Day of late drama. November 6 round-up

Thursday’s KHL action was full of late goals. Torpedo edged CSKA 2-1 on a 58th-minute marker from Yegor Vinogradov, Dynamo tied its game against Lada 14 seconds before the hooter and won in a shoot-out, and SKA scored the KHL’s fastest-ever overtime goal to beat Shanghai Dragons three seconds into the extras. Dinamo Minsk turned around its home game with Ak Bars thanks to two goals in the last six minutes, and Severstal also needed a late goal before beating Sochi in OT. The only comfortable win went to Lokomotiv, which blasted Spartak 5-2 but still allowed a last-minute consolation effort.

Dominant win for Loko

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 5 Spartak Moscow 2 (0-0, 4-0, 1-2)

Defending champion Lokomotiv eased to a fourth successive victory thanks to a dominant second period against Spartak. Two goals from Maxim Shalunov led the way for Bob Hartley’s men, while the Red-and-Whites ended a three-game road trip with defeat.

The visitor welcomed imports Adam Ruzicka and Christian Jaros back to the team, with Nikita Tyurin and Yegor Filin also featuring. Injured Alexander Volkov missed out for the host, with Denis Alexeyev taking his place.

In a goalless first period, Spartak made the brighter start and created the first notable chances. At the other end, Lokomotiv failed to get a shot on goal for 11 minutes before an extended spell in the Spartak zone saw Shalunov’s line threaten at last. Subsequently, the Railwaymen came into the game more but neither team could force a breakthrough in the first period.

After the break, that changed. Shalunov quickly opened the scoring in the second period, albeit with the aid of a deflection. The goal triggered a wave of dangerous attacks and Spartak was left reeling. A penalty followed and Maxim Beryozkin converted the power play, potting his first goal of the season.

That gave Lokomotiv even more confidence and the home team added to its lead when Byron Froese potted a rebound. Alexei Zhamnov responded with a time-out, but Loko kept on pressing and Alexander Polunin added a fourth.

Early in the final frame, Shalunov got his second of the night to leave Spartak facing a rout. The visitor recovered some pride in the closing stages with Ruzicka grabbing a couple of consolation goals to spoil Daniil Isayev’s evening. But this was very much Lokomotiv’s day.

Late rally secures sixth straight win for Dinamo

Dinamo Minsk 4 Ak Bars Kazan 3 (0-1, 1-1, 3-1)

Two goals in the last six minutes turned this game around to give Dinamo Minsk a sixth successive victory and consolidate its place in the top three in the Western Conference.

Ak Bars was looking to bounce back from the OT loss at home to Lada that halted its club record 11-game hot streak. Anvar Gatiyatulin did not make widespread changes in response to that reverse.

The visiting head coach saw his team enjoy more of the play in the first period, but it was difficult for Ak Bars to establish a clear statistical advantage. Both teams had good chances, but it took 18 minutes for the opening goal to arrive: Alexander Chmelevski broke the deadlock on the visitor’s first power play of the night.

After the break, Dinamo got its chance on the power play. It couldn’t score, but it took the initiative. Stanislav Galiyev, up against one of his former clubs, wasted the best chance with the extra man, but atoned for that in the 24th minute when he outmuscled Alexei Marchenko to score from the slot.

Once back level, the home team pressed hard. Ak Bars struggled to stay in the game, particularly on the penalty kill after an ill-timed infringement from Chmelevski. But, after weathering the storm, the visitor found a second goal when Artyom Galimov’s solo effort saw him beat two defenseman to score. Galiyev missed a good chance to tie it up again, but his breakaway effort led to one of 15 shots blocked by Ak Bars in the middle frame.

The third period began with Dinamo seeing a tying goal ruled out on a bench challenge: the Ak Bars staff spotted a hand pass in the build-up. After that, Timur Bilyalov pulled off a couple of super-saves as the visitor ran into penalty trouble. As Grigory Denisenko returned to the ice, Ty Smith found a way past the goalie to claim his first goal in the KHL.

