Derby defeats after coaching changes. November 18 round-up

Tuesday saw Traktor and Dynamo Moscow play their first games after the departures of their head coaches. Both had home derby fixtures, and both were beaten. After Benoit Groulx’s resignation, Traktor lost 3-4 to Metallurg. Dynamo went down 2-4 to Spartak after Alexei Kudashov left the club. Avangard had its first shut-out win of the season, 3-0 at Lada. CSKA won 4-1 at Ak Bars. The highest-scoring encounter of the day saw Avtomobilist beat Neftekhimik 6-3, while Severstal defeated Dinamo Minsk 4-2 and Admiral won in a shoot-out at Torpedo.

Magnitka edges South Ural derby

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 (1-2, 0-1, 2-1)

Life after Benoit Groulx got off to an uncertain start for Traktor. The Canadian coach, who led the team to the Gagarin Cup final in his first KHL season, left Chelyabinsk on Monday. In a statement, he said that he no longer felt he could take the team forward. Raphael-Pier Richer took charge of the team today.

Groulx’s abrupt departure wasn’t the only narrative around today’s game. This was also Evgeny Kuznetsov’s first official game in Chelyabinsk since 2014 when he left Traktor for the NHL. Kuznetsov returned to his hometown in the colors of local rival Metallurg and left with the win, but no individual points.

One the problem’s for Groulx’s Traktor this season has been allowing the opening goal. Today it happened again, with Roman Kantserov on target after three minutes. His well-taken solo effort was his 18th of the season, keeping on top of the KHL goalscoring charts. Traktor responded quickly and tied the game in the ninth minute. Josh Leivo’s one-on-one was denied by Ilya Nabokov, but the forward recycled possession and set up Mikhail Grigorenko. However, Metallurg responded with a goal from Ruslan Iskhakov, who picked his moment perfectly to find the top shelf.

In the second period, the home team was undermined by its chance conversion. There were plenty of anxious moments for Nabokov, but no goals in hisnet. Late in the frame, Metallurg punished that profligacy: Vladimir Tkachyov’s latest fine assist set up Alexander Siryatsky to make it 3-1.

Missed chances, including on a power play, continue to hurt Traktor at the start of the third. On the counter, Metallurg again showed how to do it as Valery Orekhov converted an odd-man rush to make it 4-1.

Belatedly, the home offense found its range: Grigory Dronov got one back on the power play, with Vitaly Kravtsov collecting his second assist of the game. On 55:31, Richer called a time-out and called in Chris Driedger for a sixth attacker. It took just 11 seconds for that gambit to bring a goal, Leivo on target to add to his pair of assists. But that was as close as Traktor got to saving the game.

Middle frame puts Avto in control

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 6 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 (1-1, 4-1, 1-1)

The Motormen recorded another high-scoring win, making it 11 goals in two games following their struggles in the Far East. Not for the first time this season, a strong second-period show tipped the game firmly in Avtomobilist’s favor.

Neftekhimik made a good start to the game and soon earned the first power play of the night. With the man advantage, the visitor moved the puck nicely but could not test goalie Vladimir Galkin. Even at equal strength, Avtomobilist struggled to get into the game. However, the home team opened the scoring against the run of play: Roman Gorbunov came down the wing, drawing the defense to him before dishing off the puck for Yaroslav Busygin to join from defense and score.

Neftekhimik continued to press and got a deserved equalizer. Late in the frame another power play brought a goal for German Tochilkin, who got free of defensive cover on the slot.

Things were very different in the middle frame. From the first shift, Filipp Dolganov was under pressure in the visitor’s net. The pressure continued, Ivan Nikolishin hit the bar, and after Nikolai Zavarukhin juggled his lines the home team got in front. Three goals in 2:28 took the game decisively away from Neftekhimik: Maxim Denezhkin scored two of them, sandwiching Artyom Kashtanov’s effort.

Yaroslav Ozolin replaced Dolganov in the Wolves’ net, but he was soon beaten by Brooks Macek to make it 5-1.

Neftekhimik halted the crisis when Evgeny Mityakin scored on his hometown team but the contest was over. The third period saw Reid Boucher add a sixth for Avtomobilist before Maxim Fedotov potted a late consolation.

Mishurov blanks Lada

Lada Togliatti 0 Avangard Omsk 3 (0-1, 0-1, 0-1)

Andrei Mishurov made 28 saves to backstop Avangard’s first shut-out win of the season. It was the goalie’s first appearance for a month and he made the most of his chance ahead of Nikita Serebryakov.

At the other end, Avangard took the lead early. With little over a minute played, Konstantin Okulov’s shot was redirected by Andrew Poturalski on the slot. The visitor continued to boss the play and could have added to its lead, but Alexander Trushkov stood up well in the home net.

The pressure continued at the start of the second period, but despite plenty of attacking possession there were relatively few scares for Trushkov. And midway through the session, the pattern of play changed abruptly. Lada suddenly found itself enjoying more of the game, with the Hawks looking tired. Georgy Belousov and Evgeny Groshev had scoring chances, but the net result was a second goal for Avangard. Joseph Ceccione’s shot was followed by some hard labor on the slot before Mikhail Kotlyarevsky score.

The home team kept pushing at the start of the third, looking to find a way back into the game. However, Avangard soon neutralized that threat and added a third goal in the 46th minute. Igor Martynov sprinted down the ice to chase a clearance, not only preventing an icing but also getting the puck to Dmitry Rashevsky on the slot.

