Kostin debut can’t lift Avangard, Magnitka edges Amur. November 5 round-up

Avangard handed Klim Kostin his second debut for the Hawks, but the forward’s return ended in an OT loss at Amur. In a day of tight games, Metallurg took a 2-1 verdict at Admiral, and Salavat Yulaev won similar squeaker at Barys by the same margin. Neftekhimik saw a 4-1 lead at Traktor eroded, but held on to win 4-3. 

Andriyevsky’s Amur wins again

Amur Khabarovsk 3 Avangard Omsk 2 OT (1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 1-0)

Interim head coach Alexander Andriyevsky made it back-to-back wins as he stands in for Alexander Galchenyuk Sr. Today’s overtime success spoiled Klim Kostin’s debut following his return to Avangard after four seasons in the NHL.

Amur made a good start, with several threatening shifts. But the opening goal came at the other end: Joseph Ceccione shot from the blue line and Mike McCleod diverted the puck home from the slot. That did nothing to distract the home team from its purpose and its on-going pressure on Nikita Serebryakov’s net brought reward in the seventh minute thanks to Alexander Filatyev. He made a strong solo rush before dishing the puck off for Nikita Yevseyev to score.

Gradually, the visitor grew into the game. McCleod, in particular, was a stand-out and home goalie Maxim Dorozhko made several big saves before Damir Sharipzyanov hit the crossbar. The opening frame finished tied at 1-1 but the teams shared 29 attempts at goal.

The second began with Avangard looking better, but this time Amur got the first goal. A too many men penalty clipped the Hawks’ wings and Artyom Shvaryov’s pass picked out the unmarked Evgeny Svechnikov. His one-timer beat Serebraykov.

Avangard responded and won its own power play but could not test Dorozhko with the extra man. But late in the frame, Andrew Poturalski earned another PP for the visitor and converted it himself to tie the scores ahead of the third period.

That third stanza saw Avangard enjoy its accustomed control of the puck, leading the way in shots and looking strong on the slot. Amur responded with occasional counterattacks, but neither team could make the breakthrough in regulation.

Overtime began with Amur struggling to kill a penalty, before getting a power play of its own. Shvaryov converted that chance, redirected the puck home from close range.

Magnitka holds off Sailors

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (1-1, 0-1, 0-0)

After a thumping home won over Shanghai, Metallurg set out on the road again. However, star forward Evgeny Kuznetsov stayed home to work on his physical condition after missing pre-season. Andrei Razin made one change to his team for the game at Admiral: Danila Palivko replaced Alexander Siryatsky.

The first period began cautiously. Neither team was able to take the initiative and the game was deadlocked until the 13th minute when Pavel Koledov opened the scoring with a long-range effort. However, it took just a couple of minutes for Metallurg to reply: Yegor Yakovlev found Vladimir Tkachyov at the back door and Magnitka’s leading scorer banged that feed into an open corner.

Metallurg’s top line continued to press Admiral in the second period. Pressure brought a first power play of the game and Yakovlev was again the provider as Dmitry Silanytev fired home the go-ahead goal.

In the final frame, Roman Kantserov could have joined his line-mates on the scoresheet. However, he could not convert Tkachyov’s set-up, denied at close quarters by Adam Huska. The Sailors outshot Metallurg in the second and third periods, but could not find a tying goal. Not even a last surge with Huska on the bench could salvage anything for Leonids Tambijevs’ team, which fell to an eighth successive loss.

Rally comes too late for Traktor

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 (0-2, 1-2, 2-0)

Neftekhimik beat Traktor for the first time this series as the teams’ third meeting produced another close-fought battle.

The Wolves led 4-1 at the second intermission, but were left hanging on as Traktor hit back in the third to make it a one-goal game in a late surge.

The visitor changed up its defense for today’s game, replacing Yegor Rykov and Fyodor Kroshchinsky with Arseny Koromyslov and Andrei Pribylsky. Andrei Nikonov was named 13th forward. Neftekhimik also made changes: Artyom Chmykhov in for Timur Khairullin, Danila Kvartalnov for Arsen Khisamutdinov.

Throughout the season, Traktor has tended to give up the first goal. Today, it took just 55 seconds for Evgeny Mityakin to pounce from the slot. And the visitor built on that, adding a power play goal from Andrei Belozyorov.

After the intermission, Belozyorov added his second, sending starting goalie Chris Driedger to the bench. Savely Sherstnev came in for his KHL debut. Traktor revived, and Josh Leivo found the net from a tight angle. But it took just 48 seconds for Mityakin to respond, joining Belozyorov on two goals.

In the third, Traktor managed to claw a way back into the game. Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer’s first goal since Sep. 14 made it 2-4 with five to play, then Jordan Gross set up a grandstand finish. But the clock ran down before the home team could finish the job and Neftekhimik edged in front of its host into fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Ufa edges past Barys

Barys Astana 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (0-1, 0-1, 1-0)

The big news in Ufa was the arrival of Sheldon Rempal. The Canadian, a key forward on last year’s semi-final team, was not able to join his team-mates on the road in Kazakhstan, but in his absence Salavat Yulaev secured a hard-fought win to move into the playoff places.

t fell to Ufa’s other imports to find the opening late in the first period. Wyatt Kalniuk set things in motion, Evgeny Kulik dumped the puck from center ice and home goalie Andrei Shutov gave up a big rebound in front of him. That enabled Devin Brosseau to pounce, grabbing his chance to send Salavat Yulaev into the intermission with a 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Barys threatened to tie the game. A dangerous point shot had Semyon Vyazovoi scrambling to make a double save. But almost immediately play went to the other end and Salavat Yulaev added a second goal. Artyom Gorshkov won a puck battle behind the net and his pass found Alexander Zharovsky. The youngster picked out a wrister that went past Shutov.

In the third period, Barys managed to pull one goal back thanks to Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan with seven minutes left. But that was as close as the Kazakhs got to escaping a fifth successive loss. The visitor held on, with 34 saves from Vyazovoi ensuring Viktor Kozlov’s team bounced back from its 1-4 loss to Lokomotiv in the previous game.