SKA edges past CSKA, Leivo stays on record trail. March 4 round-up
Tuesday’s big game was in Moscow, where SKA edged a shoot-out win over CSKA after a 2-2 tie in regulation. Alexander Nikishin’s goal ended a four-game losing run for the visitor. Earlier, Josh Leivo scored his 44th goal of the season as Salavat Yulaev won 3-1 at Amur. Leivo is just four behind Sergei Mozyakin’s record 48-goal haul from 2017. Also in the Far East, Admiral’s 1-0 win over Neftekhimik puts it close to clinching a playoff spot. Lokomotiv breezed to a 5-0 win at Severstal and Avangard kept up it’s winning streak with an overtime verdict at Sochi.
Leivo closes on goal record
Amur Khabarovsk 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (0-2, 0-0, 1-1)
Josh Leivo’s pursuit of the KHL record for goals in a regular season continues. Today the Canadian potted his 44th of the season to help Salavat Yulaev to a 3-1 win. Now he’s just four behind Sergei Mozyakin’s record, with six games left to play.
Today’s win returned Ufa to second place in the East, just three points behind leader Traktor. Amur, long out of playoff contention, remains 11th.
In the first period, the visitor enjoyed a clear territorial advantage and converted that into a two-goal lead. The first went to Vladislav Yefremov after a spell of increasing pressure midway through the session. Then, a swift breakaway in the last minute saw Leivo set up Sheldon Rempal for 2-0. That takes Leivo to 70 points for the season, the first Salavat Yulaev player to do so since Alexander Radulov back in 2011.
In the second period, Amur improved and took the initiative. However, a lack of accuracy in front of goal meant that Alexander Samonov was rarely troubled: out of 23 attempts, only seven made it to the visiting goalie.
However, at the start of the third Vladislav Barulin reduced the deficit as he extended his productive streak to four games. Revitalized, the home team tried to build on that breakthrough. Amur dominated the play and got a boost when Dennis Yan went to the box, but Samonov was strong in the visitor’s net.
With just over a minute left, home goalie Viktor Kobzoyev went to the bench. But the gamble did not come off: Leivo found the empty net to seal the win and maintain his record push.
Single goal brings big win
Admiral Vladivostok 1 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)
The Sailors took a big stride towards confirming a playoff spot with this win. Today’s verdict opens a 10-point gap over ninth-placed Neftekhimik, with only 14 more points available to the visitor.
From the start of the game, the home team looked stronger. Visiting goalie Filipp Dolganov had plenty to do in the opening stages. That pressure brought the opening goal midway through the first period when Arkady Shestakov banged home a feed to the back door.
Admiral might have had more: Jack Rodewald’s line looked good, and both he and Shane Prince had chances to score. Neftekhimik posed almost no attacking threat until late in the frame with Riley Barber sparking most of what was good about the visiting offense.
After the intermission, the gameplay turned around. Clearly, Neftekhimik’s players heard some home truths during the break and went out to make amends. However, despite improving their shot count, the visitors could not find a goal. Even a penalty for home defenseman Mario Grman made little difference as Admiral defended well.
In the third, Admiral simplified its game and concentrating on spoiling tactics to keep Neftekhimik out of the danger zone. Solid defense didn’t always contribute much to the spectacle, but it ensured that the slender lead was well-protected. Neftekhimik’s cause wasn’t helped by German Tochilkin’s penalty and Dolganov had to make a couple of big saves to keep his team in the game. Even when Neftekhimik looked to raise the tempo with the teams back at equal strength, the best scoring chance came at the other end for Dmitry Zavgorodny; Dolganov made another terrific save but still finished on the losing side. His opposite number, Andrei Mishurov made 29 saves for his shut-out.
Froese double leads Lokomotiv past Severstal
Severstal Cherepovets 0 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 5 (0-1, 0-2, 0-2)
For the third time this season, Lokomotiv got the better of Severstal. The league leader leaned on some clinical finishing, scoring three goals on 14 shots in the first two periods to take control of the game. At the other end, Daniil Isayev was in solid form to record his eighth shut-out of the season and his first since returning from injury last month.
Lokomotiv had some early difficulties when Rushan Rafikov’s trip gave Severstal a power play in the third minute. But the visitor killed that penalty and went in front a couple of minutes later thanks to a Byron Froese goal. Rafikov had an assist on that play, which separated the teams at the end of the first period.
The game was tight, and scoring chances were hard to come by in that opening frame. But two quick goals gave Loko a commanding lead in the second. Froese turned provider as Richard Panik doubled the lead in the 25th minute. That’s the Slovak’s fourth goal since moving to Yaroslavl in December.
