Admiral’s playoff spot secure, Spartak on the rise in the West. March 16 round-up
Lada’s 7-1 thrashing of Neftekhimik – which featured two shorthanded goals on the same penalty kill – confirmed that Admiral is the seventh playoff qualifier from the Eastern Conference. Neftekhimik can still overhaul Sibir, but cannot afford to lose another game in regulation this season. Elsewhere, five-point games from Alexander Sharov and Semyon Kizimov led Avtomobilist to victory over Sochi. Spartak recorded a third successive win, beating Severstal 4-2.
Sharov, Kizimov overwhelm Sochi
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 6 HC Sochi 3 (1-1, 4-2, 1-0)
Semyon Kizimov and Alexander Sharov had five points apiece as Avtomobilist enjoyed a big win over Sochi. Nikolai Zavarukhin again had to rely on the depth of his roster as illness ruled out several leading players. The only man to return after missing the win over Torpedo was Nick Merkley.
Sharov and Kizimov both had new roles compared with the previous game. Kizimov, who opened the scoring in that 2-1 victory was elevated to the second line; Sharov returned to his preferred role as a center alongside him and Brooks Macek.
And that line proved dominant as the Motormen sent Sochi to a ninth successive loss. It was quiet in the first period, when Stepan Khripunov gave the host an early lead before Amir Garayev tied it up midway through the session. But after that, it was involved in every Avtomobilist goal.
It started 22 seconds after the intermission when Sharov and Kizimov combined for Macek to make it 2-1. Within five minutes, it was 4-1, with Alexander and Semyon assisting on each other’s goals.
Sochi threatened to make a game of it. Playing four-on-four, Nikita Baklashyov scored his first KHL goal. Then Daniil Seroukh got it back to 3-4 in the 29th minute of an entertaining game.
Those two quick goals prompted Zavarukhin to swap his goalies. Evgeny Alikin came into the game to replace Vladimir Galkin and it wasn’t long before Kizimov burst into the Sochi zone and set up Sharov’s second goal of the game. That made it 5-3 at the second intermission.
During that pause, Sergei Zubov switched his goalies, with Nikita Tulinov replacing Evgeny Volokhin. However, Sochi was unable to raise much of a challenge and the final stanza looked like it would be a goalless coda until a late home power play saw Sharov get his fifth point, helping Kizimov to make it 6-3 with 20 seconds left. The two forwards finished with 2+3 each, their team moves closer to securing a top-four finish in the East.
Shorthanded double shoots down Neftekhimik
Lada Togliatti 7 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (2-1, 2-0, 3-0)
This crushing loss for Neftekhimik secured Admiral’s playoff place. The Wolves are still in a race with Sibir for the eighth and final spot in the East, but must win all three games if they are to have any chance of making up the five-point gap to the Siberians.
It’s a tall order, especially after a demoralizing reverse against a team already eliminated from playoff contention. Previous results this season – in five prior meetings, Neftekhimik had won three and most games had been tight – gave little hint of this outcome. Nor did current form: Neftekhimik won its last three, while Lada had just one victory in nine games, and allowed 10 goals in its last two outings.
Yet this was a triumph for Togliatti. Anthony Camara opened a 2-0 lead for the host inside 10 minutes, although Vyacheslav Leshchenko quickly pulled a goal back. It was 2-1 at the first intermission, and felt like an even game.
However, everything changed on a Neftekhimik power play midway through the second period. During a session of few chances, a high sticking call against Alexei Ozhgikhin seemed to open the door for the visitor to take the initiative. Instead, Lada grabbed two short-handed goals. Nikita Mikhailov and Andrei Altybarmakyan pushed the lead to 4-1, and the Wolves had no answers.
In the third period, Lada also demonstrated that its power play could be effective. Camara already had one goal on the PP, and there were further markers from Mikhail Fisenko and Dmitry Kugryshev. Nikita Popugayev added a seventh at equal strength to complete a memorable win for the Motormen.
Red-and-Whites climb to third in the West
Spartak Moscow 4 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (2-0, 1-2, 1-0)
A third straight victory lifted Spartak to third in the Western Conference. The Red-and-Whites are level on points with fourth-placed CSKA and one clear of Dinamo Minsk. All three teams have three games left to play this season.
Severstal, meanwhile, fell to a third loss in four games. Seemingly poised to push for a top-four finish this term, Andrei Kozyrev’s team is stumbling down the home straight and remains seventh in the standings. A playoff place is secure, but the Steelmen seem short of form.
One factor in Spartak’s recent upswing is the return of Nikolai Goldobin. He missed a week of action, but has since contributed 3 (2+1) points to the current hot streak. Today he opened the scoring for the home team in the eighth minute when he converted Ivan Morozov’s breakaway. And, towards the end of the first period, Morozov got on the scoresheet himself when he fired home a loose puck to double the lead in the 18th minute.
Severstal responded at the start of the second period and Nikolai Chebykin reduced the deficit with a backhand effort. That was just what the visitor needed to revive the game and midway through the session it was 2-2. Mikhail Kotlyarevsky did a good job of keeping the attack alive then stepped up from the blue line to swing a pass to the slot, where Ruslan Abrosimov was waiting to finish it off.
But the game turned back in Spartak’s favor late in the second period. Morozov got involved again to set up Alexander Belyayev for the go-ahead goal in the 36th minute. Then the home team managed an effective penalty kill after Yegor Zaitsev was assessed a high-sticking minor. Once the home defenseman returned to the game, Severstal ran into penalty trouble of its own and the Muscovites enjoyed a five-on-three power play that straddled the second intermission.
And penalty trouble hindered the visitor’s hopes of saving the game. Spartak might have had a more comfortable third period if Pavel Tkachenko’s shot had crept just under the crossbar instead of rebounding to safety, but the home team defended well to keep Severstal at bay. And in the closing minutes, just as Kozyrev would have been preparing a last surge, penalties for Kirill Pilipenko and Ruslan Abrosimov slowed Severstal’s charge. It all ended with an empty-net goal for Andrei Loktionov to finish the job.
