Clinical finishing. October 5 round-up
It’s not how many shots you take, it’s how good those shots are. Metallurg had four goals from 10 shots midway through its 6-2 win at Spartak, and finished with six off 21. Dynamo Moscow also had a great conversion rate, winning 4-1 at Torpedo with just 16 shots on goal. Sibir and Barys could learn something: they had no goals from 69 shots between them before the home team secured a shoot-out win. Elsewhere, there was success for Salavat Yulaev over Sochi (3-1) and Ak Bars over Amur by the same scoreline. CSKA beat Severstal 3-2 and Nikita Tertyshny gave Admiral an overtime verdict at Lada.
Winning start for Butsayev
Sibir Novosibirsk 1 Barys Astana 0 SO (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
After firing head coach Vadim Yepanchintsev and replacing him with Vyacheslav Butsayev, Sibir got an immediate boost. Butsayev’s debut brought a shoot-out victory, and over the Barys team he briefly coached last season.
However, the manner of the victory – which came after 65 goalless minutes against another team in the lower half of the Eastern Conference – suggests there is still plenty of hard work ahead in Novosibirsk.
Butsayev did not make big changes in personnel for today’s game. That meant Louis Domingue, who has struggled to settle as first-choice goalie, got the start and enjoyed a morale-boosting shut-out.
For Barys, import goalie Adam Schill was scratched in favor of Andrei Shutov. The visitor also got a boost with the return of Ivan Nikolishin and Roman Starchenko from injury. Starchenko missed the start of the season but now joins the elite list of just six players to feature in all 18 KHL campaigns since the league was founded.
The first period was evenly matched. Sibir had good opportunities for Sergei Shirokov and Nikita Soshnikov, with the latter hitting the post. Barys also caused problems, notably through the 39-year-old Starchenko and his colleague Alikhan Omirbekov.
Sibir skated rather better than in Yepanchintsev’s final game in Ufa. But that did not lead to any goals and, indeed, by the end of the second stanza it was largely thanks to Domingue that the scores remained tied. He made a further nine saves in the frame, and rode his luck when a wild bounce off the boards almost gifted the Kazakhs an unlikely goal.
The home team started the third period strongly but again failed to score and lost momentum after being assessed a too many men penalty. Sibir’s penalty kill did its job, but the home power play was never seen in today’s game.
The game went to a shoot-out after the goalies made 69 saves between them. Domingue remained unbeaten, while Soshnikov and Vladimir Tkachyov found the target at the other end.
Metallurg’s marksmen shoot to the summit
Spartak Moscow 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 6 (1-2, 0-2, 1-2)
Metallurg moves two points clear at the top of the overall standings thanks to a comfortable win at Spartak. Roman Kantserov and Nikita Mikhailis scored two apiece as Andrei Razin’s team dominated in the capital.
Kantserov’s two goals both came in the first period. He started early, opening the scoring on 5:52. By that time, Spartak had already had the first power play of the game and tested Alexander Smolin in the Magnitka net more than once – including an audacious lacrosse-style attempt from Alexander Belyayev. Kantserov’s opener came against the run of play and was one of just two shots at Artyom Zagidulin’s net by the middle of the first period.
Spartak’s pressure brought its reward when Danil Pivchulin tied the game after 15 minutes. However, Metallurg’s offense demonstrated that quality counts for more than quantity when it comes to scoring chances. Kantserov produced another great shot a couple of minutes later to give the visitor the lead at the first intermission.
In the middle frame, Metallurg kept it simple and got an early reward with a power play goal for Daniil Vovchenko. That chased Zagidulin from his net, but Dmitry Nikolayev did not enjoy much greater fortune. By the midway mark Mikhailis made it 4-1, firing home a Ruslan Isakhakov feed. That made it four goals from 10 shots for Magnitka.
The game was pretty much done, but Metallurg kept pushing for more goals. Mikhailis got his second, then collected his second assist of the night as Iskhakov made it 6-1. Nikolayev saved a Vladimir Tkachyov penalty shot late on, and there was still time for a late consolation tally from Pavel Poryadin. But this was all about Metallurg’s clinical finishing.
