Nine-in-a-row for Dinamo. March 9 round-up

Sunday’s only KHL action saw Dinamo Minsk beat Kunlun 4-2 to record a ninth successive victory. That run of form has the Belarusians up to third in the Western Conference, just two points behind second-placed Dynamo Moscow and level with CSKA. 

Dinamo Minsk 4 Kunlun Red Star 2 (0-0, 3-2, 1-0)

Although this game was a dead rubber for Red Star, there was still plenty of fight early on. Visiting defenseman Adam Clendening laid a huge hit on Alexander Volkov in the sixth minute, and the home forward reacted angrily. First, he blindsided Luke Lockhart, then got into a fight with the Dragons’ forward while Nicolas Meloche went to remonstrate with Clendening. The upshot was two game penalties for Volkov, a fighting major for Lockhart and double minors for the two other protagonists.

Red Star made the most of its power play, dominating the first-period play. However, despite chance for Danny O’Regan and Tyler Graovac, it couldn’t score.

Early in the second, Dinamo showed how it was done: Kristian Khenkel fired home the opening after 22 minutes. But the Dragons learned fast and got in front on two goals in 90 seconds. O’Regan tied it up before Stepan Zvyagin made it 2-1 in the 27th minute. Zvyagin is a Dinamo player on loan at KRS; the 20-year-old gave his host club something to think about with that play.

The lead didn’t last. Dinamo tied it up in the 36th minute through Daniil Sotishvili and a goal that survived a bench challenge for interference on goalie Jeremy Smith. Kunlun killed the subsequent power play, but couldn’t get to the intermission on level terms. Vadim Shipachyov struck in the 39th minute to give Minsk a 3-2 lead.

In the third period, Dinamo did a good job of keeping Red Star at arm’s length. The visitor only managed five shots at Vasily Demchenko amid some solid defense. Hopes of a late surge were undermined when O’Regan was assessed a slashing minor in the 56th minute and the Bison converted the penalty thanks to Vadim Moroz. A 4-2 lead with less than three to play was easy enough for Minsk to secure and Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team reeled off a ninth successive win.