Lada halts Ak Bars streak, Dynamo edges CSKA in derby. November 1 round-up

An overtime winner from Danila Dyadenkin gave Lada victory over Ak Bars, halting the home team’s 11-game winning streak. The Moscow derby went to Dynamo with Maxim Mamin’s last minute goal sinking his former club. Shanghai Dragons ended a five-game with a 6-3 win at Severstal, and Avangard beat Neftekhimik 2-1.

Hawks battle past Neftekhimik

Avangard Omsk 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (1-0, 1-1, 0-0)

The Hawks wrapped up a two-week home stand with a hard-fought victory over Neftekhimik. Guy Boucher continued with the personnel that defeated Barys last time out. Neftekhimik gave debuts to forward Ivan Nikolishin and defenseman Artyom Chmykhov, with Damir Zhafyarov missing out today.

The first major incident of the game saw Avangard get a power play in the fourth minute. That led to Konstantin Okulov, named the KHL’s best forward in October, opening the scoring with a wrister from the deep slot. Almost immediately, Neftekhimik got a power play of its own and tested Nikita Serebryakov on his 30th birthday. However, the goalie kept the opposition at bay.

Even at equal strength, the Wolves’ pace caused problems for the home defense. The visitor got many shots on goal and two more power plays in the first period before Avangard began to reassert itself as the intermission approach. Then, at the start of the second, Igor Martynov doubled the lead when he won the puck out on the boards, advanced to the net and beat Filipp Dolganov.

After that, Avangard ran into penalty trouble. Andrei Belozyorov was close to converting a five-on-three power play, then forced Serebryakov into another big save with the teams back at equal strength. Practice eventually made perfect for the visitor, and the seventh power play for the visitor saw Danil Yurtaikin find space on the slot to solve the goalie at last.

The third period began with another Neftekhimik power play after Boucher talked himself into trouble with the officials. His players got him out of that hole and the final frame developed into an open, fast-paced game. Avangard went in search of a bigger lead while Neftekhimik looked to tie the game on the counter. Another power play came to nothing for the visitor and its attempt to launch a final storm with the empty net was halted when Nikita Khlystov took a tripping minor and Avangard closed out a second successive win.

Lada halts Ak Bars hot streak

Ak Bars Kazan 3 Lada Togliatti 4 OT (1-1, 2-1, 0-1, 0-1)

Lada snapped Ak Bars’ club record winning streak after 11 games. An overtime verdict in Kazan ended the charge that sent Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team racing up the Eastern Conference standings. However, the point from tying in regulation puts Ak Bars on top of the section ahead of Metallurg.  

Danila Dyadenkin’s second goal of the season separated the two in the extras after a 3-3 tie in regulation. Much earlier, Dyadenkin had an assist on Evgeny Groshev’s opener after six minutes.

The 25-year-old struck on 64:25 to end a spell of overtime that had proceeded without a pause. He led the charge into Ak Bars territory and opted to shoot rather than feed a team-mate, beating Mikhail Berdin low to his stick side.

That secured Lada’s first road win since October 2. The Motormen struck first in this game through Groshev, but the in-form home team quickly tied the scores on the power play. It remained level at the first intermission, but Kirill Semyonov quickly put Ak Bars in front in the second. Ivan Romanov’s third of the season tied it up in the 34th minute but Semyonov got his second of the game to keep Ak Bars in front at the intermission.

The Tatars continued to press in the third period, enjoying almost twice as much attacking possession and outshooting Lada 14-7. However, that wasn’t enough to secure the win: Andrei Obidin tied the scores in the 52nd minute and even when Ak Bars had the puck in the net once more, a video review ruled that the fourth goal was scored with a kicking motion that ruled it out. As such, the teams were deadlocked at 60 minutes and Lada grabbed the OT winner.

Dragons rediscover their fire

Severstal Cherepovets 3 Shanghai Dragons 6 (2-2, 0-3, 1-1)

Shanghai snapped its skid in some style, downing high-flying Severstal on home ice. The Lynx saw an eight-game hot streak end against Dinamo Minsk on Thursday and fell to a second straight loss here. The Dragons celebrated a first win in six.

Severstal made a fast start, and initially looked well set to repeat its 4-1 victory over Shanghai here earlier this season. Ivan Podshivalov opened the scoring in the third minute, then Ruslan Abrosimov added a second midway through the first period.

But Gerard Gallant’s team came powering back with a burst of five goals. Nikita Popugayev quickly pulled one back, then Nate Sucese tied it up with his second of the season. The teams finished the first period tied at 2-2, and the four goals came from just 11 shots on target as both offenses produced some clinical finishing.

The Dragons maintained an impressive conversion rate in the second period, which brought three goals from eight shots. Initially, things were hard for the visitor as Ben Harpur went to the box three times. But Severstal could not take advantage, and when Shanghai got on the power play, Kevin Lebanc cashed in for his first goal in the KHL in the 32nd minute. The 29-year-old was nicknamed Kevin Ovechkin back in North America thanks to his impressive shot, and after four assists in six games, he displayed his goalscoring prowess in Russia for the first time.

That gave the visitor a lead that it would not relinquish. Pavel Akolzin added a fourth to chase starting goalie Alexander Samoilov from his net, then Austin Wagner beat Vsevolod Skotnikov to make it 5-2 for the Dragons at the second intermission.

It always looked a long way back for Severstal from there, and there was little sign of a recovery until Ilya Kvochko made it 3-5 in the 55th minute. But Shanghai would not be denied. Popugayev got his second of the game, with Troy Josephs marking his debut with an assist.

Mamin stuns former club

Dynamo Moscow 3 CSKA Moscow 2 (1-1, 1-0, 1-1)

Maxim Mamin’s move from CSKA to Dynamo has not gone wonderfully to date. The forward has struggled with injuries since switching to the Blue-and-Whites and today played his first game since September.

Mamin also got his first goal for his new club, and could hardly have timed it better. Not only did he score on his previous employer in a Moscow derby, Mamin found Spencer Martin’s net on 59:22, snapped a 2-2 tie to give Dynamo the verdict. Daniil Pylenkov’s long pass found Igor Ozhiganov on the blue line and he released Mamin into the zone for a low shot beyond the CSKA goalie.

That dug Dynamo out of a hole. The home team saw its 2-1 lead evaporate after Yegor Rimashevsky’s double minor for high sticks in the 55th minute. Nikita Nesterov quickly converted the first power play, and CSKA was going after another goal on the second leg of that penalty. The Blue-and-White PK held on, but the momentum seemed to be swinging in favor of the visitor until Mamin’s big intervention flipped the script.

Before all that, the teams traded early goals in the first period. Pylenkov put Dynamo in front, but the celebrations had barely ended before Dmitry Samorukov brought CSKA level. Subsequently, the home team looked to have a slight edge. However, it wasn’t until late in the second period that Nikita Gusev got a second goal for his team to make it 2-1 for Dynamo through 40 minutes.

In the third period, Dynamo started with every intention of padding its lead but struggled to find a way past Martin. CSKA looked to be running out of time, until that late drama brought Alexei Kudashov’s men home for a fourth straight win and a second in three games vs CSKA.