Neftekhimik riding high, Morozov goal not enough for Spartak

A battling 3-2 win at home to CSKA put Neftekhimik up to fourth in the Eastern Conference. And on a bad night for Moscow teams, Spartak fell 3-4 at home to Severstal despite Ivan Morozov scoring on his return from suspension. 

Wolves break into top four

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 CSKA Moscow 2 (0-1 2-1, 1-0)

A hard-working victory over CSKA lifted Neftekhimik into the top four in the Eastern Conference, while the Muscovites missed the chance to open a four-point gap over ninth-placed SKA in the west.

The home team welcomed back Damir Zhafyarov after injury and he slotted into the first line against one of his former clubs. Defenseman Joey Duszak made his debut for the Wolves after joining from Shanghai Dragons.

CSKA arrived after back-to-back shut-outs over Sibir and Severstal. For the start of this four-game road trip, Igor Nikitin welcomed back forward Maxim Sorkin while youngsters Kirill Dolzhenkov and Matvei Shuravin played as 13th forward and 7th D respectively.

Neftekhimik made the livelier start and Evgeny Mityakin saw a great chance to open the scoring go wide. CSKA failed to test Filipp Dolganov in the first five minutes, with the home defense getting into position to block any shots that came their way. Gradually, though, the visitor got into the game and began to push the play down the ice. A penalty for Duszak turned out to be the key moment: on the power play, Pavel Karnuakhov’s face-off win went straight to Daniel Sprong’s stick and the Dutchman instinctively snapped off a goal-bound shot.

The Wolves roared back at the start of the middle frame. Early pressure brought a goal for Luka Profaca, on target for the second game in a row. At the other end, CSKA responded and twice came close to beating Dolganov before Jeremy Roy got the puck in the net. However, that goal did not stand: a bench challenge uncovered an offside.

Neftekhimik responded with a similar play: Matvei Nadvorny got the puck to the deep slot where Nikita Khlystov drove it home, and this time there was no question of any infringement. Nonetheless, CSKA was not behind for long as Vitaly Abramov stormed into the home zone and wired a shot beyond Dolganov.

In the third, CSKA tried to keep Neftekhimik pinned into its zone. This was partially successful: there was plenty of pressure, but no serious goal threat. The visitor’s breakaway attempts posed a greater danger, and Dmitry Buchelnikov fired against the post from one such opportunity.

Neftekhimik also had a big breakaway chance when Kirill Kapustin got clear, but Vladislav Provolnev caught him and disrupted his shot. In the end, though, another counterattack brought the winning goal. After the puck came back off the post, German Tochilkin was first to the rebound to make it 3-2. In the closing stages, a penalty on Denis Zernov undermined CSKA’s efforts to save the game and Neftekhimik closed out the win.

Morozov marks return with goal, Severstal takes the win

Spartak Moscow 3 Severstal Cherepovets 4 (2-1, 0-2, 1-1)

Severstal bounced back from a 0-2 loss at CSKA, improving to three victories from four at Spartak. The home team suffered a third defeat in four, ending a run of alternate wins and losses but not in the manner Alexei Zhamnov would have hoped.

Spartak welcomed back Ivan Morozov after his doping-related ban. And the 25-year-old, inactive for two months during his suspension, returned with a goal. He opened the scoring in the eighth minute after breaking into the Severstal zone and setting up team-mate Pavel Poryadin for a shot. Konstantin

Shostak blocked that attempt, but Morozov put away the rebound. Severstal challenged for offside, but the review confirmed the goal.

That gave Spartak its second power play of the night, but the home team could not increase its lead. Instead, in the 14th minute, Severstal tied it up through Yanni Kaldis. It wasn’t long before another penalty hit the visitor and it was third time lucky for the home power play. A well-worked play saw Adam Ruzicka restore the lead in the 18th minute.

But Severstal made a fast start to the second period. Danil Aimurzin’s fifth goal of the season tied things up inside three minutes, and a slick passing play set up Mikhail Ilyin for 3-2 on 25:22. The balance of play was fairly even in the remainder of the session, even though Spartak enjoyed two more power plays, but there were no more goals.

At the start of the third, Severstal doubled its lead. The visitor won possession in center ice and got a two-on-one rush. Ivan Kvochko brought the play down the left and dished off a pass for Nikita Kamalov to score.

Spartak got back into contention on another power play goal, with Danil Pivchulin punishing Alexander Skorenov’s misdemeanor in the 48th minute. But Severstal held on, deploying a smart press in the closing stages to unsettle the home offense and make it difficult to get goalie Evgeny Volokhin to the sidelines. There were just 10 seconds left when the Red-and-Whites finally got a sixth skater into the game, and that was not enough to change the outcome.