Four-point Kantserov paces Metallurg to victory. December 29 round-up

There was only one game on Monday’s KHL card, but it was cracker. Metallurg and Traktor played out a 4-4 tie in the South Ural derby before Yegor Korobkin won it for the league leader.

Korobkin grabs OT winner after late drama

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5 Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 OT (1-0, 2-1, 1-3, 1-0)

A four-point game from Roman Kantserov earned Metallurg a hard-fought victory over its local rival. The forward scored his team’s first two goals and assisted on two more, but the Steelmen blew a 3-1 lead and ended up tying in regulation.



However, the home team held its nerve to win in overtime. Yegor Korobkin potted his seventh goal of the season, putting away the rebound from Valery Orekhov’s shot to claim a 5-4 verdict. The win sees Metallurg go into the new year on 62 points, currently seven clear of closest pursuers Avangard and Dinamo Minsk.

For much of the game, Metallurg seemed to be in control. The home team dominated the first period and took a deserved lead when Kantserov converted Artyom Minulin’s feed from the blue line. However, Traktor had its chances, with Andrei Pribylsky hitting the post and Josh Leivo testing Ilya Nabokov in a one-on-one.

Kantserov doubled the lead early in the second, but Traktor found a way back into the game in the 33rd minute through Alexander Rykov. That drew a swift response from the host, with Nikita Korotkov needing less than a minute to restore the two-goal cushion. Metallurg held its 3-1 lead to the second intermission, and outshot Traktor 27-17 through 40 minutes.

But the third period saw Evgeny Koreshkov’s team hit back. Jordan Gross made it 2-3 within a minute of the restart, and Traktor pressed for more. Metallurg killed a penalty soon after, but Nabokov continued to work as the visitor scented an equalizer. Midway through the frame, that tying goal arrived. Yegor Korshkov redirected a shot from Arseny Koromyslov to claim his 100th marker in the KHL.

Immediately, Metallurg got on the power play after Traktor was assessed a bench minor. Kantserov went close to completing his hat-trick but the breakthrough had to wait until the teams were back at equal strength. This time, Kantserov was again the provider, teeing up Minulin for a point shot that Alexander Petunin redirected into the net with three to play.

When Vitaly Kravtsov sat for tripping on 57:04, it looked like Traktor’s hopes were heading to the sin bin with him. But 30 seconds later, Kantserov was also assessed a minor penalty and, playing four-on-four, the visitor tied it up with 63 seconds to play. Leivo and Mikhail Grigorenko battled for possession in the corner before the Canadian managed to move the puck to the center of the zone. Grigory Dronov, a Metallurg product, fired home to make it 4-4 and send the game into overtime.

However, that was as good as it got for Traktor, which fell to Korobkin’s winner and suffered its third derby reverse of the season.