Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 5 Amur Khabarovsk 3 (1-2, 2-0, 2-1)
With Amur no longer in playoff contention, the Tigers left three imports out of the line-up for this game. Goalie Matt Jurusik made way for 20-year-old Viktor Kobozev, who started a game for the first time since November. Alex Galchenyuk and Alex Broadhurst also sat this one out.
There wasn’t much action in the early stages. For a long time, Avtomobilist could not get a shot at Kobozev’s net while Amur was largely kept to the outside. However, the home team got in front on its first half chance. Nick Merkley took the puck from Ivan Mishchenko, advanced to the slot and scored on Kobozev in the seventh minute.
Amur responded quickly: Alexander Shchemerov’s effort bounced off Maxim Osipov’s stick and into the net. A couple of minutes later, Devin Brosseau put the visitor up and that lead remained until the end of the first period.
In the second period, Brosseau got into a fight with Nikita Tryamkin. While the two combatants sat out their major penalties, Avtomobilist tied the game when Daniil Valitov converted the rebound from a Stephane da Costa shot. That was the defenseman’s first KHL goal. Just after the midway point, a power play saw Alexander Sharov restore Avto’s lead – and that proved to be the decisive breakthrough.
Early in the third, another home power play brought another goal for Sharov – 4-2. Sergei Lapin pulled one back with 10 minutes to play but any doubt about the outcome was ended in the 58th minute. Stepan Khripunov claimed Avtomobilist’s fifth goal with a shot that deflected off Lapin’s stick and into the net.
The victory made it four wins from four games against Amur and puts the Motormen clear in second place in the East.
Barys Astana 2 Severstal Cherepovets 6 (0-1, 1-4, 1-1)
After defeats against Lokomotiv (1-5) and SKA (3-5), Severstal bounced back in Astana. Victory over Barys lifted Andrei Kozyrev’s team back up to third in the West. The home team suffered its seventh successive defeat and remains adrift at the foot of the standings.
The visitor dominated the first period, but the only goal came in the 11th minute when Ruslan Abrosimov fired home Danil Aimurzin’s feed. But in the second period, Severstal turned its control of the game into goals. Nikolai Burenov doubled the lead shortly after the restart, then Alexei Kruchinin added a third midway through the game. Barys pulled one back through veteran Roman Starchenko, but Severstal kept up the pressure. There were further goals from Mikhail Ilyin and Kirill Pilipenko before the end of the frame, and Aimurzin completed a hat-trick of assists.
The third period brought a short-handed goal for Andrei Churkin before Barys got a late consolation. Semyon Simonov, 19, scored his first in the KHL to make the final score 2-6.
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Kunlun Red Star 1 (2-1, 0-0, 2-0)
Table-topping Lokomotiv eased to victory over Kunlun for the fourth time this season. The home team was boosted by the return of goalie Daniil Isayev to the team: he dressed as back-up to Alexei Melnichuk, featuring on the roster for the first time since Jan. 10. But his services were not needed as Loko won comfortably with Melnichuk making 23 saves.
The home team took control of this one early. Doyle Somerby’s cross-checking minor saw Ilya Nikolayev open the scoring in the fifth minute and Maxim Shalunov doubled the lead on 8:22. Gradually, KRS came into the game: Colin Campbell pulled a goal back and there were chances for Luke Lockhart and Danny O’Regan to tie the game in the first period.
However, if Red Star looked capable of an upset towards the end of the first, the second period saw Lokomotiv regain control. Igor Nikitin’s team didn’t add to its lead, but had a substantial advantage in possession and shots.
That pattern of play continued in the third. Stepan Nikulin made it 3-1 in the 45th minute, and Maxim Beryozkin redirected a Shalunov shot to add a fourth with two minutes to play. It all added up to a straightforward home win that puts Loko seven points clear of Traktor at the top of the overall KHL standings.
Spartak Moscow 6 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (2-1, 2-0, 2-1)
Victory over Sibir puts Spartak a point clear of Dynamo in second place in the Western Conference. The Red-and-White power play got the home team in front in the first period as Alexei Zhamnov’s men reeled off a third successive victory.
The first period was shaped by power plays. Sibir got the first numerical advantage in the 10th minute but could not take advantage. After Prokhor Korbit returned to the game, Spartak soon got a PP of its own – and Yegor Alanov’s infringement led to the opening goal. Nikolai Goldobin’s pass found Dmitry Vishnevsky at the top of the left-hand circle and his one-timer found Anton Krasotkin’s net.
Sibir responded in the 18th minute on its second power play of the night. Taylor Beck was looking for Andy Andreoff at the back door, but a deflection put the puck onto Valentin Pyanov’s stick for the equalizer. But before the intermission, another home PP saw a well-worked play restore Spartak’s lead. Alexander Pashin combined with Adam Ruzicka, and the Slovak forward faked a shot before setting up Mikhail Maltsev in front of an open goal.
In the second period, the power plays dried up: the teams would play at even strength until Yegor Zaitsev’s foul gave Sibir a PP in the 39th minute. By then, Spartak was up 4-1. Midway through the game, Ansel Galimov seized the initiative to score a fine individual goal. Then Ruzicka made it four as the home team began to dominate the game. After that goal, Krasotkin made way for back-up goalie Denis Kostin with Sibir desperate to trigger some kind of response.
The response came at the start of the third. It wasn’t just Beck’s goal in the 44th minute; Sibir totally controlled the game after the teams returned from the second intermission. Beck’s goal persuaded Zhamnov to call a time out and get Spartak focused on finishing the job.
However, the visitor continued to press and it took some good goaltending from Artyom Zagidulin in the home net to protect Spartak’s advantage. Little was seen of the home offense, and the clock became a key player for the Muscovites as time started to run out on Sibir, which began playing three-line hockey in its search for a way back.
An untimely penalty for Trevor Murphy, whose frustrations got the better of him in the 56th minute, eased the pressure on Spartak. The home offense, so rarely seen in the third, quickly clicked into gear and Andrei Loktionov made it 5-2 and Korbit added a sixth in the last minute.