Admiral, Barys halt skids, Dolganov defies Ufa. November 7 round-up
Admiral ended an eight-game slump with an overtime win at home to Avangard, and Barys moved into the playoff spots after Tyce Thompson sank Avtomobilist in the extras to stop a five-game skid. Neftekhimik gained ground on the defeated teams thanks to 36 saves from Filipp Dolganov in a 1-0 win over Salavat Yulaev. Table topping Metallurg continues to impress, winning 3-1 at Amur.
Magnitka eases past Amur
Amur Khabarovsk 1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (0-3, 0-0, 1-0)
A strong first period led Metallurg to victory in the second game of its Far East tour. After a win at Admiral on Wednesday, the league leader improves its current hot streak to three games before heading to Astana on its way home next week.
From the first face-off, Metallurg moved better than the Tigers. Nonetheless, the first big chance went to the home team when Matvei Zaseda got off a close-range shot at Alexander Smolin, who saved his team. A few shifts later, Magnitka took advantage of that reprieve to open the scoring: Vladimir Tkachyov combined with Dmitry Silantyev for the latter to pot his 11th goal of the season.
It wasn’t long before Roman Kantserov doubled the lead, with Tkachyov assisting once again. And the visitor’s dominance brought a third goal in the 16th minute. This time, the third line got on the counter and Ruslan Iskhakov fired home Valery Orekhov’s feed to beat Maxim Dorozhko for the third time.
That was enough to win the game. In the second period, Metallurg slowed down and Amur was able to even up the shot count. However, the home team still could not beat Smolin, whose best save robbed Artyom Shvaryov in front of an all-but open net. At the other end, Magnitka posed a threat on the counter with Matvei Galenyuk close to his first KHL goal.
It was a similar story in the third: Smolin equal to Amur’s efforts, backed up by the post when Ivan Mishchenko got one past the goalie. Finally, with 10 to play, the Tigers at least denied the visiting netminder a shut-out: Smolin’s misguided pass behind his net ended up with Alexander Filatyev cashing in for his first goal of the season.
If Filatyev’s goal offered hope, it was soon extinguished. Yaroslav Dyblenko’s penalty ate up precious time for a fightback and even when Amur played six-on-four in the closing moments, Metallurg kept the danger at bay to close out a 3-1 win.
Sailors snap skid in OT
Admiral Vladivostok 2 Avangard Omsk 1 OT (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)
After eight successive losses, Admiral finally got back to winning ways thanks to Dmitry Zavgorodny’s overtime goal against Avangard.
Zavgorodny stripped Konstantin Okulov of the puck, skated away and beat Nikita Serebryakov with a well-placed shot just under the bar to snap a 1-1 tie and give the Sailors a first victory since a 6-1 thumping of Lada on Oct. 15.
In the build-up to the game, Semyon Koshelev was traded to Sibir, forcing Leonids Tambijevs to restore Vyacheslav Osnovin to the team. Avangard head coach Guy Boucher went with 12 forwards for this game after the loss in Khabarovsk, adding Pavel Leuka to the roster. Defensemen Artyom Blazhievsky and Joseph Cecconi missed out.
The teams made a cautious start, but that changed midway though the frame. A defensive lapse from Avangard invited the home team to counterattack and Daniil Gituk set up his team’s leading goalscorer Kyle Olson for his eighth of the season. After falling behind, Avangard stepped up the tempo and soon earned a power play. Unfortunately for the Hawks, this turned into a somewhat toothless affair and it wasn’t until Admiral returned to equal strength that Dmitry Rashevsky got a good look at Adam Huska’s net.
At the start of the second period, Avangard tied the game. Mike McLeod brought play into the home zone before steering the puck back to captain Damir Sharipzyanov for a powerful effort that beat the Slovak netminder. The next few shifts saw Avangard look to press home that momentum, but Admiral held on. By the middle of the session, the Sailors were plotting a course away from their net.
