Shalunov shoots down Salavat, Sibir loses again. November 17 round-up

An overtime goal from Maxim Shalunov lifted Lokomotiv past Salavat Yulaev. Monday’s game in Yaroslavl saw both teams hold the lead before Ufa tied it up late, but the Western Conference leader prevailed. Sibir suffered a 13th straight defeat, going down 0-3 at home to Shanghai Dragons. And Barys moved up to seventh in the East thanks to an OT win at Sochi.

Unlucky 13 for Sibir

Sibir Novosibirsk 0 Shanghai Dragons 3 (0-0, 0-2, 0-1)

A 0-3 loss to Shanghai Dragons leaves Sibir contemplating its worst ever streak in the KHL. Today’s reverse is the 13th in a row for the Novosibirsk team, a dismal run that has already cost head coach Vyacheslav Butsayev his job.

Butsayev’s interim replacement, Yaroslav Lyuzenkov, was boosted by the return of Fyodor Gordeyev and Ivan Chekhovich from injury. Forward Chekhovich was back in action in time to face the club where he began this season.

Shanghai had its own worries ahead of Monday’s game. Gerard Gallant saw his team beaten by Sochi, the West’s basement-dweller, in its previous game. He responded by restoring Patrik Rybar as starting goalie and bringing back Adam Clendening on defense.

Sibir had slightly the better of the first period. Vladislav Kara was close to opening the scoring on the power play, and Rybar pulled off a good save to stop

Vladimir Tkachyov on a two-on-one rush. At the other end, Kevin Labanc was the liveliest forward but the teams could not find a goal before the intermission.

The Dragons came up with the answer just 11 seconds into the second period. Gage Quinney potted that one, then added a second on the power play after Sibir was pulled up for too many men. That poor start to the middle frame took the wind out of Sibir’s sails and neither a power play nor a one-on-one break for Ilya Lyuzenkov could get the home team back into contention.

In the third, Sibir had chances to make a game of it but could not find a way past Rybar. Instead, Shanghai padded its lead on a power play goal from Nick Merkley. He found the net for the third game in a row, while Quinney’s helper gave him a hand in all three goals. Rybar made 30 saves for his shut-out.

Shalunov settles rollercoaster battle

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 OT (0-2, 1-0, 2-1, 1-0)

Maxim Shalunov’s overtime goal earned Lokomotiv victory in a topsy-turvy game at home to Salavat Yulaev. The visitor jumped to a 2-0 advantage, Lokomotiv hit back to lead 3-2, then Jack Rodewald tied it up in the 59th minute. But Shalunov struck in the last moment of the extras to give his team its second victory of the season over Salavat.

The home team got most things right in the first period, enjoying more possession and outshooting Ufa 12-6. However, it could not find a way past Semyon Vyazovoi in the visitor’s net, and then allowed two goals late in the session. Artyom Gorshkov and Vladislav Yefremov gave Salavat an improbable 2-0 lead at the intermission.

However, early in the second Loko got its first power play of the night and Georgy Ivanov pulled a goal back. Once again, the stats favored the home team in second stanza but there was only one goal to show for it.

The Railwaymen began the third period with a four-minute power play after Sheldon Rempal got a double minor for high sticks. Salavat Yulaev survived that test, but Loko levelled it in the 51st minute when Byron Froese redirected a Nikita Kiryanov shot into the net. It wasn’t long before another home PP bore fruit and Alexander Radulov produced a similar finish to divert Rushan Rafikov’s shot past Vyazovoi.

It took some time for Salavat to move play back down the ice, but the visitor managed to save the game on 58:42. Rodewald’s goal came on only the fourth shot at Daniil Isayev in the period, but proved sufficient to take us to the extras.

Ilya Nikolayev was assessed a minor for interference on Vyazovoi at the end of the 60 minutes and Salavat Yulaev began with a power play in overtime. Rempal almost squeezed a shot inside Isayev’s near post, but the home PK held firm. Then, with six seconds to play, Lokomotiv had an attacking face-off. Bob Hartley called a time-out and his words opened the door for his team to win it. Radulov won possession on the boards and drilled the puck to the slot, where Shalunov scored in the final second of play.

Thompson sinks Sochi in overtime

HC Sochi 1 Barys Astana 2 OT (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Barys moved up to seventh in the East thanks to an overtime win at Sochi. Mikhail Kravets’ team now has a two-point advantage over Salavat Yulaev in ninth after a third win in four games.

Sochi, 4-2 winners over the Dragons on Saturday, made the better start and Jean-Christophe Beaudin opened the scoring in the eighth minute. That was the only goal of the first period, although the home team had two power play chances. The second of those was a major penalty assessed on Emil Galimov for checking to the head. The extended PP straddled the intermission, but the Leopards could not take advantage.

Instead, Barys tied the game in the 37th minute through Kirill Panyukov. The 28-year-old forward scored his fourth of the season, while Tyce Thompson collected an assist for the second game in a row.

Thompson was destined for bigger things in this game. After a goalless third period, he grabbed the OT winner. Sochi’s forwards got in a tangle as they looked to circle the puck and Thompson grabbed the chance for a counterattack. He beat Rafael Bikmullin and headed towards goal before shooting past Alexei Shchetilin to settle the outcome.