That brought a quick response from Ak Bars: Nikita Dynyak and Mikhail Fisenko are more accustomed to a checking game but launched an unexpected counterattack that saw the latter make it 3-2 midway through the third.

But Dinamo rallied strongly. Sergey Kuznetsov tied it up for the third time on 54:37, then Vadim Shipachyov surprised Bilyalov with a shot from a dead angle to put Minsk up for the first time on 56:15. That proved to be the winner: despite a late surge, Ak Bars could not generate any serious threat at the other end in the final minutes.

Murphy’s law rules for SKA

SKA St. Petersburg 3 Shanghai Dragons 2 OT (0-2, 2-0, 0-0, 1-0)

Trevor Murphy had a hand in all three goals as SKA edged Shanghai in overtime. Murphy, who played for Kunlun Red Star when he first joined the KHL in 2019, grabbed the winner just three seconds into the extras, completing his team’s recovery from 0-2.

Mikhail Vorobyov won the opening faceoff in OT, Rocco Grimaldi found Murphy on the blue and the defenseman unleashed a rocket of a shot that went in off Andrei Tikhomirov’s post to settle the outcome.

The first period favored SKA, yet Shanghai ended up leading 2-0. The home team had more of the play and outshot the Dragons 15-7, but could not find a way past Patrik Rybar.

Shanghai grabbed an early lead on the power play, Kevin Labanc shooting past Yegor Zavragin from the right-hand circle. SKA came into the game after that early blow, and enjoyed a five-on-three power play but could not find a way back into the game. Later, at equal strength, Rybar had to make a big save in short order to deny Ignat Lutfullin, after Marat Khairullin spun off a pass that found the youngster in space in front of the visitor’s net.

And the visitor punished SKA’s profligacy with a second goal late in the frame. Greg McKegg chased Igor Larionov Jr into the corner, winning possession and getting the puck to the slot for Vladimir Kuznetsov to take a touch and score.

But after the intermission, the home team found a way through – and it was one-time Dragon Murphy who made the breakthrough. The two-way D-man halved the deficit when he took the puck from his own zone across center ice and smashed home an early shot from just beyond the blue line.

Soon after, Matvei Polyakov rang the iron but the home team was unable to match its first-period dominance in a frame that saw good opportunities at both ends of the ice. Nonetheless, just before the intermission Polyakov found a tying goal when he was first to the rebound after a Murphy shot cannoned back off the boards.

Shanghai responded to SKA’s fightback by replacing Rybar with Andrei Tikhomirov – an interesting call, given that the starting goalie was hardly at fault for the two goals allowed.

The third period could not separate the teams, but overtime was done in a flash as SKA snatched the extra point to draw level with eighth-placed CSKA on 22 points.

Pylenkov saves Dynamo with 14 seconds left

Dynamo Moscow 4 Lada Togliatti 3 SO (1-2, 1-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)

In a game of drama from start to finish, Dynamo managed to force Lada into overtime before securing a sixth successive victory. But the visitor, which ended Ak Bars’ hot streak in its previous game, will feel it should have closed out the win here.

The Motormen got off to a perfect start when Riley Sawchuk beat Vladislav Podyapolsky just 10 seconds into the game.

Lada’s third shot of the night – albeit in the 13th minute – also found the target when Sawchuk set up Ivan Romanov to double the lead. Although Dynamo consistently outshot the visitor, it struggled to score on Ivan Bocharov as he returned to one of his former clubs. Dylan Sikura finally made the breakthrough late in the frame, finding the net just after an unsuccessful power play.

The home team’s second power play also brought a goal right at the end of the two minutes. This time, Georgy Belousov was waiting for the door to open when Jordan Weal tied the scores at 2-2. However, after completing the fightback, Dynamo lost focus. Mistake followed error and just 13 seconds after the equalizer Andrei Chivilyov restored Lada’s lead.