Signs of recovery in Ufa
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 HC Sochi 1 (1-0, 0-1, 2-0)
Ufa’s regular charity fundraising game generated 825,000 rubles for seriously ill children. And on the ice, the home team raised spirits with a 3-1 win over Sochi. That makes it back-to-back wins Salavat Yulaev after a run of six losses dumped the team to the foot of the Eastern Conference. The visitor lost for the third time in four and is beginning to drop behind the pace in 10th place in the West.
A fast start helped Salavat today: with just 32 seconds gone, Danil Alalykin made it 1-0. Sochi recovered and began to test Alexander Samonov in his 250th KHL game, but the home goalie neutralized the threats posed by Nikolai Polyakov and Timur Khafizov. At the other end, only the post denied Ufa another goal after an attempted clearance almost went disastrously wrong for the visitor.
In the second period, Sochi improved and looked more dangerous than its host. That resulted in Noel Hoefenmayer tying the game in the 34th minute, setting up an intriguing final frame.
But the start of the third brought a home power play and Canadian defenseman Wyatt Kalinyuk converted it for his first goal in the KHL. The 28-year-old was unexpectedly traded to Ufa after just two games for Ak Bars as part of the Alexander Chmelevski trade but seems to be settling into his new home well.
Back in front, Salavat Yulaev looked comfortable until a late penalty on Denis Yan. Sochi played six-on-four in a bid to save the game, but allowed an empty net goal for Nikita Zorkin from his own zone to put the outcome beyond reach.
Rejuvenated Tertyshny grabs winner for Admiral
Lada Togliatti 1 Admiral Vladivostok 2 OT (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 0-1)
After snapping a nine-game skid on Thursday, Lada picked up another point after tying with Admiral. This time, though, the Motormen could not secure another victory and lost out to Nikita Tertyshny’s overtime goal.
Tertyshny looks a revitalized figure after moving to the Sailors. He was not involved at all for Torpedo this season and has struggled to sustain the standards of back-to-back 30-point campaigns with Traktor in 2022 and 2023. But in two games for Admiral he has three points and two game-winning goals.
Today the 27-year-old forward combined with Semyon Koshelev to set up Pavel Koledov’s third period tying goal. Then, on 61:45, he grabbed the winner, breaking clear of the home defense to settle the outcome.
Earlier, Admiral tested Ivan Bocharov with an early flurry of shots at the Lada net. However, after failing to convert the first power play of the day, the visitor fell behind. Goalie Adam Huska’s clearance went straight to Nikita Mikhailov, who had a simple task to shoot into an open net.
That blow set the Sailors back and for the rest of the first period, Lada was the better team. Admiral regained its composure in the second period and began to enjoy more of the play. However, it wasn’t until early in the third that Koledov grabbed the tying goal and laid the foundations of a fightback win.
Dynamo survives Torpedo fusillade
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 Dynamo Moscow 4 (0-1, 1-0, 0-3)
There are signs that Dynamo is starting to find its form this season. The Muscovites remain seventh in the West, but are just a point behind third placed Shanghai Dragons. Today’s win over early-season pacesetter Torpedo makes it five out of six for Alexei Kudashov’s team.
It’s a rather different story for Torpedo, which won its first six games but has now lost five of its last seven. Sunday’s battle was competitive through 40 minutes, but the third period saw Dynamo score three unanswered goals to take the verdict.
However, the raw stats don’t fully tell the story of the game. Torpedo dominated for long periods and outshot Dynamo almost three to one. Visiting goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky made 45 saves, while the visitor scored on four of its 16 shots.
The early stages were watchful, with both sides looking to execute their tactics rather than charge gung-ho into battle. Gradually, Torpedo took the initiative and tested Podyapolsky in the visitor’s net. However, the home team always looked vulnerable to the counterattack, and that brought the opening goal in the eighth minute when Dylan Sikura’s stretch pass released Max Comtois and he beat Ivan Kulbakov.
That didn’t disrupt Torpedo’s general control of the game, but Dynamo held its lead until the intermission. After the break, the home team’s dominance intensified. Nikita Artamonov missed a great chance to tie the game early in the session, rushing his shot with the goal at his mercy. Later, the teams traded power plays before late in the frame Vladislav Firstov tied the game. At the second intermission, the shot count was 30-10 in Torpedo’s favor, but the host could not turn those opportunities into a lead.
