Metallurg impresses at Torpedo, Spartak blanks Dragons. October 7 round-up

Table-topping Metallurg rolled to a 5-1 win at Torpedo, cementing its position at the KHL summit. Spartak avenged last month’s defeat to Shanghai Dragons, blanking Gerard Gallant’s team in Moscow. Ak Bars kept up its winning streak, but had to withstand a third-period fightback before beating Barys 4-3. Nikita Mikhailov’s hot form helped Lada to a 3-1 win over Sochi, and Amur won 2-1 at Neftekhimik.  

Mikhailov maintains hot streak, Lada wins again

Lada Togliatti 3 HC Sochi 1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0)

This was a second win in three games for Lada, and the third in which the Motormen picked up at least a point. Despite falling behind early, Pavel Desyatkov’s team rallied to defeat Sochi in the third meeting between the teams this season.



The previous games went to the Leopards with a shoot-out verdict on Sep. 24 and a 4-0 win on Sep. 30. Those were Sochi’s only two victories in the last nine games. When Denis Vengryzhanovsky put the visitor up in the fifth minute, it was tempting to assume that the hoodoo would continue.

But in recent games Lada has improved. That horrible nine-game skid is a thing of the past, and Desyatkov’s team is proving more competitive. That brought a tying goal in the 10th minute from Andrei Chivilyov and the teams went into the intermission deadlocked at 1-1.

One factor in Lada’s recent improvement is the return of Nikita Mikhailov. He suffered an injury on opening day but returned late in September and scored his first goal in the win at Neftekhimik on Oct. 2. Today, he potted the go-ahead goal on a power play five minutes into the second period, making it three markers in as many appearances for the 27-year-old.

Mikhailov’s goal survived a bench challenge from Sochi, with the visitor complaining that goalie Pavel Khomchenko was impeded. Lada could not convert its second power play of the session, and the teams proved evenly matched in the middle frame as the host held onto its narrow lead.

In the third period, though, Lada dominated the action. Sochi, although hoping to save the game, managed just three shots at Ivan Bocharov and never seriously threatened to tie the scores. Instead, the coup de grace came in the final minute when Andrei Altybarmakyan’s empty net goal set the seal on Lada’s success.
 

Tigers end losing road run

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Amur Khabarovsk 2 (1-0, 0-2, 0-0)

Amur handed Neftekhimik a third successive loss. In the process, the Tigers ended their own three-game skid and cut the gap to the top eight in the East to just two points.



This was the first of two meetings between the teams in Nizhnekamsk. Neftekhimik made four changes from its 2-5 loss to Avangard. Filipp Dolganov returned as starting goalie in place of Yaroslav Ozolin, while defenseman Maxim Fedotov and forwards Kirill Kapustin and Sevastyan Sokolov were recalled.

Amur had been struggling on its current road trip, and head coach Alexander Galchenyuk Sr shuffled all four attacking lines after the 1-3 loss to Ak Bars. Artyom Shvaryov and Sergei Dubakin returned to the offense, while goalie Damir Shaymardanov got his first game of the season.

Shaymardanov quickly found himself retrieving the puck from his net. Inside two minutes, Neftekhimik got the play to the slot, from where Vladislav Barulin banged it home amid a crowd of players. That gave the forward a goal against his former club after spending four seasons in the Far East.

After that, the play was even, with Amur gaining the initiative from time to time. Yaroslav Likhachyov, looking to recapture his impressive form on loan here in 2022/2023, had a great chance from Shvaryov’s drop pass. On that occasion, Dolganov denied him.

But Amur was encouraged by the way it ended the first period and took a tighter grip in the second. That brought rewards right after the midway stage. First, Matvei Zaseda produced a fine redirect to steer Viktor Baldayev’s point shot into the net. Then, a minute later, Likhachyov pounced on a defensive error to make it 2-1.

Neftekhimik had opportunities to save the game in the third, not least with four power plays in a row. However, the Amur PK was so strong that the visitor managed to create the better scoring chances even when shorthanded. As the clock ticked down, Neftekhimik sought to tighten the screws but could not find a way to save the game.
 

Barys fightback falls short

Ak Bars Kazan 4 Barys Astana 3 (1-0, 2-0, 1-3)

Despite a third-period fightback from Barys, Ak Bars secured a third successive victory. The home team enjoyed back-to-back wins over Amur in the build-up to today’s game and is showing signs of climbing out of its early season slump.



Ak Bars made a fast start here. Its first spell of pressure resulted in Vladimir Alistrov’s skate turning Alexei Marchenko’s dangerous feed into the net. Barys had a chance to respond on the power play but could not take advantage despite some encouraging time in front of Timur Bilyalov’s net. The remainder of the first period saw Ak Bars have significantly more possession, while Barys blocked shots manfully to keep the score at 1-0.

