Dynamo beats SKA, Traktor secures playoff spot. February 11 round-up

Tuesday’s big game saw Dynamo Moscow climb to second in the Western Conference with a 3-1 victory at home to SKA. The Blue-and-Whites are level on points with city rival CSKA, which also won 3-1 at home. The big news in the East was confirmation that Traktor will be in this year’s playoffs. Benoit Groulx’s team did not play, but defeats for Lada at Sibir, Neftekhimik at Sochi and Admiral at home to Avangard ensured a top-eight spot for Chelyabinsk. In the Western playoff race, it’s as-you-were: Torpedo had an impressive 5-1 win at Ak Bars, while Kunlun ended a four-game skid at home to Salavat Yulaev.

Prokhorkin returns with two goals

Although Admiral made a bright start, Avangard opened the scoring after eight minutes. Nikolai Prokhorkin celebrated his return to the team with the opening goal. Petukhov tied it up when Alexander Shepelev’s feed cut open the visiting defense, presenting him with a one-on-one against Nikita Serebryakov in the 14th minute.

It took 41 seconds for Avangard to regain the lead when Damir Sharipzyanov extended his productive streak to three games. Before the intermission, Kablukov celebrated his milestone with the Hawks’ third goal, taking the goal away from the home team.

The second period saw the teams exchange quick goals late on: Pavel Shen halved the deficit on 38:36, but within a minute Prokhorkin potted his second of the night to restore his team’s two-goal cushion. And the third period saw Konstantin Okulov pad that lead as Avangard recorded a comfortable win. 

Tarasenko tribute ends in Sibir win

Sibir Novosibirsk 4 Lada Togliatti 1 (2-0, 0-1, 2-0)

Today’s game was a tribute to the late Andrei Tarasenko, a legendary player and coach at Sibir and also a Russian Superleague champion for Lada. He passed away in the summer and the clubs chose this first meeting to honor his memory.

On the ice, though, this was a big battle in the playoff race. Sibir began the day in eighth place, with Lada back in 10th and desperate to close the gap. However, it ended in a convincing win for the home team. The visitor contributed to its own downfall in the first period, giving Sibir’s league-leading power play four opportunities to show what it could do. Two of those chances led to goals as Kirill Rasskazov opened the scoring and Andy Andreoff doubled the lead.

However, the second period saw Lada come back strongly. Outshooting Sibir twofold, the visitor possibly deserved more than its solitary goal. Nikita Mikhailov was denied by the crossbar before Arkhip Nekolenko converted a fantastic feed from Danil Yurtaikin. Later, the Motormen spurned a power play chance to tie the game.

And it was special teams that made the difference. Lada could not make the most of its power plays, while Sibir scored three times with a numerical advantage. Taylor Beck made it 3-1 in the 53rd minute, scoring on a five-on-three situation before the finishing touch saw Sergei Shirokov score into an empty net. Sibir’s victory also confirmed Traktor’s place in this year’s playoffs.

Torpedo stuns Ak Bars, tightens grip on eighth place

Ak Bars Kazan 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 (0-1, 0-2, 1-2)

Playoff chasing Torpedo enjoyed an emphatic – and surprising – road win in Kazan. The home team came into the game in good form, having scored eight in St. Petersburg last week and halted Avtomobilist’s 11-game hot streak. But today it was blown away by Torpedo’s offense as the visitor recorded a third successive victory.

Igor Larionov’s team looked better from the start of this game. Torpedo had more of the puck, and used it to create more opportunities. That eventually brought an opening goal late in the first period when Ak Bars goalie Amir Mitakhov gifted the puck to his former team-mate Evgeny Svechnikov, who immediately slotted it into an open net.

Torpedo began the second period by killing a penalty, then extended its lead. Yegor Vinogradov was felled by a mighty hit from Stepan Falkovsky, but picked himself to score. Ak Bars forward Semyon Terekhov may feel he was beaten rather too easily as Vinogradov advanced on goal. With the host forced to focus on attack, Torpedo took advantage and forced several odd man rushes. A power play saw Nikita Tertyshny given the freedom of the slot to make it 3-0 and leave the home side with plenty to do to save the game in the third.

The start of that final frame rather summed up Kazan’s day. Gifted a power play when Ivan Kulbakov shot the puck off the ice, the home team fluffed its lines and ended up taking a bench minor. Once both teams were back at full strength, Torpedo took the game away completely: Nikita Shavin’s shot deflected off Falkovsky into the net, then Maxim Letunov added a fifth. Although Dmitrij Jaskin scored a late consolation effort, this was a dismal day for the host, and a big boost for Torpedo’s playoff push.

Sochi grabs fightback victory

HC Sochi 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 OT (0-0, 0-0, 2-2, 1-0)

All the drama here came in the final stages. Sochi rallied from 0-2 to win this game, dealing a blow to Neftekhimik’s playoff hopes in the East. The visitor looked set to close to within nine points of eighth-placed Admiral midway through the third, but could not hold the lead and fell in overtime.

There was little indication of the finale in store during two goalless periods. Although Sochi had a solid advantage in shots and time on the attack, the opening frame was light on chances. The second opened up a little, but goalies Sergei Ivanov and Filipp Dolganov were on top of everything.

However, Neftekhimik seemed to have built a winning advantage in the third. German Tochilkin opened the scoring soon after the restart, then Riley Barber doubled the lead on the power play in the 50th minute.

