Metallurg beats former head coach, Ak Bars scores six on Traktor. March 12 round-up
Two Eastern Conference giants enjoyed significant wins on Wednesday. Metallurg beat CSKA 4-2 as Ilya Vorobyov suffered a losing return to his former club. Then Ak Bars thumped Traktor 6-2 despite a lacrosse goal from Maxim Shabanov. That result saw Anvar Gatiyatulin mastermind a victory over his former employer. The day’s other action brought a 4-2 win for Spartak at Lada.
No happy return for Vorobyov
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 CSKA Moscow 2 (1-0, 1-1, 2-1)
The Steelmen climbed to third in the Eastern Conference thanks to victory over CSKA. For visiting head coach Ilya Vorobyov, this was his first game in Magnitogorsk since his departure from Metallurg in April 2023 – but it was no happy homecoming to the arena where he won two Gagarin Cups.
CSKA found itself under pressure early on with Ruslan Iskhakov taking a delay of game penalty. However, Metallurg could not make much of its power play, and when he returned to the ice Iskhakov was close to opening the scoring at the other end. CSKA looked better at equal strength, although Metallurg posed questions on the counter. The opening goal came towards the end of the first period when a routine shot from Dmitry Moiseyev surprisingly got through Dmitry Gamzin’s glove to give Metallurg the lead.
The Muscovites began the second period well, with Vladislav Kamenev forcing a good save from Ilya Nabokov. The pressure continued, and in the 32nd minute Yegor Afanasyev tied the scores when he came from behind the net, evaded Yegor Yakovlev and found the far corner of the net.
Metallurg was limited to counterattacks, but that was enough to regain the lead before the second intermission. Nikita Mikhailis went one-on-one with Gamzin after a great feed from Alexander Petunin and beat the goalie on his blocker side.
At the start of the third, more Metallurg counterpunches left CSKA reeling. Moiseyev tested Gamzin, then the next shift saw Denis Zernov shoot over the glove to make it 3-1. The home team didn’t rest on that lead and worked hard to move the play away from its own zone. It wasn’t until the closing minutes that CSKA again took control of the play.
That late momentum switch was triggered by a power play when Zernov was penalized in the 54th minute. Although the visitor could not convert that opportunity, it continued to press and grasped a lifeline in the 58th minute when Nikita Nesterov thundered in a point shot to make it a one-goal game. However, there would be no late drama: Metallurg withstood a final onslaught, then sealed the win on Luke Johnson’s empty-net goal in the last second.
Spartak too strong for lowly Lada
Lada Togliatti 2 Spartak Moscow 4 (0-2, 0-1, 2-1)
Spartak recorded back-to-back wins and drew level on points with fourth-placed Dinamo Minsk as the battle for position ahead of the playoffs continues. Lada, already eliminated in the East, suffered an eighth loss in nine games.
This game was effectively done at the second intermission. Spartak dominated the early exchanges and was good value for a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes. The visitor made a fast start, with Pavel Tkachenko opening the scoring in the third minute. He reacted first after Andrei Mironov’s point shot was blocked and fired the puck past Konstantin Volkov. The home goalie’s evening did not improve: on 4:51 he was called back to the bench after Ansel Galimov made it 2-0.
After that disastrous start, Lada tried to get back into the game. There was a decent chance for Maxim Berezin, but Dmitry Nikolayev made the save. Similarly, the home team got the first power play of the night but could not take advantage.
In the second period, Spartak tightened its grip. The visitor had double the number of shots on goal and extended its lead midway through the session through Daniil Orlov. Adam Ruzicka and Ivan Morozov also offered a constant threat. The latter was part of the fourth goal, scored by Nikolai Goldobin at the start of the third period. Goldobin returned after a week’s absence to help Spartak win at Ak Bars on Monday and his presence seems to have restored some venom to the Muscovites’ offense.
With that, the game was settled. However, there was time for a consolation for Lada when Andrei Altybarmakyan scored with five to play. That persuaded Alexei Zhamnov to give 18-year-old goalie Yaroslav Kuzmenko his first taste of KHL action, with Nikolayev no longer able to claim a shut-out. Kuzmenko was beaten by Mikhail Fisenko during a five-on-three power play, but the result was never in doubt.
Jaskin, Galimov at the double for Ak Bars
Ak Bars Kazan 6 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (0-0, 4-2, 2-0)
Recent form raised questions about Ak Bars: Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team had won just four in 12 since the All-Star weekend. As a result, it dropped to sixth in the Eastern Conference. A playoff place is secure, but there were legitimate doubts about form and confidence as the season heads into its decisive phase.
Several of those questions were answered today as Ak Bars thumped conference leader Traktor – a doubly satisfying result for Gatiyatulin against his former club.
The visitor arrived on the back of a 6-0 win at Lada which extended its streak to four games. And that inspired a busy start from Traktor, moving the puck effectively and producing more work for home goalie Timur Bilyalov. Yet the first dangerous moment of a goalless first period went to Ak Bars after five minutes when Kirill Semyonov produced a great cross-ice pass to open a shooting lane for Nikita Lyamkin. Zach Fucale had the answer to that one.
There was no shortage of good attacking play despite the lack of goals. At the start of the second period, the teams remedied that shortage. Ak Bars jumped to a 2-0 lead, and Traktor quickly cancelled it out – all in the first six minutes of the session.
The home team scored off its first two shots of the middle stanza. Dmitrij Jaskin opened the scoring in the 21st minute, then played an important role screening Fucale as Mitch Miller fired home on the power play three minutes later.
Traktor’s response was immediate: just 14 seconds later, Maxim Shabanov pulled one back with a spectacular lacrosse goal. Then on 25:27, Steven Kampfer scored on his former club to tie the game.
Having built and blown a lead, Ak Bars went out to do it all again. Shabanov got his stick off the ice again midway through the frame, but this time he took a high-sticking penalty and Artyom Galimov converted the power play. Late in the frame, Jaskin’s second of the night made it 4-2 going to the intermission.
Despite the two-goal margin, Traktor had largely matched Ak Bars thus far. However, a major penalty on Logan Day at the start of the third period handed the home team a crucial advantage. Not only did the power play deliver its third goal of the night – Alexander Barabanov making it 5-2 in the 46th minute – it also ate up a big chunk of time for Traktor to launch any kind of fightback. The visitor didn’t raise the white flag, but rarely looked like saving the game. Galimov scored again in the 52nd minute to complete the job.
