Hawks join leaders; Ak Bars, Salavat drop to the basement

Avangard’s overtime win over Salavat Yulaev lifted the Hawks to the top of the Eastern Conference alongside Traktor, which won 2-0 at Avtomobilist. However, Ufa slipped to the foot of the standings where it is level on three points with Ak Bars, 1-2 losers at home to Neftekhimik. Elsewhere, Sibir moved off the foot of the conference with a shoot-out success at Amur and Admiral recorded a second successive shut-out in a 4-0 triumph against Shanghai Dragons. 

Shoot-out win lifts Sibir out of basement

Amur Khabarovsk 3 Sibir Novosibirsk 4 SO (1-0, 1-1, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1)

For the second time this week, there was drama in Khabarovsk. Today, though, things went against the home team. Sibir recovered from a 0-2 loss in Vladivostok to claim a shoot-out verdict over Amur.



The Tigers recalled Yaroslav Dyblenko and Cam Lee on defense. Sibir also made changes, most notably recalling Fyodor Gordeyev and Kirill Passkazov.
It didn’t take long for the opening goal to arrive. Oleg Li put Amur in front in the fourth minute on a delayed penalty. That extends Li’s productive streak to five games. Sibir continued to create chances, but in common with much of its early season form, found the puck stubbornly refused to go into the net.
That changed in the middle frame when Vladislav Kara’s precise shot off Nikita Soshnikov’s feed tied the game in the 28th minute. However, it wasn’t long before Alex Galchenyuk restored Amur’s lead.

Sibir began the third period with a goal from Arkhip Nekolenko to tie the game. And the visitor had hopes of taking the win in regulation when Scott Wilson put it up for the first time in the 56th minute. However, Ignat Korotkikh tied the scores to force the game into overtime.

The extras produced few scoring chances, even though Sibir finished the frame on the power play. It took an extended shoot-out to settle the outcome, with Vladimir Tkachyov potting the winner for Sibir. The victory moves Vadim Yepanchintsev’s team off the foot of the Eastern Conference; improbably, Salavat Yulaev and Ak Bars are currently adrift of the rest.

Back-to-back shut-outs for Sailors

Admiral Vladivostok 4 Shanghai Dragons 0 (0-0, 2-0, 2-0)

The Sailor celebrated a second successive shut-out. After blanking Sibir 2-0 in the previous game, Admiral enjoyed a 4-0 success over Shanghai, avenging a shoot-out loss at this opponent earlier in the season.



After suffering a 4-5 loss in Khabarovsk, Shanghai Dragons made four changes for the second game of its Far East excursion. Patrik Rybar returned in goal, and Alexander Burmistrov, Ivan Chekhovich and Yegor Chezganov joined the offense.

The visitor had the better of the first period. Spencer Foo hit the post, Max Ellis saw his close-range effort blocked by Adam Huska and another attack saw a massed effort to force the puck over the line. All of that came to naught, and the game was goalless at the first intermission.

Huska pulled off a blocker save at the start of the second to deny Chezganov, but then the home team showed the way to goal. Semyon Koshelev produced a fine redirect to steer Mario Grman’s effort beyond Rybar. Then, within five minutes, Stepan Starkov forced a turnover and set up Pavel Shen for a one-timer to double the lead. The Dragons tried to respond, but not even a power play could unlock the Admiral defense.

As expected, Shanghai made a lively start to the third period and Ellis was the second visiting player to ring the iron. Then Admiral again proved more clinical as Semyon Ruchkin made it 3-0 before Alexander Daryin sealed the verdict. 

Okulov ends Omsk’s home stand on a high

Avangard Omsk 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 OT (0-1, 2-0, 0-1, 1-0)

Konstantin Okulov’s power play goal gave Avangard an overtime win in the final game of its opening home stand. After dropping a 1-2 verdict to Ak Bars in the first game, the Hawks have reeled off four straight wins to share top spot in the East with Metallurg and Traktor.



However, it took some effort to subdue a Salavat Yulaev team that slipped to the foot of the standings after Sibir’s win. The visitor made the better start on both sides of the puck and denying Avangard a shot on goal for more than 10 minutes. Reward came in the 17th minute when Alexander Chyorny broke down the wing and fired past Andrei Mishurov in the home net.