The teams continued to create chances, with Avangard closest to getting in front: Andrew Poturalski went close for Avangard, then Giovanni Fiore hit the post. Early in the third, Rashevsky found Huska’s net, but only after impeding the goaltender. Boucher sought to challenge the call, but merely earned his team a delay of game minor.
As 60 minutes approached, both teams eased off. Admiral attempted a late push to win it in regulation, but the game was destined for overtime. And in those extras, Zavgorodny made the key contribution to end his team’s long losing run.
Thompson’s OT goal lifts Barys into top eight
Barys Astana 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 OT (0-0, 2-1, 0-1, 1-0)
After Admiral’s long-awaited win, Barys followed suit. Friday’s OT verdict against Avtomobilist snapped a five-game skid thanks to Tyce Thompson’s goal.
The home team was rewarded for its greater enterprise in the extras when recent recruit Max Willman advanced and fired in a shot from out wide for Thompson to steer the puck into the open corner. That assist was Willman’s first point in the KHL.
That handed the Motormen a second straight loss after a 0-2 reverse against Torpedo on Sunday. Nikolai Zavarukhin responded to that blank by combining his top forwards on one line: Anatoly Golyshev, Stephane da Costa and Reid Boucher were charged with getting Avto back on the scoreboard.
However, a stacked top line did not bring an immediate goal rush. From the opening shifts, Barys was the livelier team and Evgeny Alikin was the busier goalie. The Kazakhs did not control the game, but were able to prevent the visitor from creating much in front of Andrei Shutov in a goalless opening stanza in which the home goalie made his first save in the 17th minute.
Avtomobilist finally created a meaningful chance at the start of the second period, but after Boucher failed to beat Shutov in a one-on-one the home team built a two-goal lead. Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan found the net for the third game in a row, converting a power play in the 24th minute. Then Mason Morelli extended the lead after scorching through the defense and outwitting Alikin.
Later, Avtomobilist’s power play would have its say. Midway through the second period, Curtis Valk found space on the slot and scoring on his former club with a backhand shot. Then, at the start of the third, another PP saw the Motormen tie it up. Barys failed to clear its lines and Alexander Sharov pounced to make it 2-2. That proved to be the end of the scoring in regulation, and the home crowd had to wait until overtime to celebrate a first win since Oct. 24.
Dolganov defies Salavat Yulaev
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)
With Barys winning, Salavat Yulaev needed to take something from its trip to Neftekhimik if it was to stay in the top eight in the Eastern Conference. However, a frustrating evening against the Wolves ended in 0-1 loss as Ufa drops to ninth in the standings. Neftekhimik remains fifth but closes to within two points of Avangard and Avtomobilist.
The home team got ahead in the eighth minute, scoring on a delayed penalty. Vladislav Barulin got the puck on the end boards and fired it across the crease. A deflection put it onto Evgeny Mityakin’s stick and his close-range effort beat Semyon Vyazovoi.
Neftekhimik was decent value for a first-period lead, with Salavat Yulaev struggling to generate offense. Filipp Dolganov faced just four shots in the opening frame, but would see his workload increase as the night went on.
However, the second period was short of major net-front incident. Andrei Belozyorov – five goals in the two previous games – had the best chance of the session right after the restart but Vyazovoi denied him with a glove save. Late in the session, Devin Brosseau twice tested Dolganov from close range but Neftekhimik preserved its 1-0 advantage through 40 minutes.
Dolganov and Brosseau clashed after the hooter, with the home goalie picking up a roughing minor. That saw Ufa start the third period with a five-on-three power play, setting the tone for an attacking display from the visitor in the final frame. Yegor Suchkov threatened on the wraparound, Dolganov made a big save from close range and Artyom Nabiyev hit the post as Viktor Kozlov’s men sought a tying goal. Penalties did not help the home cause, and the shot count for the final stanza was 18-3 in Salavat’s favor. However, Dolganov stood firm even when a late power play invited the visitor to play six-on-four for a full two minutes. The home goalie finished with 36 saves as Neftekhimik claimed a narrow win.
