Moscow rivals fight for position. March 1 round-up
Dynamo and CSKA are fighting it out for second place in the Western Conference. Both won on Saturday – Dynamo 6-3 over Kunlun, CSKA 4-2 over Torpedo – to move clear of fourth-placed Spartak. As a result of those games, SKA is also now guaranteed a playoff spot. In the Eastern Conference, Metallurg’s 3-1 win over Avtomobilist moves it to fourth in the standings.
Fightback win for Magnitka
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 (0-0, 1-1, 2-0)
As the regular season winds up for an exciting finish in the East, Metallurg claimed an encouraging victory over in-form Avtomobilist to move to fourth in the conference standings.
Ahead of this clash, Andrei Razin brought Ilya Nabokov back as his starting goalie, with Nikita Mikhailis, Igor Geraskin and Danila Palivko also on the roster. Captain Yegor Yakovlev was rested.
Avtomobilist had the better of a goalless first period, with Nabokov rather busier than his opposite number Evgeny Alikin. The visitor moved quickly through center ice and was keen to fire in shots from all angles. A strong press forced several errors from the Magnitka defense, but the best chance of the opening frame saw Anatoly Golyshev denied on a swift counter.
Metallurg began the second period on the power play but could not make it count. Instead, defenseman Robin Press was cited a minor for playing with a broken stick and, in turn, the visitor got its chance with an extra man. Neither team could take advantage, but back at equal strength Avtomobilist opened the scoring. Nikita Kamalov’s ambitious pass from behind his net was intercepted by Golyshev, who set up Stephane da Costa to make it 1-0. Within a couple of shifts, Darren Deitz was close to doubling the lead, but Nabokov made the save.
However, in the latter stages of that middle frame, Metallurg began to improve. Dmitry Silantyev’s familiar strength on the slot brought a tying goal to send the teams to the intermission at 1-1.
The third period again saw power play chances for both teams. Metallurg again offered little with an extra man, Avtomobilist looked far more threatening and only Nabokov prevented a second goal.
However, although the Motormen seemed to be gearing up to make the breakthrough, it came at the other end. Borna Rendulic picked a timely moment for his first goal since moving to Magnitogorsk.
Avtomobilist continued to press, but the visitor’s chances were extinguished when Silantyev potted his second of the game with three minutes to play.
Dragons hit for six again
Dynamo Moscow 6 Kunlun Red Star 3 (0-1, 4-2, 2-0)
A spirited Kunlun pushed Dynamo hard but could not prevent the Blue-and-Whites from maintaining their grip on second place in the West. For the second game in a row, Red Star allowed six goals in the capital. The Blue-and-Whites remain a point clear of city rival CSKA, and have a three-point lead over Spartak in fourth.
However, this was no routine home victory as Alexei Kudashov’s men recorded a third successive win. Red Star grabbed an early lead when Yaroslav Likhachyov scored a great individual goal in the second minute and held that advantage through the first period. Patrik Rybar was enjoying his duel with home forward Dylan Sikura, twice denying the Canadian.
However, Sikura got his revenge in the second. He scored twice on Rybar, tying the game in the 24th minute and putting Dynamo in front for the first time after 28 minutes. In between, Luke Lockhart briefly restored Red Star’s lead before Igor Ozhiganov’s power play goal made it 2-2.
Lockhart and Likhachyov combined on the Dragons’ first power play, and Spencer Foo was on hand to put away the rebound after they tested Maxim Motorygin in the home net. But within 30 seconds, Dynamo was back in front on Pavel Kudryavtsev’s goal, and early in the third Anton Slepyshev made it 5-3 and gave the home team some much-needed breathing space. Yegor Rimashevsky added a late sixth to wrap up the win for Dynamo.
Saturday’s defeat means that KRS can no longer catch SKA, securing a playoff spot for the Petersburg team.
Guryanov double downs Torpedo
CSKA Moscow 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 (1-1, 2-0, 1-1)
Like Dynamo, CSKA had to come from behind to defeat a team battling for its playoff spot. Eighth-placed Torpedo should have enough of an advantage to hold off Kunlun’s challenge, but mathematically the race is still on.
That encouraged Igor Larionov’s team to a fast start in Moscow, with Sergei Goncharuk opening the scoring in the second minute. CSKA did little to help itself, handing Torpedo a power play at the start when Pavel Karnaukhov was assessed a tripping minor.
However, CSKA fought back and had the better of the opening frame. The tying goal came in the 18th minute through Denis Guryanov, who scored for the third game in a row after Nikita Sedov fed him on the slot. After that, the home team killed another penalty to make it to the break tied at 1-1.
The second period saw both teams create chances. However, it was some time before we saw another goal. Eventually, in the 35th minute, captain Nikita Nesterov put CSKA in front. A battle in the corner saw the home team emerge with the puck and Yegor Fateyev picked out Nesterov at the back door to make it 2-1.
Then came a home power play – Nikita Shavin penalized for hooking – and CSKA built the momentum that would bring a two-goal lead. Shavin had just left the box by the time Sedov made it 3-1 with 12 seconds left in the period, but Torpedo was still fighting the fires set during the home power play.
In the final frame, Torpedo made a lively start but could not force an early breakthrough. CSKA had chances to put the game out of reach, only to run into some brave goaltending as Ivan Kulbakov kept the visitor’s hopes alive. In the 58th minute, Kulbakov made way for a sixth skater and Nikita Artamonov scored to give Torpedo a chance of salvation. However, when Guryanov won a foot race with Bogdan Konyushkov he finished the game by scoring into the empty net to make the final score 4-2.