And that cost Torpedo. The third period saw Dynamo step up a gear. In the 47th minute, the visitor regained the lead when Comtois scored off Fredrik Claesson’s long shot. A couple of minutes later Artyom Ilyenko extended that lead after a defensive error and the two-goal lead was too much for Torpedo. The home team put Podyapolsky & Co under pressure, playing six-on-five from the 57th minute and forcing Dynamo to ice the puck repeatedly. But Maxim Dzhioshvili’s empty net goal sealed the deal for the visitor, which won 4-1 despite a 45-16 shot count in Torpedo’s favor.
Second win of season for CSKA over Severstal
CSKA Moscow 3 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (1-1, 2-0, 0-1)
After losing to Metallurg, CSKA bounced back to beat Severstal for the second time this season. Igor Nikita recalled goalie Spencer Martin ahead of Dmitry Gamzin. There were also returns for forward Kirill Dolzhenkov and defenseman Vladislav Provolnyev, who made his 500th KHL appearance.
The Lynx landed in Moscow after roads wins in Minsk (5-2) and Nizhny Novgorod (5-3). Head coach Andrei Kozyrev was still keen to shuffle his team, bringing in defenseman Nikolai Burenov and young forward Oleg Sadovin.
The teams traded goals in the first period. Visiting defenseman Vladimir Grudinin put Severstal up in the eighth minute with a well-taken goal. He collected a pass from Vladislav Tsitsyura, got past Jeremy Roy and found himself through on Martin’s net for the opening goal. However, an error from goalie Alexander Samoilov presented the home team with an equalizer after 13 minutes: instead of shifting the puck around the boards, Samoilov gambled on a play across the slot, where Prokhor Poltapov made the interception and scored into an empty net.
CSKA’s pressing game was its key weapon tonight, and hard work in the Severstal zone brought an improbably go ahead goal early in the second period. Denis Guryanov’s battling behind the net forced Makar Fomin into a wild attempted clearance; the puck bounced off visiting forward Ivan Kvochko and flew into the net, with Guryanov credited as the scorer.
In the 26th minute, CSKA made it 3-1. Ivan Drozdov served up a great feed across the face of the net and Dmitry Buchelnikov needed just one touch to steer it past Samoilov. After that, the teams traded penalties but there was no further scoring in the middle frame.
Severstal came out for the third period looking to save the game. Those efforts were partially rewarded: in the 53rd minute, Mikhail Ilyin fired in the puck from the blue line and Tsitsyura shot home from the left-hand circle. That made the final score 3-2 as CSKA defeated the Lynx for the second time this season.
Tigers beaten in Kazan again
Ak Bars Kazan 3 Amur Khabarovsk 1 (1-0, 1-0, 1-1)
This was a second Ak Bars victory over Amur in three days. On Friday, two goals from Dmitrij Jaskin paced a 5-1 verdict, today the margin was 3-1. Both coaches made minor changes to their rosters ahead of a quick return meeting on Sunday.
Despite a heavy loss last time, Amur at least opened the scoring. Today, the Tigers could not find that early goal and their nemesis, Jaskin, made the breakthrough in the 11th minute. He produced a baseball swing at a lofted puck in front of the net to open the scoring. It probably should have been more: Ak Bars outshot Amur 15-2, but Maxim Dorozhko kept his team in the game.
Amur’s best chance of tying the game arrived when Ak Bars ran into penalty trouble late in the first period. The visitor was playing five-on-three at the start of the third, and got a second spell with two extra men before Ak Bars finally killed a run of penalties. Amur’s power play was a big disappointment, failing to register a shot on target despite the extended PP.
The home team showed how to do it at the end of the middle frame when Grigory Denisenko potted a power play goal with a superb one-timer.
In the third period Amur showed more spirit, but still struggled to get shots at Mikhail Berdin’s net. When Oleg Li pulled a goal back in the 49th minute, it was only the Tigers’ seventh shot on target of the night. Yet it ensured the game remained alive until the final seconds, when Kirill Semyonov’s empty-netter sealed the home win.
