Playoff spot for Ak Bars, hat-trick for Artamonov. February 21 round-up
Ak Bars became the fourth team to reserve its playoff place in the east. However, Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men did it the hard way, winning in OT after Neftekhimik recovered from 0-2. Torpedo youngster Nikita Artamonov celebrated his first KHL hat-trick in a 6-3 win over Sochi. Dinamo Minsk had a high-scoring success as well, winning 5-0 at Dynamo Moscow and denying the Blue-and-Whites the chance to confirm their playoff place. Elsewhere, Traktor eased to a 4-1 win over Lada and Vityaz surprised Salavat Yulaev with late goals in a 3-1 verdict.
Lada’s revival stalls at Traktor
Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Lada Togliatti 1 (2-0, 1-0, 1-1)
Lada came to the Eastern Conference leader with its playoff hopes enhanced following wins on the road at Barys and Salavat Yulaev. But the hot streak went no further as Traktor underlined its credentials at the top of the Eastern Conference.
The home team opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Grigory Dronov marked his return to the team with a goal from the blue line. That’s the defenseman’s 12th of the season and it halted Alexander Trushkov’s shut-out sequence at 100:14. Traktor continued to press and increased its lead before the intermission thanks to Semyon Der-Arguchintsev. Logan Day’s assist on that play makes it five helpers in four games for him.
Lada improved in the second period and regularly created anxious moments for home goalie Sergei Mylnikov. However, the visitor could not find a way past him. Then, in the 32nd minute, Traktor scored again: Artyom Blazhievsky launched a counter-attack with a fine stretch pass and Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer finished it off.
The third period began with some even play and scoring chances at both ends. Ten minutes before the hooter, Lada finally managed to get on the scoreboard: Alexander Gosudarev timed his arrival in front of goal to perfection and fired past Mylnikov. But the final word went to Traktor as Steven Kampfer added a fourth in the closing stages, joining Dronov in marking his return to action with a goal from defense.
Kazan clinches playoff place
Ak Bars Kazan 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 OT (2-0, 0-1, 0-1, 1-0)
Eric O’Dell scored his first goal for Ak Bars, helping Kazan to a hard-fought victory that confirms its playoff spot for 2025. Any kind of win over Neftekhimik in tonight’s Tatarstan derby would have been good enough for the home team to confirm a top-eight finish, but the Wolves made it tough for their near neighbor. Despite trailing 0-2, the visitor battled back to force overtime before falling to Dmitrij Jaskin’s goal.
Things started brightly enough for the host. O’Dell, who struggled for fitness early in the season and moved to Kazan in December, finally got off the mark for his new club. The Canadian center had failed to produce a single point in 10 games, but opened the scoring in the sixth minute of this game. Ak Bars continued to dictate the play in the first period and got a second goal in the 16th minute through Artemy Knyazev.
The second period saw changes. Ak Bars still had the bulk of the possession, but now the home team struggled to do so much with it. Through 20 minutes, Ak Bars managed just six shots on goal. At the other end, Neftekhimik didn’t get much territory but regularly forced Timur Bilyalov into action. Nikita Khoruzhev found a way past the home goalie in the 37th minute, bringing the game back to life.
Khoruzhev turned provider in the third period, setting up Bulat Shafigullin for a tying goal in the 49th minute. And that was enough to take the game to overtime. Even the extras could have gone either way. Twice, Bilyalov had to make saves to keep Ak Bars in the game before Jaskin won it for the home team.
Artamonov treble inspires Torpedo to victory
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 6 HC Sochi 3 (1-1, 3-0, 2-2)
Nikita Artamonov plundered his first KHL hat-trick to lead Torpedo to a comfortable win over Sochi. The 19-year-old moves onto 20 goals in his sophomore season in the KHL, underlining his obvious potential.
Sochi came here boosted by Daniil Seroukh’s five-goal show in Moscow. He became only the second player in the KHL to five in one game, helping the Western Conference struggler overcome Dynamo on Wednesday. And there was no shortage of confidence from the Leopards here. Despite Torpedo enjoying the better of the first period, the home team had to come from behind: Danil Avershin opened the scoring midway through the session; Nikita Shavin tied it up five minutes later.
Then came Artamonov. Torpedo was up 2-1 when the youngster got his first of the game just after midway. A couple of minutes later he had his second, padding the lead to 4-1 and ensuring the job was almost done. Early in the third he turned provider as Yegor Vinogradov made it five, then Artamonov completed his hat-trick after 50 minutes, chasing Evgeny Volokhin from the Sochi net.
The visitor got a couple of power play goals in the closing stages. Sergei Popov’s effort survived a bench challenge, and the delay of game penalty led to Avershin scoring his second of the night. But that was the end of the fightback; the second-period damage was too great for Sochi to recover.
Late goals sink Salavat
Vityaz Moscow Region 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (0-0, 0-0, 3-1)
Western Conference struggler Vityaz pulled off a surprise win at home to Salavat Yulaev. Late goals from Alexander Daryin and Ivan Savchik secured a 3-1 verdict as Ufa slipped to a second successive loss.
In recent seasons, Salavat Yulaev has been good in regular season, only to fade in the playoffs. Against that background, a 0-3 loss at Lada, followed by two periods without a goal here could be a significant concern. For much of the season, certainly since the new year, Viktor Kozlov’s men have been effective in front of goal; with barely a month to go before the playoffs, this would be a bad time for his forwards to misfire.
However, when Alexander Chmelevski opened the scoring on a power play at the start of the third period, it looked like the visitor might have found a way to settle a tight game. It was a goal constructed by Ufa’s imports, with Josh Leivo and Scott Wilson assisting.
But Vityaz had its own ideas and tied the game on a power play goal from Jeremy Roy. With 12 to play, the verdict was anyone’s, and the home team claimed it when Roy’s assist helped Daryin make it 2-1 on 56:27. Savchik’s empty-netter finished the job as Vityaz improved a run of just one win in six.
Minsk on top in dynamic battle
Dynamo Moscow 0 Dinamo Minsk 5 (0-1, 0-3, 0-1)
It was a night of missed opportunities for Dynamo Moscow. Victory over Dinamo Minsk would return the Blue-and-Whites to second in the Western Conference standings. Moreover, it would secure Alexei Kudashov’s team a place in the playoffs. However, a limp performance saw the Belarusians power to a convincing victory.
For Minsk, the playoff race is likely to run on a little longer. While it’s improbable that Kunlun would manage to claw back the gap and oust the Bison from the top eight, it’s not yet mathematically certain. All of which might explain why the visitor had a bit more zest about its play in this game.
That manifested itself in a first period that saw Minsk outshoot Moscow 17-6. The visitor’s only reward for that effort was a shorthanded goal from Roman Gorbunov midway through the game. And the Muscovites were denied an almost immediate equalizer when a video review established that Alexander Burmistrov kicked the puck home. Burmistrov is still awaiting his first goal since making his Dynamo debut in January.
Minsk enjoyed similar control after the intermission, and this time it got the goals to go with it. Jordan Gross extended the lead o the power play, then Danill Lipsky and Sam Anas pushed it out to 4-0 with two goals in little over a minute. Dynamo replaced starting goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky with Maxim Motorygin, but the damage was already done.
Early in the third period, Alexander Volkov added a fifth. That made it 10 goals allowed in two games for Dynamo on the way to a third successive loss. After looking well placed to take second in the West, the Muscovites are now back in the thick of that tight battle behind leader Lokomotiv.
