Pinchuk hat-trick beats leader, defending champ wins four straight

Vitaly Pinchuk scored all three goals as Dinamo Minsk became the first team to beat Torpedo in regulation this season. The Belarusians move to third in the West after a 3-2 win in Minsk. Lokomotiv reeled off a fourth straight victory after edging Severstal 2-1, while Neftekhimik defeated Avtomobilist for the second time in four days. Three games went to overtime: Dynamo recorded a third successive win after Jordan Weal shot down Shanghai, Sochi edged a shoot-out after a 4-4 tie at Lada, leaving the home team winless in six, while Sibir recovered from 0-2 to hand Salavat Yulaev another loss.

Tkachyov opens account, helps Sibir past Salavat Yulaev

Sibir Novisibirsk 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 SO (0-1, 0-1, 2-0, 0-0, 1-0)

Vladimir Tkachyov’s first goal for Sibir helped secure a comeback win over Salavat Yulaev. The visitor welcomed back Alexei Vasilevsky on defense after he missed the start of the season through injury, but was playing without forward Alexander Chmelevski, who moved to Ak Bars yesterday.



Sibir came into the game without five players, including three centers. For two periods, it looked like that might be costly against an Ufa team rooted to the foot of the Eastern Conference. However, a fightback in the third period tied the game before Scott Wilson claimed a shoot-out winner.

Vasilevsky marked his return to action with an assist as Maxim Kuznetsov opened the scoring after 13 minutes. At the other end, Sibir twice failed to profit on the power play, with Kirill Rasskazov guilty of the most glaring miss of the session.

The second period started with home defenseman Chase Priskie putting a huge hit on Denis Yan. That was all within the rules, but Salavat Yulaev late had two power play chances. Neither of them brought a goal, although Kuznetsov spurned a great chance for his second of the night. And home goalie Anton Krasotkin was at his best once the teams were at equal strength, snuffing out an odd-man rush involving Yegor Suchkov and Jack Rodewald.

However, late in the session those two combined to double the lead, with Salavat’s Canadian forward scoring his first for the club in the 38th minute.
That left Sibir with work to do, especially after it was outshot 16-8 in the second frame. And the home team quickly got to work in the third. Alexei Yakovlev halved the deficit in the 42nd minute, redirecting Timur Akhiyarov’s shot past Alexander Samonov. Then came Tkachyov’s big moment, tying the game in the 45th minute despite a bench challenge for possible interference on the goalie. The visitor’s problems deepened late in the game as it lost first Yan then Gleb Kuzmin to injury.

In the extras, Salavat Yulaev failed to convert a power play and Rodewald hit the post. It went to a shoot-out, and Wilson potted the decisive attempt. 

Beaudin gets first points as Sochi snaps skid

Lada Togliatti 4 HC Sochi 5 SO (1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Troy Josephs potted the decisive penalty shot against his former club to halt Sochi’s three-game skid. For Lada, already in transition after replacing head coach Boris Mironov, this was a sixth successive loss.



However, the home team could at least celebrate its first point since the opening-day win over Avtomobilist after recovering from 1-3 and 2-4 to drag this game into the extras.

It took two goals in the last three minutes to save Lada from another regulation loss. Canadian forward Riley Sawchuk got his second of the game on 57:15, then Ivan Romanov’s first of the season tied it at 4-4 with a minute left to play. Romanov then took a penalty late in overtime, but although Sochi found the net that effort was ruled out for encroachment on the crease. Instead, it took a shoot-out and a Josephs winner to settle the outcome.

Earlier, Sochi seemed on track for a less stressful success. Noel Hoefenmayer put the Leopards in front in the first minute, but Lada cancelled that out midway through the first thanks to Josh Lawrence’s first for the club. The second period began with another first from an import: Sochi’s Jean-Christophe Beaudin got his first point of the season with an assist as Artur Tyanulin restored the lead. Five minutes later, Mark Verba made it 3-1 before Sawchuk’s first of the night got Lada back in touching distance.

A power play midway through the third saw Beaudin add his first goal to that earlier assist and restore Sochi’s two-goal advantage. But Lada’s late rush ensured a dramatic finish in Togliatti.
 

Wolves too strong for Avto again

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 5 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 (2-0, 2-0, 1-2)

For the second game in a row, Neftekhimik enjoyed a big win over Avtomobilist. On Sunday, the Wolves won 4-1 in Yekaterinburg; today they won 5-2 on home ice.



Two goals apiece from Evgeny Mityakin and Luka Profaca laid the foundations for this win. The victory moves Neftekhimik to 10 points, level with last season’s Gagarin Cup finalist Traktor, after five wins in six games.

In the first period, a combination of disciplined defense and clinical finishing helped the home team to a 2-0 lead. Avtomobilist had more time on the attack (5:16 vs 3:11) and had 19 attempts to Neftekhimik’s 17. However, the Wolves blocked seven shots and Filipp Dolganov only had seven saves to make amid good work from his defensive colleagues.

At the other end, Mityakin scored twice. He opened the scoring on 5:48 with his team’s first shot on goal in the game. Then, just as a Neftekhimik power play came to an end, he doubled the lead in the 13th minute. Danil Yurtaikin assisted on that one, moving to 10 points for the season.

After the intermission, the pattern of play didn’t much change. Again, Avtomobilist held the territorial advantage, but again Neftekhimik blocked shots consistently – 11 of them in the second period. And when chances came, the home team made the most of them. Profaca added a third midway through the game with a spectacular solo effort. The defenseman circled back into his own zone to retrieve the puck, cruised through center ice and advanced on the net to beat Evgeny Alikin at the second attempt.

