Five-star Seroukh sinks Dynamo. February 19 round-up
Sochi forward Daniil Seroukh scored five goals on Dynamo Moscow as the lowly Leopards shocked the second-placed Muscovites. That’s three wins in a row for Sochi, while Dynamo fluffed its chance to gain a small cushion in second place, going down 3-5 on home ice. There was another surprise home loss in the capital as CSKA fell 1-4 to Dinamo Minsk, with Vadim Shipachyov scoring twice. In the East, Lada blanked Salavat Yulaev to stay on the fringes of the playoff race. And Avangard made it five wins in a row with a 2-1 home success against Metallurg.
Fiore keeps up Hawks’ winning streak
Avangard Omsk 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (1-0, 1-1, 0-0)
The Hawks made it five wins in a row as they overcame Metallurg for the third time in six games this season. Giovanni Fiore’s second-period goal proved decisive in this battle between fifth and sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Magnitka welcomed back Ilya Nabokov, Robin Press and Luke Johnson after all three missed the trip to Barys. Avangard is still troubled by injuries, but Guy Boucher rotated his young forwards, bringing Kirill Tankov into the team in place of Ilya Reingardt.
The visitor looked to have the better of the opening shifts, but Avangard grabbed an early goal. The first extended attack for the home team ended with Ivan Igumnov finding Nabokov’s net in the third minute. After that, the Hawks were content to play in center ice, frustrating Metallurg’s efforts to raise the tempo. Midway through the frame, the visitor got the first penalty of the game, but there was little menace from Omsk’s power play. It was a similar story in the closing stages, when the defending champion had its chance to play with an extra man.
The second period also brought a quick goal, and this time it went to Metallurg. An extended spell of pressure culminated in a great pass from Johnson, cutting through the home defense to present Nikita Kamalov with an open goal. The next shift saw Mark Verba clean through on Nabokov, but the power forward was unable to restore the home lead.
Metallurg still had the better of the play, enjoying greater control of the puck and creating plenty of danger around Nikita Serebryakov’s net. However, when the home team got a power play it not only relieved the pressure but regained the lead. Ryan Spooner got the puck away from the boards and set up Fiore in the deep slot to make it 2-1.
That proved to be the decisive goal. Roman Kantserov somehow missed a great chance to tie it up late in the second period and the third produced few clear-cut chances. Metallurg attempted a final surge with six skaters but Avangard withstood the onslaught to take a narrow 2-1 verdict.
Trushkov silences Salavat offense
Lada Togliatti 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 0 (1-0, 2-0, 0-0)
Is Lada’s playoff dream still alive? Returning from Astana with a long-awaited win, the Motormen came home to blank in-form Salavat Yulaev and close the gap to eighth place in the East to 12 points. With 13 games left, that’s a substantial chasm to bridge, but at least things look a little more promising for Pavel Zubov’s team.
Salavat Yulaev is already guaranteed its place in the playoffs, but missed the chance to close on conference leader Traktor today. The gap between the two remains five points, although Ufa has two games in hand.
After killing an early penalty, Lada looked to take the initiative. Dmitry Kugryshev had a couple of decent early looks, and Alexander Volkov hit the post before Alexei Ozgikhin opened the scoring thanks to a great set-up from Ivan Romanov. As well as falling behind, the visitor lost prolific forward Josh Leivo when he took a 10-minute misconduct penalty late in the first period.
In the second period Lada had twice as many shots as the visitor. Arkhip Nekolenko went close early on before Danil Yurtaikin doubled the lead with a shot that surprised Semyon Vyazovoi in the Ufa ne. A few shifts later, 22-year-old defenseman Yegor Morozov scored his first KHL goal to make it 3-0.
That proved to be the end of the scoring. Despite Salavat’s high-powered offense, there was no way through for the visitor in the third period. Alexander Trushkov frustrated Leivo and his team-mates, finishing with 30 saves and a well-earned shut-out.
Seroukh stars as Dynamo stumbles
Dynamo Moscow 3 HC Sochi 5 (0-1, 2-2, 1-2)
Daniil Seroukh was Sochi’s star as the Black Sea boys reeled off a fourth successive victory. The 27-year-old forward scored all five of his team’s goals in Moscow to see off Dynamo. That’s comfortable his best single performance in a KHL career that had brought 18 goals in 89 previous appearances since he made his debut for Sochi last season.
The West’s basement club travelled to second-placed Dynamo in surprisingly good form: three straight wins, including back-to-back success against CSKA had the Leopards on a rare upswing. Sergei Zubov’s team also won on its previous visit to Dynamo last month, giving more reasons for optimism on the road.
And in Moscow Seroukh produced a fine performance. He put Alexei Kudashov’s men in deep trouble as they sought the win that would offer a little breathing space in a desperately tight race for second place in the West.
Seroukh opened the scoring midway through the first period. Then, after Kirill Adamchuk tied it up early in the second, the visiting forward struck twice more to make it 3-1 with five to play in the session.
But Dynamo wasn’t done. Anton Slepyshev pulled one back late in the second, then Daniil Pylenkov tied the scores in the 45th minute. Now it was Sochi’s turn to dig deep and turn a momentum swing around. The visitor managed to do exactly that, and Seroukh’s power play goal made it 4-3 with eight minutes to play.
And the forward completed a personal triumph when he sealed the win with an empty-net goal. Five markers in one game for Seroukh ranks among the finest individual performances in KHL history.
Shipachyov double crowns Dinamo success
CSKA Moscow 1 Dinamo Minsk 4 (0-1, 1-2, 0-1)
After back-to-back losses at the hands of Sochi, CSKA missed the chance to draw level with third-placed Spartak. Instead, Ilya Vorobyov’s team fell to a fourth loss in five games thanks to this reverse at home to Dinamo Minsk.
It was the third time in three games this season that Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team put one over on his former club. Previously the Bison beat the Muscovites twice in Minsk.
Dinamo took the lead in the seventh minute, shortly after killing the first penalty of the game. It was the visitor’s first meaningful attack of the evening, and it saw Chris Tierney force two saves out of Dmitry Gamzin before Vitaly Pinkchuk scored from the second rebound. CSKA challenged the play, citing interference on the goalie. However, the home team was left to rue that decision when it was rewarded only with a delay of game penalty.
It wasn’t long before CSKA did get a reprieve; Alexander Volkov found the home net for 2-0, but the officials whistled it off.
Early in the second, Volkov got his goal to make it 2-0. Then the visitor benefitted from a video review, Prokhor Poltapov’s goal ruled out after a successful bench challenge for interference on goalie Vasily Demchenko.
CSKA got its goal in the 34th minute thanks to Vladislav Provolnev. But home happiness was brief. Within a minute, Vadim Shipachyov restored Dinamo’s two-goal advantage. And, late in the game, he added a fourth to make it three wins in four for the Belarusians.