Gradually Dynamo regained composure and began to look for a way back into the game. Lada found it tough to defend its lead, particularly when Yefin Gurkin took a major penalty on 55:34. The Blue-and-Whites unleashed a storm on Bocharov’s goal, but had to wait until 14 seconds before the hooter for Daniil Pylenkov to grab the game-saving goal.

Overtime could not separate the teams, although Max Comtois could have won it on a late breakaway. In the shoot-out, Nikita Gusev beat Bocharov while Podyapolsky, also facing one of his former clubs, was flawless to give Dynamo the verdict. 

Vinogradov snatches late winner for Torpedo

CSKA Moscow 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 (0-0, 1-0, 0-2)

A late Yegor Vinogradov goal saw Torpedo grab a revenge win over CSKA. Earlier this season, Alexei Isakov’s team suffered a 0-1 loss on home ice but today the visitor took the verdict to remain second in the Western Conference.

For CSKA, the build-up to the game was dominated by goaltending talk. Spencer Martin, the high-profile summer signing from the Hurricanes, was placed on waivers following the arrival of Alexander Samonov from Salavat Yulaev. Ironically, Martin’s best performance in the KHL was arguably his shut-out in that earlier win over today’s opponent. Samonov suited up for his new club for the first time, but Dmitry Gamzin got the start against Torpedo.

In the first period, he was a virtual spectator as the Muscovites dominated the play and outshot the visitor 11-2. At the other end, Ivan Kulbakov kept his net intact and the teams reached the intermission without a goal.

Gamzin’s first big task came in the 25th minute, when he did superbly to deny Yegor Sokolov a seemingly certain goal. The middle proved a more even contest, but the opening goal went to the home team in the 33rd minute. Daniel Sprong held the puck for a long time in the Torpedo zone before dishing off the puck to Nikita Okhotyuk on the blue line. The defenseman’s shot surprised Kulbakov and brought his first goal of the season.

That lead held until the second intermission, but Torpedo tied it up right after the break. Alexei Kruchinin’s deft chip released Sergei Goncharuk into the CSKA zone and he sprinted to the net to beat Gamzin on 40:54.

CSKA’s alarming tendency to allow decisive late goals meant the home following had cause for anxiety after losing the lead, and those fears were realized yet again. Vinogradov found the winner in the 58th minute when he kickstarted a swift attack and, with his line-mates, caused chaos in front of Gamzin’s net before finishing the play himself. Igor Nikitin called a time-out but there was not enough time to save the game.

Aimurzin inspires Severstal’s late show

HC Sochi 4 Severstal Cherepovets 5 OT (1-2, 2-1, 1-1, 0-1)

A late goal saved Severstal from defeat before Mikhail Ilyin grabbed the overtime winner for the visitor. Sochi recovered well from losing two early tallies and came within 106 seconds of victory but could not finish the job.

Severstal made a flying start to the game and jumped to a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the 10th minute. Ilya Reingardt’s power play goal broke the deadlock, then David Dumbadze made it 2-0 just 25 seconds later. Sochi struggled to generate offense, but pulled back a vital goal just before the intermission through defenseman Noel Hoeffenmayer.

Early in the second, Sochi tied the game on a power play goal from Daniil Seroukh; Will Bitten’s assist on that play continued the effective partnership between those two forwards. Late in the session, Denis Vengryzhanovsky made it 3-2 for the home team, ahead for the first time on the night in the 36th minute. But Danil Aimurzin quickly got Severstal back level before the second intermission.

Bitten and Seroukh combined again at the start of the first as Jean-Christophe Beaudin made it 4-3 for the Leopards. After that, Torpedo had the bulk of the attacking play but ran into some resolute defense. More than six minutes of offensive possession mustered just nine shots at Ilya Samsonov, but at last Aimurzin found one that beat the goalie and took the game to OT. Then he completed a game-winning performance with an incisive pass to set up Ilyin in front of the net to win the game on 60:55.