went with the same line-up again, with goalie Timur Bilyalov staying in place despite a busy day. Leonids Tambijevs made three changes to his Admiral line-up, bringing in Dmitry Deryabin and Mark Marin on defense, as well as Kirill Petkov up front.

In the first period, the teams produced a mirror image of the first game. Ak Bars dominated the play and led the shot count; Admiral had fewer chances but got the only goal. Libor Sulak joined the attack and when he found space in a dangerous position he launched his shot into the far corner. And the home team had the clearer chances to add to the scoring: a threatening odd man rush and a testing shot from Nikita Soshnikov forced Bilyalov into action.

After the intermission, there was more work for Bilyalov as Admiral picked up the pace going forward. A power play saw Daniil Gutik get clean through on goal, with further chances for Soshnikov and Ivan Muranov. Ak Bars did better at equal strength but the visitor’s best chance arrived on the power play late in the frame when Alexander Barabanov saw his shot deflected clear by a defenseman’s stick.

The power play carried over to the third period and Dmitrij Jaskin ran out of space as he sought a shooting lane from the slot. Instead of a power play goal, Ak Bars tied it up with a shorthanded tally. Jaskin went to the box, but Artyom Galimov finished a breakaway with a classy shot on the turn. After that Ak Bars looked ready to go on and win the game, only to be undermined by more penalty trouble. In overtime, Kirill Semyonov came close to winning it with a shot that hit the post, before the shoot-out so Galimov decide matters in the visitor’s favor. 

Fourth straight win for Traktor

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

After three wins on the spin away from home, Traktor returned to Chelyabinsk and kept up that form with victory over Vityaz. However, Benoit Groulx saw his team made hard work of its game against the Western Conference struggler.

This game marked 100 KHL appearances for defenseman Steven Kampfer, while Traktor made several changes to the roster. Pavel Desyatkov opted to continue with the Vityaz team that defeated Lada and Sochi in its last two games.

The first period was goalless, but both teams showed attacking intent. Goalies Zach Fucale and Andrei Kareyev made 18 saves between them.

However, the deadlock was broken within a minute of the restart as Vitaly Kravtsov fired home a classy shot. Kravtsov was on the scoresheet for the sixth game in a row, collecting 10 (6+4) points in that spell. Traktor continued to push for goals and soon doubled its advantage through Andrei Svetlakov. Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer assisted on both goals in only his second KHL game of the season.

Vityaz struggled to get back into the game. Fucale was troubled just once in the first 10 minutes of the second period. However, late in the session, Frederik Gauthier pulled a goal back with a redirect on the power play.

The third period began with an exchange of quick goals. Traktor’s Alexander Rykov made it 3-1, but Vladimir Galuzin quickly reduced the deficit. Midway through the third, the home team again increased its lead as Kampfer celebrated his 100th game with a goal from the blue line. With 90 seconds to play, Ivan Chekhovich forced home a third goal for Vityaz, ushering in an anxious finish for the home team. However, Traktor held on and Fucale marked his 50th KHL game with a win. 

Leivo’s latest hat-trick ends Avangard’s hot streak

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Avangard Omsk 0 (1-0, 2-0, 1-0)

Josh Leivo scored yet another hat-trick – his fourth since Dec. 25 – to lead Salavat Yulaev to a decisive victory over Avangard. The Hawks came to Ufa with a perfect run of six wins in 2025, a sequence that included a 3-2 victory over Salavat in a game where Viktor Kozlov’s team was up 2-0.

However, while Leivo’s goals grabbed the headlines, young Ufa goalie Semyon Vyazovoi also played a huge part in this win. He made 26 saves for his shut-out and the most important of them came in the first period. Avangard repeatedly tested Vyazovoi in the opening frame, and the home PK was also put to work. However, seconds before the intermission, Leivo opened the scoring when his powerful shot deflected off an Avangard skate and into the net. That made it 100 KHL points for Leivo.

In the second period, Avangard again struggled to take its chances, then lost the services of forward Mike McLeod due to injury. In response, the home team added two more goals. Dennis Yan doubled the lead on 28 minutes, then Nathan Todd combined with Leivo for the third late in the stanza.

Vyazovoi continued to impress in the home net, keeping Avangard at bay until the very end. Leivo had the final say, completing his hat-trick with an empty-net goal in the 59th minute. 

Magnitka knocks down Neftekhimik in OT

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 OT (1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Despite allowing a goal after 32 seconds, Metallurg bounced back from back-to-back losses with an overtime verdict at Neftekhimik. The home team, desperately seeking wins to stay in playoff contention, fell to a fifth successive loss after leading twice. However, the point for a 2-2 tie in regulation at least puts the Wolves to within four points of eighth-placed Sibir.

The home team may feel it should have been more than one point, though. Evgeny Mityakhin opened the scoring in the first minute, giving Neftekhimik just the start it needed after its recent struggles. However, Metallurg hit back. Midway through the first period the visitor tied the game on Yegor Korobkin’s goal.

Neftekhimik had more of the play in the first, and that continued in the second. Reward came when Nikita Khoruzhev restored the home lead in the 29th minute.

But the third period was very different. Metallurg tied it up again early on, with Danila Yurov on target. After that, it was one-way traffic towards Filipp Dolganov’s net. The home goalie faced 17 shots in the session, while his opposite number Ilya Nabokov was a virtual spectator. Dolganov’s brave resistance took the game into overtime, but he was finally beaten 39 seconds into the extras by Daniil Vovchenko. 

Shoot-out success for Torpedo

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 Spartak Moscow 2 SO (1-0, 0-0, 1-2, 0-0, 1-0)

Ilya Chefanov kept his nerve to give Torpedo a shoot-out win and consolidate its position in the top eight. The 23-year-old forward was playing only his fifth KHL game of the season, but converted the decisive attempt after a 2-2 tie. Spartak saved the game late in regulation, but found Ivan Kulbakov tough to solve all night. The home goalie made 46 saves in the game and four more in the shoot-out.

Torpedo made a fast start to the game and go in front in the third minute. Andrei Belevich opened the scoring with his team’s first shot of the game. Kirill Voronin released his teammate down the right, and he produced a perfect wrister from the face-off circle.

After that, though, Torpedo struggled to build on its advantage. Spartak finished the period with a 10-5 lead on shots but could not find a way past Ivan Kulbakov.

That was the story of the second stanza as well. The Muscovites outshot their host 15-8 but still failed to score. Spartak eventually made the breakthrough in the 48th minute, helped by a misjudged pass from home forward Bobby Lynch. He attempted a backhand pass off the boards in his own zone, but sent the puck straight onto Alexander Shavin’s stick. The forward did not waste the opportunity, advancing on goal and beating Kulbakov in some style.

Stung, Torpedo upped its attacking efforts. Dmitry Nikolayev was forced into a great save in the 51st minute, thrusting out a foot to deny Nikita Tertyshny. Two minutes later, though, Torpedo was back in front when Sergei Goncharov scored on the power play.

The offending Spartak player was German Rubtsov, but he made amends in dramatic fashion, tying the game in the 59th minute and sending the action into overtime. Neiter team could win it in the extras, but Torpedo took the verdict in a shoot-out, with Chefanov potting the winner.