Western playoff line-up complete. March 8 round-up
Torpedo became the eighth and final team to secure its place in the Western Conference playoffs. Victory at home to Spartak punched that post-season ticket and finally eliminated Kunlun Red Star. SKA had a 4-2 win over Metallurg in Saturday’s clash of the titans, while Avangard kept up its winning streak with a 2-0 verdict at Ak Bars. The biggest winners of the day were Vityaz (5-0 at Sochi) and Traktor (5-1 over Severstal) and there were shut-out wins for CSKA at Barys and Lada at home to Sibir.
Eastern Conference leader dominates Severstal
Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 Severstal Cherepovets 1 (1-0, 1-0, 3-1)
Eastern Conference leader Traktor demolished Severstal to record a third successive victory. Benoit Groulx’s team – which is still capable of overhauling Lokomotiv at the top of the standings – has now won six of its last seven, and scored 13 goals in its last two games.
However, Severstal will feel that it could have built on its victory over Vityaz last time out. The first period saw the visitor dominate the game, outshooting Traktor 13-4 and enjoying almost three times as much attacking possession. But the only goal came at the other end when Semyon Der-Arguchintsev intercepted a pass and broke clear to beat Alexander Samoilov in the 14th minute.
The second period was a different story. Traktor had far more possession and the teams had a more even share of scoring chances. One thing didn’t change: Severstal couldn’t score, and Traktor did midway through the session when Grigory Dronov potted his 13th goal of the season.
A home power play at the start of the third brought a well-worked goal for Andrei Svetlakov, but Severstal found its touch in front of goal at last. Kirill Pilipenko beat Zach Fucale, but suffered a knock in the process. However, the visitor’s efforts to build on that foundation were undermined: a counterattack brought a goal for Maxim Shabanov before Nikita Korostelyov’s power play goal made the final score 5-1.
Galiyev at the double for CSKA
Barys Astana 0 CSKA Moscow 3 (0-2, 0-1, 0-0)
CSKA moved up to third in the West thanks to a shut-out victory over Barys. The home team, rock bottom of the Eastern Conference, was hoping to build on a good 4-1 win over Sibir in its previous game, but the league’s least effective offensive again failed to fire here.
The Muscovites had no such trouble in front of goal. Within 90 seconds, Vladislav Provolnyev opened the scoring with a powerful shot that clipped the inside of the post on its way to the top corner.
A few minutes later, on the first power play of the game, CSKA doubled its lead. The Barys PK got into difficulty and Maxim Sorkin took advantage to set up Stanislav Galiyev for 2-0. Galiyev got his second goal at the start of the second period – a great return to the first team for him.
In effect, that was the end of the contest. CSKA was good value for a 3-0 lead and continued to dictate the game in the middle frame. An almost perfect return on the draw – 14 wins from 16 face-offs) played a big role in maintaining the visitor’s control.
However, there was no more scoring. The remaining item of note was Pavel Khomchenko’s shut-out, his second in little more than a week following the 6-0 victory over Kunlun on Feb. 27.
Winner come too late for Lada
Lada Togliatti 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 0 OT (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
Today, Lada won the battle but lost the war. Despite getting the only goal against Sibir in overtime, the Motormen’s playoff hopes are officially at an end. Sibir’s point for tying in regulation means that Lada can no longer break into the top eight. Meanwhile, Neftekhimik is now five points behind eight-placed Sibir with six to play for both teams.
Lada had the puck in the net right at the start of the game but a video review saw that pay whistled off. And after that Sibir took control of the game, outshooting the host 15-4 and doing everything but score the opening goal.
The second session brought more work for home goalie Alexander Trushkov in his 100th KHL appearance. Andy Andreoff was the leading force among Sibir’s forwards, while at the other end Denis Kostin was kept alert by some dangerous counterattacks.
It was only in the third period that Lada began to pick up the pace and really go in search of the goal that might keep its playoff chance at least theoretically intact. However, neither team could force the breakthrough and a tie in regulation officially ended the home team’s hopes.
Despite that disappointment, Lada rallied to win it in overtime. Sibir’s woe in front of goal continued with a shot against the post before Maxim Berezin’s meaty one-timer finally opened – and concluded – the scoring.
Serebryakov blanks Ak Bars
Ak Bars Kazan 0 Avangard Omsk 2 (0-0, 0-2, 0-0)
Avangard’s winning streak moved to 11 games with a shut-out success in Kazan. The result leaves the two teams tied on 80 points; they lie fifth and sixth in the Eastern Conference, a point behind Avtomobilist.
Although the first period was goalless, there were early signs that the Hawks had the edge here. Avangard outshot Ak Bars 15-5 after an enterprising 20 minutes. The pressure started in the first minute when Konstantin Okulov and Reid Boucher tested Timur Bilyalov, but it couldn’t break the deadlock.
When the opening goal arrived in 22nd minute there was an element of fortune about it. Nikolai Prokhorkin brought a counterattack down the left and when he drilled the puck towards the slot it deflected of defenseman Daniil Zhuravlyov’s stick and into the net.