That kickstarted the Sochi offense. Amir Garayev responded a minute later, then Alexander Khokhlachov tied it up with four to play. Now the momentum was with the Leopards and overtime saw Alexander Yaremchuk pot the winner for the Western Conference’s basement team.

Blue-and-Whites up to second

Dynamo Moscow 3 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (1-0, 2-0, 0-1)

This was a big game in the race for second place in the West. SKA, down in sixth, could draw level with Severstal, second at the start of play, with victory in Moscow. Dynamo, meanwhile, could slot in behind Lokomotiv with a win of its own.

And second place has obvious value when it comes to playoff pairings. The teams in the congested ground from third through sixth will all play each other in first round series that are likely to be too close to call. Whoever holds second spot at the end of the season will face a – theoretically – more straightforward engagement, likely against Dinamo Minsk.

Dynamo got a fast start here, opening the scoring in the third minute. Igor Ozhiganov’s long-range effort was blocked by Pavel Moisevich in the SKA net but the goalie gave up a big rebound. Artyom Chernov regained possession on the slot and the puck fell for Nikita Buruyanov to score. Moisevich atoned for that rebound when Dynamo got its first power play, making a fine double save to deny Maxim Dzhioshvili and Dmitry Rashevsky. SKA’s best chance to tie the scores came late in the opening frame, but Maxim Motorygin saved Ilya Karpukhin’s dangerous shot from the circle.

The second period brought another quick goal for the Muscovites. Nikita Gusev intercepted a pass on his own blue line and released Cedric Paquette, who accelerate into the SKA zone to beat Moisevich. And the visiting goalie’s day was done in the 27th minute when Chernov added a third on the power play. Yegor Zavragin took over in goal.

At the other end, Motorygin was having more fun. He produced a spectacular save to deny Pavel Akolzin a certain goal in the 31st minute, protecting Dynamo’s advantage and frustrating the visiting offense.

The Dynamo netminder was beaten at last in the 47th minute when Karpukhin picked up a broken play to score his fourth goal in three weeks. That at least offered some hope of a SKA fightback, but Dynamo held on despite a double minor on Paquette in the closing stages. The visitor’s attempts to save the game were undermined when fit again Evgeny Kuznetsov took an untimely penalty for holding back Kirill Gotovets in the 56th minute, stemming his team’s attempt at a late surge. 

Dragons halt Ufa’s flying form

Kunlun Red Star 4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (2-2, 1-0, 1-0)

Despite blowing a two-goal lead, the Dragons recovered to snap a four-game skid. Mikhail Kravets’ team recorded its second win of the season over Salavat Yulaev, halting the visitor’s three-game winning run and robbing it of the chance to take second place in the Eastern Conference.

Kunlun remains ninth in the west, still nine points behind Torpedo – the next visitor to Mytishchi.

It was a good start for the home team. An early penalty on Yegor Suchkov saw Luke Lockhart open the scoring in the fourth minute. After that, the first period play was fairly even, but when Jan Drozg struck in the 18th minute the Dragons had a 2-0 lead and looked set to take the lead into the intermission.

Salavat Yulaev had other ideas. It took just 20 seconds for Dennis Yan to pull one back. Then, right before the break, Alexander Chmelevski scored on the power play to make it 2-2. Sheldon Rempal assisted on both goals, extending his hot streak to seven games.

The home team responded by giving visiting goalie Alexander Samonov a second period workout. Although Ufa had more attacking possession, Red Star was much more dangerous when it got into the O-zone. The shot count was 14-6 in KRS’ favor and eventually that pressure told. Stepan Zvyagin broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, scoring the first goal of his loan spell from Dinamo Minsk and only the second of his fledgling KHL career. The first was more than two years ago in an OT loss at Spartak.

The final frame, unsurprisingly, saw Salavat Yulaev dominant. However, Red Star defended sensibly, making it hard for the visitor to establish itself in front of Patrik Rybar’s net. And, when there were chances to get forward, Adam Clendening dished off the puck for Kyle Rau to score his second goal since arriving in the KHL last month. That made it 4-2 with 12 to play and Ufa could not find a way back. Strong defense finished the job; the Dragons still have some fire left this season.

Chartier’s first for CSKA helps wear down stubborn Vityaz

CSKA Moscow 3 Vityaz Moscow Region 1 (0-0, 0-1, 3-0)

After coming from behind to beat Vityaz, CSKA joins Dynamo on 70 points and goes third in the West. However, it took some time for the home team to solve the opposition, which produced a battling performance before falling to a sixth straight loss.

Vityaz frustrated CSKA through two periods. Although the home team had the bulk of the play – the shot count read 21-8 at the second intermission – there was no way past Dmitry Shikin. And there was worse to come at the very end of the second period: a five-on-three power play for Vityaz saw Derek Barach open the scoring.

That demanded a swift response, and CSKA got it from Rourke Chartier. The December signing from Kunlun Red Star potted his first goal for his new club in the 43rd minute, tying the game. He stuffed home the rebound from Ivan Drozdov’s raid, finally ending Shikin’s resistance.

That wasn’t quite the end for Vityaz. The visitor killed a penalty and when Dmitry Buchelnikov came out of the box he jumped onto a one-on-one with Dmitry Gamzin, but could not beat the home goalie. But the home pressure continued and in the 55th minute, Denis Guryanov spun and fired home through traffic to make it 2-1. Once in front, CSKA never looked like yielding its lead and an empty-netter from Vladislav Kamenev finished the job in the final minute. Ilya Vorobyov’s team bounced back from defeat to Severstal before the All-Star Game and now has four wins from five.