Kudryavtsev double lifts Dynamo past Lokomotiv. March 7 round-up
Friday’s only KHL game was a heavyweight clash that saw Dynamo deliver a knock-out blow in the third period.
Kudashov’s men keep title race alive
Dynamo Moscow 5 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 (0-1, 1-2, 4-0)
Lokomotiv missed the chance to secure top spot in the Western Conference after it failed to beat second placed Dynamo. The Blue-and-Whites rallied from 1-3 at the second intermission to claim a third win from five games against the Railwaymen. It’s unlikely to prevent Igor Nikitin’s team claiming top spot in the West – Loko leads by 10 points with just six games left – but for now Dynamo still has a theoretical chance of getting ahead.
The visitor had the better of the first period but almost allowed the first goal in the eighth minute. Dylan Sikura produced a fine pass to pick out Nikita Gusev unmarked on the slot but Dynamo’s leading scorer could not hit the target from a great position.
That miss looked even more costly when Loko took the lead on the next play of note. Tesanov won a battle on the boards, went around the net and set up Byron Froese in the center. His shot bounced off Kirill Adamchuk’s skate and bounced into the net. That turned out to be the only goal of the first period, even though the league leader outshot its host 13-4.
Dynamo made a more convincing start to the second period. The home team generated sustained pressure on the Lokomotiv net for the first time and was rewarded in the 26th minute when Igor Ozhiganov tied it up. Kirill Gotovets fed his defensive partner with a feed along the blue line, and Ozhiganov’s blast went through traffic to beat Daniil Isayev.
However, penalty trouble undid the host in the latter stages of the middle frame. Adamchuk sat for interference, and Georgy Ivanov soon restored Lokomotiv’s lead. Late in the session, another power play brought another goal for Ivanov, arriving at the back door to steer Maxim Beryozkin’s effort past Maxim Motorygin.
But the home team was not done. Dynamo made a flying start to the third period with Pavel Kudryavtsev tying the game after two minutes. Then came a disallowed goal from Kudryavtsev, converting a Yegor Rimashevsky feed only to be denied by an offside call. That effort was on a delayed penalty, and Lokomotiv’s problems continued on the PK. With Alexei Bereglazov in the box, Kudryavtsev scored again to tie the game.
Just after the midway point in the third, Dynamo got in front for the first time on the night. Bereglazov lost out to Nikita Buruyanov and Artyom Mikheyev was the beneficiary when he took possession of the puck on the slot and forced it beyond Isayev.
Almost immediately, Lokomotiv lost Nikita Kiryanov on a delay of game minor. By the time he returned, there were barely five minutes remaining to salvage the result. Dynamo’s press kept the visitor in center ice for long periods, but there was still a great chance for Alexander Radulov to tie it up late on. However, Motorygin stopped that one and Loko’s hopes were undermined at the death by a penalty on Alexander Yelesin. Artyom Ilyenko’s empty net goal made the final score 5-3.