There was little chance for Omsk to hit back, so effective was Ufa’s defensive game. Yet, out of nowhere, Artyom Blazhievsky found a wrist shot that beat Alexander Samonov to tie the game in the 26th minute.

Inspired by that breakthrough, Avangard raised its game and soon forged ahead. Nikolai Prokhorkin’s feed from behind the net found Dmitry Rashevsky on the slot and the former Dynamo man made no mistake.

Early in the third, Igor Martynov should have added a third when he got clear of the defense, took Samonov out of the game, but saw the puck slip off his stick at the crucial moment. Soon after, Mikhail Gulyayev coughed up the puck in center ice and Maxim Kuznetsov raced away to tie the scores.
Late in the third period, Avangard got on the power play. The home team could not grab a winner in regulation, but at the start of the extras Andrew Poturalski’s insightful pass set up Okulov for a one-timer that settled the outcome.  

Driedger denies Avtomobilist

Avtomobilist 0 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (0-0, 0-0, 0-2)

Chris Driedger produced a game-winning display to secure his first KHL shut-out as Traktor enjoyed its best performance of the season to date in Yekaterinburg. The home team, meanwhile, has greater worries: captain Nikita Tryamkin is on the injured list, with head coach Nikolai Zavarukhin complaining that both the nature of the problem and the likely recovery time are currently unclear. In Tryamkin’s absence, Kirill Vorobyov was named captain.



It took some time for the teams to get their attacking players into action. The early stages got bogged down in center ice and it wasn’t until the sixth minute that either team created a genuine chance. That saw Avtomobilist get a two-on-one rush, but Daniil Karpovich put the chance wide. As the game progressed, the Motormen were more inclined to shoot, while Traktor was better able to get play to the opposition zone, albeit with little tangible reward.

Midway through the period things perked up, largely thanks to an improved performance from the visitor. Avto’s defensemen were stretched, but largely contained the danger; Grigory Dronov’s shot against the bar was the closest we came to a goal.

In the second period, Semyon Kizimov had a great chance to open the scoring for the home team, but could not find the target when well placed. Nonetheless, that opened the game a little, but too often the final shot was wayward. Driedger found himself firmly placed on his crease to repel Avto’s efforts from the slot and kept his net intact.

The third period began with a needless O-zone penalty on Josh Leivo, but Traktor ultimately benefitted more. Avtomobilist looked lukewarm on the power play and it finished up with Andrei Nikonov forcing a turnover and heading off on the counter with Yegor Korshkov before putting the visitor in front in the 43rd minute. Later, Reid Boucher had a similar chance to pot a short-handed goal after beating Driedger; he failed to find the target and Traktor survived.
In the closing stages, Zavarukhin tried to force matters by switching to six skaters with almost three to play, but in Evgeny Alikin’s absence Traktor won possession and Korshkov settled the outcome with an empty net goal.

Quickfire double decides derby

Ak Bars Kazan 1 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (0-0, 0-0, 1-2)

The first Tatarstan derby of the season goes to Neftekhimik thanks to a pair of quickfire goals in the third period. The Wolves handed Ak Bars a fourth loss in five games as the traditional powerhouse continues to stutter at the start of the season.



For two goalless periods, there was little to separate the teams. Ak Bars managed more shots on goal (28-17), but there was no such territorial advantage and the home team blocked 11 shots at Timur Bilyalov.

However, everything changed at the start of the third period. Ilya Karpukhin was assessed a tripping minor on 44:12, and Neftekhimik converted the power play. Danil Yurtaikin’s backhand pass sent the puck towards the blue line; Artyom Serikov stepped forward to smash home a shot from mid-range.

Four seconds after the goal, Ak Bars was short-handed again after Grigory Denisenko’s foul. And Neftekhimik needed just 15 seconds to take that chance, with Yurtaikin getting on the end of a great pass from Vladislav Barulin to score at the back door.

Just 19 seconds of game time separated the two goals, and the lead was too great for Ak Bars to claw back. The home team had its own power play chances, but could not convert after Ilya Pastukhov’s interference on 52 minutes. Another opportunity persuaded Anvar Gatiyatulin to play six-on-four, and Alexander Barabanov pulled a goal back on 55:59. But that was the end of the scoring as Neftekhimik closed out a third successive victory under Igor Grishin.