Loko too strong for CSKA. March 19 round-up

Lokomotiv celebrated its status as regular season champion with a victory on the road at CSKA in Wednesday’s big game in the KHL. Today’s other action saw Metallurg edge an exciting battle with Admiral on the day that three club legends were honored for their achievements in the KHL.

Magnitka recovers to sink Admiral in a shoot-out

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5 Admiral Vladivostok 4 SO (1-1, 1-3, 2-0, 0-0, 1-0)

Magnitka had to rally from 2-4 to save this game and grab a shoot-out victory. The defending champion returned to second in the Eastern Conference, while Admiral reclaimed seventh place from Sibir.

Before the game, three Metallurg legends were presented with medals from the KHL. Sergei Mozyakin, Vasily Koshechkin and Evgeny Biryukov were all recognized for their record-breaking careers – whether in terms of scoring goals, stopping goals or epic longevity.

The early stages saw Metallurg on top. The home team dominated play, got the first power play of the night and was denied an opening goal by the post. However, Admiral was the first to strike when Daniil Gutik squeezed a shot past Ilya Nabokov from a dead angle.

Magnitka responded effectively. An Admiral power play went astray, and Dmitry Silantyev tied the game on the counter after some good work from Troy Josephs.

However, the second period began badly for the home team. Nikita Soshnikov restored Admiral’s lead after 38 seconds, prompting Andrei Razin to replace Nabokov with Alexander Smolin. However, the new goalie lasted just 41 seconds before he was beaten by Libor Sulak and the Sailors led 3-1.

Daniil Vovchenko pulled one back on the power play, and for a time it seemed that ill-discipline would undermine the visitor. However, two subsequent power plays brought no further scoring  and late in the frame Stepan Starkov restored Admiral’s two-goal advantage.

Metallurg needed a strong start to the third period, and got it thanks to Robin Press. The Swedish defenseman caught Andrei Mishurov by surprise with an early shot that had him pinned to the paint and powerless to prevent a breakaway goal.

Midway through the third, Josephs tied the game on the power play, converted a feed from Valery Orekhov. And there were chances for the home team to win it in regulation as Roman Kantserov and Vovchenko both went close.

In the end, it went to a shoot-out. For the second game in a row, Josephs and Luke Johnson were on target for Metallurg, while Smolin stopped four out of five attempts at the other end.

Loko too strong for CSKA

CSKA Moscow 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 (0-0, 0-2, 1-1)

Table-topping Lokomotiv eased to a third win in four games on the road at CSKA. The home team missed the chance to climb to third in the Western Conference, remaining level on points with cross-town rival Spartak, and just one clear of fifth-placed Dinamo Minsk.

There was little between the teams in a goalless first period. CSKA got a good start, helped by a second-minute penalty for Yegor Surin. However, Lokomotiv grew into the game and had a power play chance of its own when Nikita Nesterov took a double minor for high sticks in the 13th minute.

That extended power play did not achieve much, but at the start of the second period the Railwaymen got a PP goal. Artur Kayumov fired in a low shot from the circle, and Maxim Beryozkin got the touch to take it away from Ivan Prosvetov in the home net. Ilya Vorobyov believed his goalie was impeded, but his bench challenge came to nothing and gave Lokomotiv another power play right away.

Indeed, CSKA had trouble keeping out of the box early in the second period and as a result the home team struggled to take play away from its net. That brought a second Loko tally in the 35th minute. Alexander Yelesin saw one shot saved, but followed up with another and Alexander Polunin steered it in at the back door. That was Polunin’s 100th KHL goal.

If CSKA was hoping to turn things around at the start of the final stanza, Lokomotiv was in no mood to let its lead slip. The visitor began the third period on the front foot, with Prosvetov forced into repeated saves to keep his team in the game. It wasn’t long before pressure brought another Loko power play. Byron Froese thought he’d scored while Takhir Mingachyov sat out a minor, but a video review ruled otherwise and it remained 2-0.

The home team began to pose more questions after returning to full strength. However, for the most part Daniil Isayev faced efforts from the perimeter rather than serious threats from the slot.

However, Isayev was beaten in the 54th minute as Denis Guryanov gave CSKA a way back into the game. Ruslan Iskhakov won a battle on the boards and got the puck to Yegor Afanasyev. He instantly fired it to Guryanov in the center for a powerful one-timer to make it 1-2.

But there would be no way back for the Muscovites. Despite CSKA pressure in the closing stages, a Lokomotiv breakaway saw Alexei Bereglazov restore that two-goal lead in the 57th minute.