Derby delight for Ak Bars, Dynamo, Sibir and SKA. December 16 round-up
As the KHL returned from the international break, it was derby day. The big game saw Ak Bars win 6-3 in the Green Derby against Salavat Yulaev. Dynamo Moscow posted a seventh straight win with a 1-0 success over Spartak. The Siberian derby also went to the home team, with Taylor Beck getting two assists in Sibir’s 4-2 win over Avangard. And in Petersburg, SKA beat the Dragons 4-1. Elsewhere, Lokomotiv beat Dinamo Minsk to return to the top of the Western Conference, while there were road wins for CSKA, Torpedo and Barys.
Winning return for Beck, two goals for Koshelev
Sibir Novosibirsk 4 Avangard Omsk 2 (1-1, 2-1, 1-0)
Taylor Beck made his return to Sibir and finished on the winning side in the Siberian derby against Omsk. Another Canadian, coach Raphael Richer, was making his debut as part of Guy Boucher’s staff for Avangard following his departure from Traktor.
The early stages went Avangard’s way. The Hawks had the better of the game and turned that into a couple of power plays. The second of those saw Andrew Poturalski open the scoring after battling for position on the slot. For much of the opening frame, Sibir lacked an offensive edge and had to wait until the 10th minute for a first shot on target. However, the home team tied the scores just before the intermission thanks to Semyon Koshelev.
The second period began with Sibir on the power play, and Beck showed why Sibir wanted him back with an assist as Anton Kosolapov put the home team in front for the first time. Avangard responded with a surge of attacking play: Damir Sharipzyanov had a dangerous shot at Anton Krasotkin, Poturalski was close to a double, then Nail Yakupov had a goal disallowed.
But the next goal went to Sibir. After weathering the storm, the home team managed a rare spell of pressure and Koshelev got his second of the night, redirecting Daniil Valitov’s shot home. Avangard managed to get a goal back late in the frame when Konstantin Okulov scored on the power play.
In the third, Avangard tried to ramp up the pressure on Krasotkin, but was vulnerable to counterattacks. Mikhail Abramov almost added a fourth, then Klim Kostin’s untimely penalty slowed the Hawks’ advance. The finishing touch went to Chase Priskie, who found the empty net off another assist from Beck.
Motormen misfire against struggling Barys
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Barys Astana 4 (0-0, 0-2, 1-2)
For the second time this season, Barys got the better of Avtomobilist. The home team welcomed back defenseman Sergei Zborovsky, absent since the opening game of the season through injury. The Motormen also had Reid Boucher back in action, albeit on the fourth line.
The early exchanges saw both teams struggle to get back into their rhythm after the international break. Barys had an early, ineffective power play, Avtomobilist had to wait until the middle of the session before generating any prolonged pressure. The home team’s best chance went to Boucher on a solo counter.
There was a slow start to the second period as well, but Barys managed to get in front. Sanat Daniyar cut out an attempted long pass and suddenly the visitor had a four-on-one rush that saw Semyon Simonov open the scoring. Avtomobilist did not respond well, and fell further behind to a Michael Vecchione goal close to the intermission.
A disappointing home performance continued in the third, with Avtomobilist again struggling to create chances. Finally, midway through the session, there was some relief when Maxim Osipov joined the attack to halve the deficit.
However, Barys would not be denied. Almost immediately, Simonov potted his second of the night, deflating the home crowd with an effort that whistled past Vladimir Galkin from the blue line. And any lingering hopes were killed off when Max Willman scored into an empty net to make the final score 4-1.
Poltapov lifts CSKA past Lada
Lada Togliatti 2 CSKA Moscow 4 (0-2, 2-2, 0-0)
A three-point game from Prokhor Poltapov helped CSKA to a third successive victory. Poltapov, who impressed for Team Russia during the international break, had a goal and two helpers as the Muscovites opened a three-point gap to ninth-placed Shanghai.
Ahead of the game, the teams traded players. Defenseman Mac Hollowell moved to CSKA, with Colby Williams and Nikolai Makarov going to Lada. None were involved against their former clubs today.
In the first period, Lada paid the penalty. CSKA had three power plays and scored twice to take control of the game. Poltapov hit the bar early during the first power play and as the attack developed he combined with Vitaly Abramov for Pavel Karnaukhov to score at the back door. Not long before the break, Jeremy Roy doubled the lead with a powerful long-range effort.
Within a minute of the restart, Poltapov scored to make it 3-0, converting Nikolai Kovalenko’s set-up. Lada belatedly hit back when Anton Burdasov made it 1-3, but another power play for the visitor saw Denis Guryanov restore the three-goal advantage.
Lada again pulled a goal back, with Burdasov turning provider for Artur Tyanulin to score in his first goal since arriving from Sochi.
After that the home team put some pressure on the CSKA defense late in the middle frame. That pressure continued with a power play at the start of the third, but there was no reward for those efforts as the visitor closed out a 4-2 win.
Defending champ goes back to the top
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Dinamo Minsk 2 SO (2-1, 0-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)
The big game in the West saw second play third, and Lokomotiv’s win lifted the defending champion in front of Severstal and back to the top of the conference.
The home team was up against a prolific opponent and looked to get control of the game early on. In the opening shifts, Lokomotiv was the livelier team and tested Zach Fucale more than once. An early power play helped, and Yegor Surin took advantage to open the scoring in the third minute.
Midway through the session, Surin was involved again with an assist as Georgy Ivanov made it 2-0. Only after that did we finally see some of the Belarusian offense. Suddenly, there was work for Daniil Isayev to do in the home net and he was beaten in the 18th minute when Xavier Ouellet took advantage of a defensive lapse.
