Tolchinsky strikes twice, Galchenyuk returns with a goal. November 9 round-up

Metallurg consolidated its position at the top of the KHL standings with a 4-1 win at Barys. Sergei Tolchinsky scored twice to lead Andrei Razin’s team. Amur captain Alexander Galchenyuk scored on his return from injury and Maxim Dorozhko blanked Avtomobilist in Khabarovsk, while Traktor took a 3-1 verdict at Admiral.

Happy return for Galchenyuk

Amur Khabarovsk 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0 (0-0, 2-0, 1-0)

It was a big day for Amur, with club captain Alexander Galchenyuk returning after a month out with injury. He was eased back into action on the fourth line, but still produced a goal in Sunday’s shut-out win.

The Tigers made the brighter start, with Avto struggling to get its offense working early on. It wasn’t until Evgeny Svechnikov took a needless O-zone penalty that the visitor began to create chances: Stephane da Costa led the way during a promising power play, but could not beat Maxim Dorozhko in the home net.

After that penalty the game was more open: Dorozhko denied Reid Boucher, then Amur had a goal whistled off for a high stick.

The Motormen missed a fantastic chance to open the scoring with a short-handed goal at the start of the second. The otherwise impeccable Dorozhko misjudged his attempt to come out of his crease, but Danil Romantsev inexplicably fired wide of an open net. At the other end, Amur converted the power play when Galchenyuk wired a fine shot to the top shelf.

That rocked the visitor, which struggled to come up with a response. Amur continued to press, finishing the middle frame with 16 shots at Vladimir Galkin and, more importantly, a second goal. Questionable positioning among the Avtomobilist defense helped Raul Akmaldinov get forward to score his first goal for the Tigers.

Going into the third period, Nikolai Zavarukhin reshuffled his offensive lines and Avtomobilist began the final frame strongly. Amur stood up to the pressure and largely held the opposition to the perimeter before starting to move play back down the ice midway through the session.

Zavarukhin gambled early on a sixth skater, playing with an empty net with 5:44 remaining. The bold move backfired: Amur defended well, Dorozhko stopped all that came his way and Ilya Talaluyev shot from his own zone into the empty net to seal a 3-0 win. Dorozhko made 39 saves for his fourth shut-out of the season.

Gross double leads Traktor past Admiral

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 (0-1, 0-2, 1-0)

Traktor’s Far East tour began with victory in Vladivostok as Benoit Groulx’s team bounced back from defeat to Neftekhimik in its previous game. Jordan Gross scored twice, and there were two assists apiece for Andrei Svetlakov and Yegor Korshkov.

This was a new-look Traktor line-up. Pierrick Dube has moved to SKA, while Andrei Pribylsky, Alexei Rikmanov and Andrei Nikonov all missed out. Admiral was unchanged from the team that ended a long losing streak with an overtime win against Avangard on Friday.

There wasn’t much preamble to Traktor’s performance here. Right at the start, Ruslan Aglamzyanov was close to opening the scoring. Then, in the second minute, Logan Day was penalized and the visitor was tested on the PK. A Chelyabinsk power play saw Adam Huska halt Grigory Dronov’s solo rush, but in the 14th minute the visitor made the breakthrough when Josh Leivo beat the goalie on his short side.

Early in the second, Gross got his first of the game. Huska stopped the initial effort on a two-on-one break, but the defenseman followed up to convert the rebound. Midway through the session, he got his second and Traktor’s third on the power play.

The home team tried to fight back, with Libor Sulak and Pavel Shen among the more prominent players. But not even a five-on-three power play at the start of the third could bring a home goal and although the Sailors dominated the final frame – outshooting Traktor 20-1 – Chris Driedger frustrated the home offense.

Driedger missed out on a shut-out when Shen scored in the 59th minute: that consolation goal also saw Sulak get his 125th point for Admiral, equalling Alexander Gorshkov’s club record.

Tolchinsky comes to life with two goals

Barys Astana 1 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 (0-1, 0-2, 1-1)

Metallurg wrapped up its road trip with a third successive victory – and Sunday’s success in Astana was more comfortable than its hard-fought wins at Admiral and Amur.

From the opening moments, the visitor pressured Andrei Shutov in the home net. Magnitka got an early power play and spent almost the full two minutes in the Barys zone, but could not find an opener. However, once back at equal strength, Daniil Vovchenko broke the deadlock midway through the session. The nominal fourth line was particularly eye-catching; Yegor Korobkin alone had three shots at Shutov. It wasn’t until late in the session that Alexander Smolin was called into sustained action, defying the first home PP of the game.

In the second period, Sergei Tolchinsky stepped up to take the game away from Barys. The Metallurg forward had just one goal this season prior to today’s game, but he scored twice in the middle stanza to make it 3-0. Vladimir Tkachyov assisted on the second of those, stretching his productive run to four games, or 15 (4+11) in his last nine.

Down 0-3, Mikhail Kravets swapped goalies and sent Adam Scheel into action. He prevented any further goals in the second period. Then, at the start of the third, Alikhan Asetov pulled one back for the home team with a redirect in front of the net. Barys then got a power play, but could not close the gap any further. And Metallurg ended any question about the final outcome when Roman Kantserov, the KHL’s goal leader this season, potted his 16th of the season to make the final 4-1.