Wins for last season’s finalists, visitors on top in Moscow

Traktor got its first win of the season thanks to a last-minute goal at Neftekhimik. Last season’s champion Lokomotiv had a more comfortable 4-1 scoreline at home to Neftekhimik. Dynamo Moscow suffered a second successive loss, blowing a 2-0 lead before falling to Sochi, and across town Spartak could not score on Dinamo Minsk in a 0-3 loss. Barys continued its promising start with a second successive win, edging Amur in a shoot-out. 

Second win for Barys

Barys Astana 4 Amur Khabarovsk 3 SO (0-1, 3-1, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)

A shoot-out success over Amur makes it back-to-back wins for Barys at the start of the season. That’s a promising sign for the team that finished bottom of last season’s standings. Amur suffered its first loss after winning its opening 2-0 in Novosibirsk on Sunday.

But the home team had a real struggle to win this game, recovering from 0-2 then letting a 3-2 lead slip before getting it done in the shoot-out.

The first period was hard-fought, with the teams spending much of their time battling in center ice. There were many turnovers and few chances; as the intermission approached it seemed destined to finish goalless. However, with seven seconds left on the clock, Oleg Li surprised Andrei Shutov with a shot from the right-hand circle.

And the next goal arrived 51 seconds after the restart, with Sergei Dubakin making it two goals in as many games after a defensive breakdown presented him with the chance.

Those two quick goals got tempers flaring; both teams took penalties and it wasn’t long before matters bubbled over into a fight. Tyce Thompson, one of the new signings for Barys, dropped the gloves for the first time in the KHL as he tangled with Kirill Urakov. That may have been the jolt his team needed: Reilly Walsh soon pulled a goal back.

The next shift saw Amur hit the post as suddenly there were chances all over the ice. But Barys forged the better of them, with Kirill Savitsky reacting smartly to a rebound in the 33rd minute and tying the game before Emil Galimov’s first goal for his new club gave the home team the lead at the second intermission.

However, Amur hit back at the start of the third. Kirill Petkov was the scorer, but this play was all about a fabulous feed from Ignat Korotkikh. Once the teams were tied again, the tempo dropped and, as in the first period, chances were hard to come back. It was little surprise that the game went to overtime, but after a sterile conclusion to regulation the extras proved more watchable if no more productive.

In the event, Savitsky potted the decided in the shoot-out, despite seeming to lose control of the puck on his approach to Maxim Dorozhko’s net.

Grigorenko grabs late winner

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 (1-0, 0-0, 2-4)

A last-minute goal from Mikhail Grigorenko secured Traktor its first win of the season after an entertaining game in Nizhnekamsk. The home team took an early lead and held it until an action-packed third period saw the visitor open, then lose, a 3-1 advantage.

Last season’s runner-up has made an unconvincing start this term, and Traktor’s problems continued early in this game. Neftekhimik opened the scoring after 76 seconds when Vladislav Barulin touched Ilya Pastukhov’s point shot into the net. Subsequently, Traktor had more of the game and put plenty of pressure on Fillip Dolganov’s net. However, despite two power plays, there was no way through and Neftekhimik held its lead to the first intermission.

In the second period, Neftekhimik got a five-on-three power play early on. That set the tone for a session where the home team had the initiative. This time, it was Chris Dreidger’s turn to be busy but, like Dolganov before him, he dealt with the workload well.

Things turned around at the start of the third. Vasily Glotov scored twice in the space of a minute to put Traktor up. Then Grigorenko scored his first of the game to make it 3-1 on 47:45. The visitor had scored three goals in 2:46 and Neftekhimik called a time-out to try to calm things down.

That seemed to do the trick for Igor Grishin’s team. The flow of Traktor goals was halted, and the fightback began. Damir Zhafyarov pulled one back in the 52nd minute, then Bulat Shafigullin tied the scores with three minutes to play. But in the last minute, Traktor grabbed the winner. Jordan Gross knocked the puck in from the point, Alexander Kadeikin’s shot was padded away but Grigorenko was on hand to tuck away the rebound for his second of the night.

Fucale blanks Spartak on Dinamo debut

Spartak Moscow 0 Dinamo Minsk 3 (0-2, 0-1, 0-0)

The Belarusians had to wait longer than most to start their season, but an opening night shut-out at Spartak made it all worthwhile. The Red-and-Whites were unable to build on a 4-3 win over Sochi.

That win brought chances to Spartak’s defense. Joey Keane was scratched and Veniamin Korolyov took his place alongside Andrei Mironov on the first pair. Nikita Yefremov was in the third pair and 17-year-old debutant Vsevolod Matveyev was the seventh D-man.