A couple of minutes later, Georgy Ivanov made it 3-0. Ivanov is turning into something of a specialist against Severstal: he’s scored in each of Lokomotiv’s games against the Steelmen, and three of his eight goals this term are against this opponent.
Ivanov’s goal chased Konstantin Shostak from the Cherepovets net and Alexander Samoilov took over. He managed to halt the Lokomotiv offense for some time, but finally succumbed in the closing stages as Artur Kayumov and another from Froese made the final score 5-0.
Hawks get past Sochi in OT
HC Sochi 2 Avangard Omsk 3 OT (0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 0-1)
In-form Avangard travelled to the Western Conference’s basement team, Sochi, and went to overtime before securing a ninth successive victory.
Avangard got an early lead in this game thanks to Nail Yakupov. The forward potted his 23rd goal of the season, continuing his most productive season in the KHL. Yakupov, who began the campaign at Kunlun before returning to Avangard, is up to 44 (23+21) points, improving on the 41 points he had in 2018/2019 (regular season and playoffs) with SKA.
For a time, it looked like Yakupov’s goal might be enough to win the game. It remained 1-0 until the start of the third period. But Will Bitten tied it up for the home team in the 44th minute. That lifted Sochi and the home team dominated much of the play thereafter. However, a power play gave the Hawks the chance to regain the lead and Ivan Igumnov made it 2-1 with six to play. Bitten turned provider for Alexander Yaremchuk to tie the scores once more in the 56th minute and Avangard had to kill another penalty before making it to the extras.
In overtime, Sochi’s enthusiasm got the better of it. A too many men penalty handed Avangard the initiative and just 18 seconds on the power play was enough for Reid Boucher to pot the OT winner for the second time in three games.
SKA snaps skid with OT win in Moscow
CSKA Moscow 2 SKA St. Petersburg 3 OT (2-2, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
An overtime goal from Alexander Nikishin snapped SKA’s four-game losing streak and ended CSKA’s four-game winning sequence. The latest instalment of this old rivalry was a tense affair: after a high-scoring first period, the teams did not score again until Nikishin’s 63rd-minute winner.
Today’s game completed this season’s mini-series between these two with SKA winning three out of four games. It’s entirely possible the two could resume hostilities in the playoffs, which might add extra psychological weight to this overtime success.
The opening frame was action packed. CSKA took the lead through Maxim Sorkin in the seventh minute, but shortly after that Fredrik Claesson got upset over Alexander Nikishin’s hit on Ivan Drozdov. The home defenseman earned himself a major penalty for his angry reaction, and the power play saw SKA tie the game. Marat Khairullin found himself in space at the top of the circle and he produced a wrister that whipped past Pavel Khomchenko.
Chances kept coming at both ends and, in the 14th minute, SKA got in front on another power play goal. Vladislav Kamenev tripped Valentin Zykov and it took barely 20 seconds for Ivan Demidov to bring the play down the right and set up Matvei Korotky for a close-range finish. But the visitor’s lead didn’t last long. Sorkin turned provider a couple of minutes later, dropping off the puck for Prokhor Poltapov to get past Sergei Sapego and beat Yegor Zavragin from the slot. SKA’s bench challenged the play, claiming offside, but ended up with a delay of game minor for its trouble.
After that first-period feast, the second turned into a famine. Neither team could regain the lead in a goalless 20 minutes. CSKA enjoyed two power plays in quick succession around the middle of the session, but the best chance went to SKA when Zykov got on a dangerous breakaway, but Mikhail Vorobyov was unable to convert the opportunity.
At equal strength the visitor also had the best opening. In the 36th minute a well-worked combination presented Vorobyov with another chance in the right-hand circle. This time his shot was on target but Khomchenko stayed tight to his post and made the save.
The third period brought an early CSKA power play, but the home team could make little impression against a well-drilled SKA defense. Increasingly, it felt like a single moment of magic – or defensive blunder – would decide the outcome. Ruslan Iskhakov almost produced that big moment for the home team in the 54th minute. He got free to meet Poltapov’s feed but, with the goal at his mercy, fired over the top.
There was another big opportunity for the home team in the final minutes. Artyom Zemchyonok tripped Denis Guryanov, and CSKA finished the game on the power play. However, neither 70 seconds of five-in-four in regulation, nor 50 of four-on-three at the start of the extras could bring a goal.
And, once back at equal strength, SKA found the way to snap the 2-2 tie. Mikhailov Grigorenko overpowered Nikita Sedov to get to the slot and shoot. Khomchenko made the save, but the rebound fell for Nikishin to stuff the puck home.