After the intermission, Dinamo looked to build on that success. The visitor had the better of the game, wearing down the home defense with long spells of pressure. The only thing missing was a finishing touch: of 21 attempts on goal, only six forced Isayev into action and he stopped them all.
However, Lokomotiv took a penalty at the start of the third and Alex Limoges tied the scores on the power play. Once tied, the teams played more cautiously. There were chances to win, with Surin having the best of them, and Dinamo failed to convert another power play as the game went to overtime, then a shoot-out. Last time, Dinamo had the edge in the extras, but this time Artur Kayumov kept his nerve to fire Lokomotiv to victory.
Kazan on top in Green Derby
Ak Bars Kazan 6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (3-1, 1-1, 2-1)
Just 11 days after a painful 1-4 loss in Ufa, Ak Bars got revenge on home ice. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men silenced Sheldon Rempal, who had four points in the previous game, while Alexander Chmelevski scored his third goal in three games against his former club.
The game got off to a lively start: Semyon Terekhov put Ak Bars in front after five minutes, only for Denis Yan to tie it up right away. Then the home team ran into penalty trouble, albeit in somewhat slapstick style. Two ‘too many men’ calls reduced the host to three against five but the PK did its job. And more: in the 18th minute, another penalty kill produced a shorthanded goal for Kirill Semyonov to restore the lead. And 90 seconds later, back at equal strength, Chmelevski added a third.
After the first period, Ufa replaced starting goalie Semyon Vyazovoi with Ilya Konovalov. But the visitor could not make any significant impact on the game. In the 34th minute, Dmitrij Jaskin added a fourth goal for Ak Bars and even though the host continued to pick up penalties, it went unpunished until late in the session when Devin Brosseau got one back. Ironically, Jaskin was the player in the box when the Canadian made it 2-4.
The third period saw Ak Bars kill yet another penalty, then extend its lead. This time Artemy Knyazev was the scorer with a great shot from the point. After 55 minutes, the home team got its first power play of the night – and managed to give up a shorthanded goal to Artyom Gorshkov. That made no difference to the final outcome, with Dmitry Katelevsky having the final word in a 6-3 win.
Torpedo sinks Neftekhimik with strong third period
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 (1-0, 1-1, 0-4)
Torpedo recovered from 0-2 to win in Nizhnekamsk and record a third successive victory. Neftekhimik suffered a second straight loss despite a promising start to the game.
The game began in combative fashion, and the first flashpoint came in the fourth minute when Anton Sizov took issue with Matvei Nadvorny’s hit on Vasily Atanasov and triggered a fight. While those two cooled off in the box, Nikita Artamonov gave Neftekhimik the lead with a goal against his former club.
That was all that separated the teams at the intermission, and in the second period the home team doubled its advantage on a power play goal from captain Alexander Dergachyov. However, Vladimir Tkachyov pulled one back for Torpedo late in the session and with that goal the momentum moved.
The third period saw Torpedo start on the front foot and the visitor went on to get four unanswered goals. Anton Silayev tied it up in the 48th minute, then two tallies in 11 seconds saw Sizov and Vladislav Firstov take the game away from Neftekhimik. The home team’s hopes of recovery were definitively sunk five minutes later when Bogdan Konyushkov struck on the power play to make the final 5-2.
Podyapolsky returns with a shut-out
Dynamo Moscow 1 Spartak Moscow 0 (0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
This Moscow derby was a tense battle, settled by a solitary goal in the third period as Dynamo rolled to a seventh straight win.
Spartak swapped six players out of the team that played the last game before the international break as Alexei Zhamnov looked for an improvement on the 5-7 loss at Avangard. Dynamo, meanwhile, welcomed back goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky after he missed almost a month.
The incoming goalie would play a big part in his team’s win, stopping 27 shots. However, he was well protected by his team-mates, especially in the second period. Spartak had 20 attempts on goal, but Podyapolsky had just six saves to make. Defensemen Artyom Sergeyev and Fredrik Claesson blocked three shots each in the middle frame.
The opening goal arrived after 43 minutes. A swift attack ended with Jordan Weal rifling home a wrist shot from the center of the zone. Assists from Nikita Gusev and Daniil Pylenkov saw both players extend their productive streaks to five games. Weal was close to adding a second after a great set-up from Dylan Sikura. Instead, the home team faced a nervous finale as it defended its one-goal lead against a Spartak team that continued to create decent chances without ever fashioning a clear-cut opportunity to save the game.
Gallant’s rage costs Dragons
SKA St. Petersburg 4 Shanghai Dragons 1 (0-1, 1-0, 3-0)
A penalty on Gerard Gallant midway through the third period cost Shanghai dear in its derby clash with SKA. The head coach prompted a bench minor, served by Borna Rendulic, for his angry reaction to a call on Will Reilly. The two-man power play saw SKA get ahead for the first time, and from there the home team went on to win comfortably.
Gallant wasn’t the only head coach in the news. Igor Larionov had to sit this one out due to illness, with Yury Babenko stepping up in his place.
This season, SKA vs Dragons is a Petersburg derby after the Chinese franchise relocated to SKA Arena in the summer. Like many derbies, it faced a slow start, but late in the first period Nick Merkley put Shanghai in front. That was cancelled out midway through the second by Nikolai Goldobin, whose error contributed to the Dragons’ opener.
But the big moment came midway through the third period. Reilly fouled Joseph Blandisi and sat for tripping. Gallant disputed the call, grabbing Pavel Akolzin’s stick and banging it off the boards to draw a misconduct call.
Five-on-three play suited SKA, and Sergei Plotnikov made it 2-1 in the 52nd minute. And that proved to be a knock-out blow. Five minutes later, SKA scored again as Goldobin got his second, then Blandisi found the empty net to complete the verdict.