Spartak got an early power play, but could not find a way past Zach Fucale in his first KHL appearance for Dinamo. It wasn’t long before the visitor punished that failure. Two quick goals midway through the opening frame gave Minsk a strong position. Sergei Kuznetsov opened the scoring, and 40 seconds later Alex Limoges celebrated a goal on his KHL debut. The 27-year-old American was a proven goalscorer in the AHL, which persuaded Dinamo to bring him to Belarus this summer.  

The opening frame ended with a threatening power play from Spartak. Ivan Morozov and Pavel Poryadin went close, but neither could reduce the deficit. Instead, Dinamo showed how it should be done in the second period, potting a power play goal in the 29th minute thanks to Sam Anas. There was almost a repeat of the first period’s double salvo: Yegor Borikov put away the rebound from a Daniil Lipsky shot, but a bench challenge saw that one called back.

It didn’t prevent Alexei Zhamnov from replacing starting goalie Artyom Zagidullin with Dmitry Nikolayev. That change brought some success, in that Dinamo did not score again. However, it could not inspire a change of fortune at the other end. Not even a major penalty called on Minsk’s Vadim Shipachyov, which left the visitor shorthanded for the last minutes of the middle frame, could help Spartak get back into it.

Back at full strength in the third, Dinamo continued to press rather than sitting on a 3-0 lead. And Spartak rarely looked like turning things around: instead of a late surge, a penalty on Nikita Korostelyov ensured that the game ended with the visitor comfortably in control.

Convincing result for Loko

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Severstal Cherepovets 1 (1-0, 1-1, 2-0)

Defending champion Lokomotiv recorded a convincing scoreline against Severstal, but the final result did not entirely reflect the game. The visitor arrived with a 5-0 victory at Neftekhimik in the bank, and gave Loko plenty to think about but failed to make the most of its chances.

That said, this game was evenly-poised in the first period. The teams produced an even battle, but in the closing stages Alexander Radulov put Lokomotiv in front. The veteran forward was in the perfect place on the slot to stuff the puck home after Georgy Ivanov had redirected Alexei Bereglazov’s point shot.

The Railwaymen added to that lead at the start of the second period. Alexander Volkov attacked down the right before dishing the puck off to Rushan Rafikov at the point. The defenseman’s shot was too good for Alexander Samoilov and Loko looked to be in control.

But Severstal got a lifeline when Martin Gernat went to the box for holding. The Lynx could not convert the power play, but kept up the momentum and pulled goal back on 24:56 through Yanni Kaldis. And the visitor shaded the play in the middle frame without finding a way to tie the scores.

Lokomotiv continued to live dangerously at the start of the third. But after killing Byron Froese’s penalty, the home team began to resume control of the play. Yegor Surin scored for the second game in a row, assisted by Radulov, to make it 3-1 in the 48th minute.

There was more drama to come as Severstal twice came close to scoring. In the 53rd minute, the visitor had the puck in Daniil Isayev’s net but Kirill Tankov’s effort was called back following a bench challenge. As the on-loan forward stuffed the puck over the line, the officials found that Kaldis was obstructing the goalie. A minute later, Isayev was in the spotlight again. He was assessed a penalty shot for throwing his stick, but redeemed himself by saving Ilya Ivantsov’s effort.

After that, penalty trouble undermined Severstal’s hopes of a fightback. In the final minute the visitor was down to three skaters and Lokomotiv took advantage with a goal from Maxim Shalunov to seal the win. 

Sochi rallies from 0-2, wins in shoot-out

Dynamo Moscow 2 HC Sochi 3 SO (0-0, 2-0, 0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

The uncertain start to the season continues for Dynamo Moscow. Beaten 6-2 by CSKA in the opening game, Alexei Kudashov’s team blew a winning position here to lose to Sochi.

After edging a goalless first period, the home team got in front in the 22nd minute thanks to a power play goal. Daniil Pylenkov was the scorer, firing home from the left-hand circle after the puck emerged from a scramble on the boards.

That gave the home team a boost and the second period saw Dynamo in the ascendancy. Pressure brought a second goal in the 40th minute, with Kirill Adamchuk on target for the second game in a row. His shot from the blue line came at Pavel Khomchenko through traffic and the Sochi goalie saw it too late to react.

But if the home crowd was expecting a comfortable third period, it was rudely awakened by Sergei Popov’s goal early in the session. Despite that, Dynamo could have finished the job if it had made anything of two more power play chances midway through the session. Sochi’s PK came up big to keep the game alive, and the Leopards were rewarded late on.

Now it was Dynamo’s turn for penalty trouble and a five-on-three power play saw Timur Khafizov tie the game in the 57th minute. The extras saw the Blue-and-Whites press for a winner, but despite pinning Sochi in its zone nobody could find the decisive shot.

Instead we went to a shoot-out and while Khomchenko denied Anton Slepyshev and Nikita Gusev, Khafizov and Danil Avershin were on target for Sochi.