The home team increased its lead in the third period with two goals in less than three minutes from Artyom Galimov. His first came on 36:07: Stepan
Falkovsky lofted the puck out of his own zone, Galimov grabbed it in center ice and skated away to beat Adam Scheel in the Barys net. Then, on 38:57, he grabbed a shorthanded goal from an odd-man rush alongside Kirill Semyonov.

The third period brought more misery for Barys at first. Nikita Lyamkin’s point shot made it 4-0, and only the post denied Dmitrij Jaskin a fifth goal. But from that unpromising situation, the visitor managed a rousing fightback. Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan beat Falkovsky and clawed one goal back. Then Michael Vecchione potted a rebound and Vsevolod Logvin made it 3-4 with a perfectly-placed wrister. Three goals in 2:17 persuaded Anvar Gatiyatulin to call a time out and try to calm his players with more than 10 minutes to see out.

Barys continued to pour forward in search of a tying goal. Vecchione went close, then on a power play the visitor played six-on-four without success. Ak Bars held on, the post denied Barys another goal, and it finished 4-3.

Leader eases to third straight road win

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5 (1-3, 0-1, 0-1)

Metallurg remains clear at the top of the KHL after recording a third successive win on its current road trip. After wins in Moscow over CSKA and Spartak, Andrei Razin continued with Alexander Smolin in goal – the first time this season he has not swapped his netminders. Understudy Vasily Pavlinsky was named to a KHL roster for the first time in his career. Metallurg also recalled defenseman Makar Khabarov and forward Sergei Tolchinsky.



Torpedo head coach Alexei Isakov made more changes in hope of freshening up his team. Mikhail Naumenkov returned on defense, with Anton Silayev missing out, and there were several changes up front with Mikhail Abramov, Kirill Voronin and Vasily Atanasov returning to action.

Metallurg began the game as if it was the home team, taking control of the puck in the opening seconds and quickly parleying its on-ice dominance into a goal. Andrei Kozlov’s feed from behind the net set up Daniil Vovchenko for the opener in the second minute.

Magnitka’s play was impressive: quicker, fresher and tactically more astute than the opposition, it regularly found shooting positions. That brought a second goal when Nikita Korotkov broke away, beating Robert Nardella and firing past Ivan Kulbakov. A power play goal brought Torpedo back into contention thanks to Abramov, who started and finished the move. But the reprieve was brief: Yegor Yakovlev wired a shot to the corner to restore the 3-1 lead on a Metallurg PP.

Denis Kostin took over in the Torpedo net for the second period, and the home team showed every determination to improve its situation. However, just a couple of minutes in, a well-worked counterattack from Alexander Petunin and Ruslan Iskhakov ended with Valery Orekhov making it 4-1 to the visitor.
Later, Vladimir Tkachyov had a great chance to pot his first of the season, only to be denied by Kostin. Torpedo managed to gain the initiative and twice hit the crossbar but could make no inroads into Metallurg’s lead.

That lead might have been greater early in the third when the puck found its way to the Torpedo net once again. This time, though, Roman Kantserov knocked the goal from its moorings before the puck found the target and a video review called back the play. But there was no way back for the home team and Derek Barach completed the scoring during a five-on-three power play in the closing minutes.
 

 Red-and-Whites avenge Dragons’ defeat

Spartak Moscow 3 Shanghai Dragons 0 (1-0, 2-0, 0-0)

The Dragons’ three-game winning run came to an end at Spartak, with the Muscovites avenging a 1-3 loss to this opponent on Sep. 28. The home team fired in 50 shots at Shanghai’s net, while Dmitry Nikolayev made 20 saves for his first shut-out of the season.



Patrik Rybar, who the Dragons claimed off waivers from Spartak last season, was the busiest man in the first period. From the off, the Red-and-Whites dictated the play and outshot the visitor 20-5 in the home period. But Rybar did a good job of frustrating his former team-mates. He was beaten just once when Nikita Korostelyov found a trademark snipe from the left-hand circle to convert a power play.

Yet Rybar could not return for the second period. Andrei Kareyev, another ex-Spartak goaltender, replaced him and was beaten after five minutes by Nathan Todd. Just before that, Austin Wagner got clear on Nikolayev’s net but failed to add to the two goals he scored on his debut last time out. The Muscovites continued to boss the game, firing in 24 shots in the middle frame. The third power play of the session brought a third goal, scored by Mikhail Maltsev after more good work from Todd and Adam Ruzicka.

The third period saw the pace drop. Spartak knew the game was won, Shanghai struggled to generate offense. Nikolayev made one great save to deny Jake Bischoff a shorthanded goal and secure his 10th KHL shut-out.