SKA slips at home to Dragons, Yakupov scores 100th goal. February 22 round-up
For the second time this season, Kunlun Red Star celebrated a high-scoring road win in St. Petersburg. Today’s 6-4 success follows a 5-4 verdict early in the season. Former KRS forward Nail Yakupov also had something to celebrate: his 100th KHL goal gave his current club, Avangard, a 2-1 win at home to Amur. Lokomotiv beat Sibir in OT, Severstal blanked Avtomobilist in Yekaterinburg and Admiral won 4-2 at Barys.
Yakupov’s century gives Avangard the edge
Avangard Omsk 2 Amur Khabarovsk 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)
Nail Yakupov’s 100th KHL goal helped Avangard edge past Amur with a 2-1 verdict. The home team was also boosted by the return of Mike McLeod and Alex Grant after injuries, while goalie Mikhail Berdin got the start. Amur, defeated in Yekaterinburg last time out, started with Damir Shaimardanov in goal and continued without injured forward Alex Galchenyuk.
The Hawks sought to force the early pace, firing in frequent shots at Shaimardanov’s net. Midway through the opening frame, that brought a reward when Yakupov got the puck to slot for Ivan Igumnov to score. Grant then tested the goalie and Yakupov dinged the crossbar as Avangard looked to build on that lead.
Towards the end of the first, Amur began to offer more on offense and Berdin found himself in the game. The second period continued in similar fashion with a more even share of the play. However, the home team got the only goal: McCleod won an attacking face-off, Semyon Chistyakov fired in a shot and Yakupov potted the rebound to reach his personal landmark.
That forced Amur to try and step up the pace in the third. The Tigers put the emphasis on attack, but Avangard defended carefully, keeping scoring chances to a minimum. Vladislav Barulin finally found way through, but with one second left to play it was too late to save the game for the visitor.
Sailors boost playoff hopes, Barys loses again
Barys Astana 2 Admiral Vladivostok 4 (1-1, 0-1, 1-2)
The end of the current season can’t come soon enough for Barys, and the Kazakhs suffered another loss here. For Admiral, this was a handy two points as it pushes for a playoff place: the Sailors have a nine-point advantage over Neftekhimik with 11 games remaining.
However, Barys at least managed to get the opening goal in this game. In the third minute, Starchenko got free beyond the Admiral defense and collected a pass to beat Andrei Mishurov. Admiral tied it up late in the frame thanks to Nikita Soshnikov, scoring in his 400th KHL game.
The visitor got in front in the middle frame thanks to Stepan Starkov’s goal. Barys continued to pose questions in the second period, but could not score and fell further behind at the start of the third. Yegor Petukhov continued his record-breaking season with the third goal, 21 seconds after the restart.
On 47:33, a fight between Alikhan Asetov and Jack Rodewald saw both players pick up double minors for roughing. As they watched from the sidelines, both teams scored. Arkady Shestakov extended Admiral’s lead 18 seconds later, but Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan soon pulled one back for Barys. That was the end of the scoring as Barys fell to an eighth successive loss.
Abrosimov’s double downs Avtomobilist
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0 Severstal Cherepovets 4 (0-0, 0-2, 0-2)
After securing it playoff spot last time out, Avtomobilist produced a disappointing performance at home to Severstal. The visitor, looking to consolidate its position in the Western Conference, enjoyed a shut-out win and moved up to third in the standings.
That was a reward for an enterprising performance from Severstal. The Lynx looked to press from the start and looked the faster and more mobile team in a goalless first period. If there was any criticism of Andrei Kozyrev’s team, it would be a lack of clear scoring chances after a dangerous Mikhail Kotlyarevsky shot early on.
Early in the second, Avto had a good chance to take the lead but a two-on-one rush saw both Nick Ebert and Alexander Sharov miss their opportunities. Then Vladimir Galkin pulled off a spectacular save to deny Yanni Kaldis before he was beaten in the 26th minute when Danil Aimurzin scored off young Yegor Smirnov’s neat feed.