Zhuravlyov’s problems continued when he took a penalty. Ak Bars almost snatched a short-handed goal through Ilya Safonov, but the bulk of the scoring chances were still going to the visitor. Bilyalov denied Giovanni Fiore during the power play, then Nail Yakupov saw his shot unwittingly deflected onto the post by a Kazan skate.
The pressure eventually delivered a second goal when Avangard forced a turnover in its own zone. In an instant, the visitor had a three-on-one rush: Semyon Chistyakov exchanged passes with Fiore before the forward finished the play.
In the third period, Ak Bars tried to force the pace in search of a way into the game. After six minutes, the home team was up 9-1 in shots – and had a power play. However, the Hawks’ PK did a great job at keeping the host at bay and gradually that fast start petered out. In the end, Avangard held its 2-0 lead to the end to maintain its red-hot streak as Nikita Serebryakov completed the shut-out.
Western playoff contenders complete
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 Spartak Moscow 0 (1-0, 0-0, 2-0)
A shut-out win over Spartak gave Torpedo the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Today’s win ends any prospect of Kunlun Red Star crashing the post season party. Spartak, meanwhile, lost ground in its battle to finish in the top four: Alexei Zhamnov’s team fell to a fourth straight loss on a day when its offense failed to fire.
Torpedo shaded the first period, and after 16 minutes the opening goal was greeted with great relief. A home counterattack saw Nikita Tertyshny pick his moment to line up a wrister. Dmitry Nikolayev stopped that effort, but Maxim Letunov reacted faster than the defense and put away the rebound.
In the second period the home team continued to enjoy the better of the game, but the session was more notable for penalties than for scoring chances. Between them, the teams were assessed 14 minutes of minors in an often scruffy session.
The final frame was a more even contest and there was increasing tension as the clock ticked down on a 1-1 game. In the 54th minute, Spartak was agonizingly close to a tying goal when Sergei Lukyantsev spotted an open corner of the Torpedo net and angled in a shot that dinged the crossbar.
A minute later, that tension was lifted: Yegor Vinogradov went around the back to set up Andrei Krutov in front of the net and that brought the all-important second goal. Spartak had a chance to salvage something when Nikita Shavin took a late penalty. But, despite playing six-on-four, the visitor allowed an empty net goal for Kirill Voronin to seal the deal.
Vityaz eases past Sochi
HC Sochi 0 Vityaz Moscow Region 5 (0-2, 0-2, 0-1)
As a tough season comes to an end for both these teams, Vityaz managed to snap its five-game skid at the expense of Sochi. Pavel Desyatkov’s team took a big step towards ensuring it won’t finish bottom of the Western Conference. With six games left for Sochi, the gap is now eight points.
The visitor got a significant lead midway through the first period. Alexei Makeyev opened the scoring then, a couple of minutes later, he turned provider for Matvei Zaseda to double the lead.
In the second period Vityaz produced another quickfire double burst of goals. Goalie Andrei Kareyev, on his way to a shut-out, collected an assist for Vladislav Tsitsyura’s breakaway effort, then Yaroslav Busygin made it 4-0 in the 25th minute. That was the end of Evgeny Volokhin’s time in the Sochi net; he was replaced by Nikita Tulinov.
For a long time, Tulinov denied Vityaz any further goals. However, he was beaten by Ivan Yezhov’s power play goal midway through the third period to make the final score 5-0.
Tolchinsky’s double paces SKA win
SKA St. Petersburg 4 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (1-2, 1-0, 2-0)
After Tuesday’s overtime win at CSKA halted SKA’s untimely skid, Roman Rotenberg’s team pulled off another striking result today. A 4-2 success against defending champion Metallurg was powered by two goals from Sergei Tolchinsky. They were his first since November and came in his 400th KHL game.
SKA made a good start and went ahead midway through the first period. Alexander Nikishin scored his 16th goal of the season, joining Semyon Chistyakov at the top of the goalscoring chart for defensemen. Almost immediately, Ivan Demidov was close to doubling the lead but failed to beat Ilya Nabokov from close range.
However, Metallurg hit back as the intermission approached. Dmitry Silantyev scored twice in three minutes to give the visitor a lead to take into the second period.
Other SKA teams might have folded at this point. But the confidence boost that came from winning in Moscow has apparently galvanized a talented but fragile squad. When visiting captain Yegor Yakovlev sat for tripping midway through the second period, it took just seven seconds to convert the power play. Tolchinsky was the scorer, surging to the net to put away Arseny Gritsyuk’s feed to slot.
At the start of the third period, SKA managed to generate some extended pressure on Nabokov’s net. And that brought a go-ahead goal for Valentin Zykov in the 43rd minute. Mikhail Vorobyov released Zykov down the left and he got away from Daniil Palivko to shoot home. And three minutes later Tolchinsky potted his second of the game to create some breathing space for the home team.
He came close to a hat-trick a couple of minutes later, spinning away from two defensemen and firing in a shot that was stopped by understudy Metallurg goalie Alexander Smolin. Later, Gritsyuk hit the post before Magnitka began to generate offense in the closing stages. Ultimately, though, SKA was able to close out the game and take a 4-2 win.