Having waited seven games for his first goal of the season, Profaca needed just 10 minutes to get his second. This was a more conventional goal from a blue liner, joining the attack in time to pick up Matvei Nadvorny’s pass and sweep a shot into the net from the top of the circle.

Avtomobilist finally got on the scoreboard at the start of the third period when Reid Boucher set up Jesse Blacker for a power play goal. But a fightback was never on the cards and Damir Zhafyarov made it 5-1 in the 49th minute, scoring his second goal in as many games on this opponent. The game was done, but the Motormen found time for a consolation goal from Maxim Denezhkin in the last minute.

Surin keeps up hot streak to sink Severstal

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

These teams already met once in Yaroslavl, with the home team easing to a 4-1 win. Today, the game was tighter but the verdict went the same way as Lokomotiv took a 2-1 verdict. That extends the defending champion’s streak to four wins, while Severstal’s run of back-to-back victories is over.



Severstal had Danil Aimurzin back on the team after he was scratched for the previous two games. Nikolai Chebykin also returned.

From the opening moments, the visitor grabbed the puck and enjoyed plenty of time on the attack. Severstal built up a significant advantage in shots on goal, but a combination of Daniil Isayev and his defensemen kept the game goalless. At one point, on Loko’s second penalty kill, the goalie lost his stick but still managed to protect his net. At the other end, Alexander Samoilov made just four saves as the home offense rarely featured. 

That changed after the intermission. Lokomotiv improved and immediately started creating chances. Artur Kayumov could have scored, but fired straight at Samoilov when clear on goal. Instead, the opener went to Alexander Volkov with a well-taken goal.

After that, Severstal again took the initiative and generated some dangerous offense. However, its best chances came up short, denied first by Isayev, then by the crossbar.

The third period resembled the first, with Severstal once again enjoying plenty of time in front of Isayev’s net. However, this time it struggled to generate good looks at the goalie and then began to stray into penalty trouble. Lokomotiv looked to finish the job on the power play, only to be stung by a short-handed goal from Ilya Ivantsov.

The next power play brought another goal, and this time Lokomotiv restored its lead thanks to Yegor Surin. The young forward extended his productive streak to five games. Severstal’s hopes of finishing strongly were undermined by another penalty and Lokomotiv closed out the win – but not without a struggle.
 

Pinchuk’s treble beats Torpedo

Dinamo Minsk 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 (1-0, 2-2,0-0)

Vitaly Pinchuk’s hat-trick saw Dinamo claim a memorable win over Western Conference leader Torpedo. The Belarusians became the first team to defeat Alexei Isakov in regulation in a KHL game and move up to third in the west.



In its previous game, Dinamo could not score until overtime, when Sam Anas got the goal that beat Barys. Torpedo had a similarly low-scoring evening, suffering its first loss of the season in a 0-1 overtime reverse at Shanghai Dragons.

Today, though, the fans did not have to wait long for a goal. Dinamo got ahead in the eighth minute off a power play goal. Anas turned provider this time as Pinchuk potted his first of the night.

In the middle frame, the scoring came thick and fast. Mikhail Abramov drew Torpedo level, but within a minute Pinchuk had his second of the night. Anas, and in-form Alex Limoges, assisted as Minsk made it 2-1.

Nikita Shavin tied the game once more, but Dinamo got its second power play of the game when Vasily Atanasov was assessed a hooking minor, and Pinchuk completed his hat-trick.

It was 3-2 at the second intermission, and few would have bet against more goals in the third. Arguably, Dinamo deserved a more comfortable advantage after outshooting the visitor 29-13 through 40 minutes.

But the final frame brought no more scoring. Dinamo had a five-on-three advantage for a time, but could not rediscover the ruthless power play it showed earlier in the game. Torpedo showed more on offense, equalling the home team’s time on attack and enjoying a slight edge in shots on goal, but found no way past Zach Fucale in the Minsk net.

At the other end, Ivan Kulbakov made way for a sixth skater in the 58th minute with Torpedo on the power play. But neither six-on-four nor six-on-five could produce a tying goal as Dmitry Kvartalnov’s men held on for the win.

Weal silences Dragons’ roar

Dynamo Moscow 3 Shanghai Dragons 2 OT (2-2, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

There are signs that Dynamo’s slow start to the season is picking up pace. Back-to-back wins in the Far East last week were followed today by a third successive success in overtime at home to Shanghai Dragons.



Gerard Gallant’s team suffered on its recent Far East trip, but returned to edge a 1-0 overtime verdict against Torpedo. However, the new-look roster is taking time to gel and the Dragons’ results remain inconsistent.

Today, we saw the best and the worst of the Shanghai offense. The visitor made a slow start and took nine minutes to test Maxim Motorygin in the home net. Then Dynamo took the lead on a Cedric Paquette goal, only for the Dragons to remember where the target was. A Kirill Gotovets foul was the trigger: Nate Sucise converted the power play for his first goal in the KHL, then the American forward was involved again within a minute as Vladimir Kuznetsov made it 2-1.

Dynamo was rocked, but rallied with the help of a five-on-three power play. Dylan Sikura claimed his first of the season to take advantage and tie the game before the intermission.

Early in the second period, Shanghai got its own five-on-three chance but could not score. And once Dynamo was back at equal strength, Nikita Gusev slammed a shot into the post in the 27th minute. Subsequently, though, the Dragons looked much the stronger team. The third period, in particular, brought huge pressure on the home net. Motorygin pulled off 14 saves to keep his team level, while at the other end Patrik Rybar was a virtual spectator.

In overtime, too, Shanghai created the first chances. However, after yet another Motorygin save Gusev claimed possession and set off on a counterattack. Jordan Weal took over down the right wing and opted to shoot, beating Rybar to his far corner to win the game.