The home team looked to respond in kind and twice went close to tying the game. It took a last-gasp intervention from a visiting defenseman to clear the puck off the line, then another effort hit the Severstal post. Those misses looked even more costly late in the second period when Ruslan Abrosimov redirected Adam Liska’s shot into the net for 2-0.
Things got worse after the intermission: a misunderstanding and a misplaced pass sent Aimurzin off on the counter. This time he set up Mikhail Ilyin with an open net and Severstal was up by three. Avtomobilist struggled to gain a foothold in the game thereafter and the only further scoring came from Abrosimov’s empty netter in the final seconds.
Surin sinks stubborn Sibir
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 1 OT (0-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Yegor Surin’s overtime goal secured another victory for Lokomotiv. The Railwaymen move 15 points clear of Spartak at the top of the Western Conference, and seven ahead of Traktor in the overall standings. Igor Nikitin’s team look a good bet for this year’s Continental Cup.
Sibir, meanwhile, lost ground to Admiral in the playoff race in the East. However, Vadim Yepachintsev’s team holds an eight-point advantage over ninth-placed Neftekhimik and is very much in control of its own playoff destiny.
The home team was boosted by the return of forward Alexander Radulov and the first action for goalie Daniil Isayev since Jan. 10. Isayev had little to do in the first period as Lokomotiv dominated play for long stretches. However, he allowed the opening goal in the 18th minute when Andy Andreoff broke the deadlock with a backhand effort during a rare foray forward.
The second period saw Lokomotiv look to redouble its offensive effort, applying more pressure on Anton Krasotkin’s net. That brought its reward in the 32nd minute when Byron Froese got the tying goal. The home team maintained control of the game but could not build on that marker.
And that was the story of the third period as well. Lokomotiv saw more of the puck and had plenty of scoring chances but could not find the winner in regulation. Instead the game went to overtime before Surin secured a deserved victory for the host, and sent Sibir to a fourth successive defeat.
Dragons shock SKA in Petersburg thriller
SKA St. Petersburg 4 Kunlun Red Star 6 (1-1, 1-4, 2-1)
For the second time this season, Kunlun enjoyed a high-scoring win in St. Petersburg. Today’s 6-4 verdict also served to keep several teams waiting to confirm their playoff spots: a home win would have immediately secured top eight finishes for Spartak, Dynamo Moscow, Severstal and SKA.
A home win looked a decent bet when Sergei Andronov opened the scoring in the 17th minute, redirecting a Ruslan Pedan shot into Jeremy Smith’s net. But 30 seconds before the intermission, Yaroslav Likhachyov tied it up when he broke down the right wing and scored on the short side.
Early in the second period, the Dragons got on the power play, but it was a shorthanded goal that saw Luke Lockhart put the visitor in front for the first time. That lead didn’t last. Colin Campbell joined Ian McCoshen in the box and Evgeny Kuznetsov set up Valentin Zykov to make it 2-2 during the five-on-three play.
But the game took a sensational turn in the 32nd minute. First McCoshen atoned for his earlier penalty, restoring Red Star’s lead with a shot from the left channel. Then, 34 seconds later, Jan Drozg made it 4-2. Roman Rotenberg responded by swapping goalie Yegor Zavragin for Pavel Moisevich, but barely a minute later Kyle Rau made it 5-2 for KRS.
Earlier in the season, Red Star saw a 5-1 lead hauled back to 4-5 here before holding on for the win. Today, there was almost a repeat. Midway through the third period SKA got on the power play, replaced Moisevich with a sixth skater and another fine Kuznetsov assist saw Mikhail Grigorenko reduce the deficit. Another home power play brought a similar gambit, but no goal. Then, at equal strength Matvei Korotky made it 4-5 in the 54th minute.
There seemed to be ample time to tie the game, but SKA once again opted to play with six skaters. This time, it backfired. Tyler Graovac scored into the empty net and despite the home team’s dominance of the remaining play it finished 6-4 for Red Star.