That was the knock-out blow for Lada and the visitor controlled the closing stages. There were chances for more goals, not least on the power play, but neither team would change the scoreline.

CSKA back in playoff place

Ak Bars Kazan 1 CSKA Moscow 4 (1-1, 0-2, 0-1)

Home comforts aren’t offering much for Ak Bars right now. Tuesday’s game brought a second successive loss in Kazan, with 11 goals allowed in that time. CSKA halted a two-game losing run and moved back up to eighth in the Western Conference, ahead of SKA.

The early exchanges offered little hint of the problems Ak Bars would suffer. The home team started well and got the first power play of the game, only to fluff its PP and quickly find itself playing four-on-four. CSKA looked second best in the opening frame and the visitor’s issues were compounded when Rhett Gardner took a major penalty shortly after Jeremy Roy went to the box. A five-on-three power play saw Ilya Safonov put Ak Bars in front, but within a minute Maxim Sorkin’s short-handed effort sent the teams to the intermission at 1-1.

After the break, the home team continued to have more of the game but could not take its chances. Igor Nikitin’s disciplined defensive game was visible amid blocked shots. After the midway point, a power play for the Muscovites saw Dmitry Buchelnikov make it 2-1 while Timur Bilyalov was screened. Ak Bars spurned another power play chance, then fell further behind when both home defensemen went behind the net, leaving space for Pavel Karnaukhov to score with ease. CSKA ended the period with three goals from just eight shots.

CSKA got another goal on the power play at the start of the third, but this time the home bench successfully challenged the call. But the penalties kept coming, and Kirill Dolzhenkov added another PP goal to make it 4-1 in the 46th minute. Up by three, the visitor played defensively in the closing stages, easing to an important victory.

Lynx leap into second

Severstal Cherepovets 4 Dinamo Minsk 2 (1-1, 2-1, 1-0)

Victory over Dinamo Minsk lifted Severstal to second in the Western Conference, leapfrogging today’s opponent along the way. The Belarusians drop to fourth, but are just a point behind the Lynx and third-placed Torpedo.

The first period was even, despite Severstal picking up six penalty minutes. The home team opened the scoring through Alexander Skorenov in the 16th minute, but eventually those penalties took their toll and Vitaly Pinchuk scored on the power play to extend his productive streak to four games. Vadim Shipachyov’s assist against his first club moves him to 991 career points.

Severstal regained the lead early in the second period. Danil Veryayev’s long pass sent captain Adam Liska clean through on the Dinamo net and the Slovak forward made the most of the chance to get his first goal of an injury-disrupted season. His second came before the intermission, restoring the home lead once again after Sam Anas tied it up for Dinamo.

The Belarusians believed that had another equalizer midway through the third, but a review spotted an offside. Severstal made the game safe in the last minute when Danil Aimurzin found the empty net. 

Dynamo defeated after Kudashov dismissal

Dynamo Moscow 2 Spartak Moscow 4 (0-1, 0-1, 2-2)

Vyacheslav Kozlov took charge at Dynamo following Alexei Kudashov’s departure on Monday. The decision to fire the long-serving head coach came as a surprise, and Kozlov made few changes to the team that beat Sibir in Kudashov’s last game. He was boosted by the return of fit-again Max Comtois up front.

Both teams have enjoyed impressive power plays this season, while neither has looked great on the PK. However, today saw no power play goals. Spartak fluffed two chances in the first, then Dynamo failed to do anything with its sole opportunity. After all that, Alexander Belyayev jumped out of the box to score the only goal of the first period: 1-0 Spartak at the intermission.

Joey Keane set up Belyayev’s goal and in the second period, he returned the favor. Belyayev got the puck back to the slot, where Keane fired a powerful shot through traffic to beat Vladislav Podyapolsky. After that second goal, Spartak continued to press and Dynamo was in greater danger of allowing a third than reducing the deficit. At the start of the third period, the Red-and-Whites got another goal. Ivan Morozov scored for the fourth game in a row to open a commanding 3-0 lead.

Finally, the Blue-and-Whites rediscovered their scoring form. Max Comtois assisted as first Anton Slepyshev then Maxim Mamin clawed the score back to 2-3. However, Spartak withstood the pressure in the closing stages and Daniel Usmanov’s empty-netter made the game safe.

Sailors edge shoot-out verdict

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 Admiral Vladivostok 2 SO (0-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

A second home loss for Torpedo might be evidence of a wobble for Alexei Isakov’s team. Today’s shoot-out reverse against Admiral, following a 2-6 loss against Avangard, enabled Severstal to sneak ahead into second place.

The home team spent much of the game playing catch-up. In the third minute, a swift attack saw Stepan Starkov slide the puck across the slot for Kyle Olson to steer it between Denis Kostin’s pads.

At the other end, Torpedo had the puck in the net on a similar play, but a bench challenge found an offside and Admiral kept its 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Torpedo looked to raise the tempo but found a familiar face in the way. Goalie Adam Huska played two seasons in Nizhny Novgorod; today he was defiant on behalf of his new employer. It took a power play goal in the 36th minute to beat him at last: Yegor Vinogradov created three chances before Vasily Atanasov’s redirect hit the target.

In the third period, Admiral once again had more of the play. Torpedo rarely troubled Huska but the Sailors could not turn possession into a winning goal. Olson’s penalty late in the frame effectively ensured that this one would go to overtime. The extras brought some solid defense from Admiral. Then, in a shoot-out, Huska gave way to Dmitry Shugayev, who proved unbeatable as Igor Geraskin was the only player to score, giving Admiral the edge.