Seventh heaven for Metallurg, Severstal back on top. January 3 round-up

League leader Metallurg began 2026 in fine style, scoring seven on Shanghai Dragons on the opening gameday of the New Year. Severstal also had caused to celebrate, with a 4-2 success against Lada returning it to the top of the Western Conference. Admiral won the Far East derby 3-2, and Sochi took a 2-1 verdict against Neftekhimik.

Olson leads Admiral to derby win

Admiral Vladivostok 3 Amur Khabarovsk 2 (1-0, 1-1, 1-1)

The first game of the New Year brought a last-gasp victory for Admiral, and the Sailors began 2026 by snapping a four-game losing streak.

January brought an opportunity for Admiral goalie Arseny Tsyba, who started the game for the first time since dropping out of the team back in October. He found himself under early pressure as the Tigers made a lively start. However, the home team withstood that onslaught and improved to take the lead midway through the opening frame thanks to Kyle Olson, who surprised Maxim Dorozhko with a shot from a tight angle. Tsyba picked up an assist on that play.

Olson’s goal separated the teams at the first intermission, although Amur had the better of the play and hit the post through Alexander Filatyev in the opening frame. The visitor’s problems with taking chances continued in the second period: one power play came up blank, the next produced a short-handed goal as Admiral’s Yegor Petukhov doubled the lead. It wasn’t until the 34th minute that the visitor finally got on the scoreboard, with in-form Yaroslav Likhachyov punishing a schoolboy error to give his team a deserved goal.

That set up a fast-paced third period with Amur throwing everything at Tsyba’s net. Midway through the session, a swift counterattack brought a tying goal from Kirill Slepets, and the game was wide open. Amur kept pressing, Tsyba kept Admiral level. Twice, the crossbar came to the home team’s rescue. Yet the last word went to the Sailors: with 20 seconds left Olson got his second of the night, converting a power play to clinch a 3-2 verdict.

Dumbadze, Abrosimov put Severstal back on top

Severstal Cherepovets 4 Lada Togliatti 2 (2-0, 0-1, 2-1)

Victory over Lada put Severstal back on top of the Western Conference. The Lynx are level on points with Dinamo Minsk but has more victories in regulation to claim top spot. Lokomotiv, inactive today, is a further point back in third place.

While the home team rebounded after back-to-back shoot-out losses, Lada stumbled to a fifth successive loss and is losing ground at the foot of the standings.

The home team began strongly and opened a 2-0 lead in the first period. Midway through the session, David Dumbadze broke the deadlock, then a power play goal for Ruslan Abrosimov doubled the lead. Abrosimov pushed his productive streak to four games, while captain Adam Liska’s assist extended his series to five.

The second period was a more equal contest and, five minutes before the intermission, Lada scored on the power play. Reilly Sawchuk, his team’s leading scorer, followed up a double in the 3-4 loss at Avtomobilist with another goal here.

However, the home team was not going to let this one slip. A first full power play for Severstal brought Abrosimov’s second of the night to restore that two-goal advantage. In the 53rd minute Lada made a game of it thanks to a goal from Tomas Jurco. But the visitor got no closer: Dumbadze joined Abrosimov on two goals with an empty-netter to finish the job.

Sochi builds on win

HC Sochi 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (0-1, 2-0, 0-0)

After ending 2025 with a win, Sochi built on that success in its first game of 2026. The Leopards came from a goal down to edge Neftekhimik and open a four-point gap over Lada at the foot of the Western Conference.

The early exchanges suggested that the Wolves had missed their hockey more during the New Year break. The visitor opened the scoring with the first shot of the game when Timur Khairullin fired home. Evgeny Mityakin and Andrei Belozyorov assisted, extending their productive streaks to four games each (0+5 and 4+2 respectively). By the middle of the first period, Sochi began to get back into the game and the home team got the first power play of the game as it started to take control.

In the second period, Neftekhimik outshot Sochi. However, the home team managed to turn the game around on two unanswered goals. Midway through the session, Max Ellis scored with an effort similar to Khairullin’s. A couple of minutes later, Pavel Dedunov – who was close to tying the scores in the first period – found the top corner to make it 2-1.

Neftekhimik changed goalies for the third period with Yaroslav Ozolin replacing Filipp Dolganov. The visitor again had more of the play, outshooting Sochi 16-9, but Pavel Khomchenko stood firm in the home net to close out a 2-1 verdict.

Magnitka too hot for Dragons

Shanghai Dragons 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 7 (1-1, 2-5, 0-1)

League leader Metallurg scored seven at Shanghai Dragons to record a fifth win in six games. While things are going smoothly in Magnitogorsk at the moment, this was no happy new year for the Chinese franchise. Today’s loss with the 11th in 15 games for Gerard Gallant’s team, a run that leaves it adrift of the top eight in the Western Conference.

That loss of form, which started last month, is in stark contrast to the start of the season when the Dragons breathed fire. Today, the team again started brightly but faded alarmingly. Spencer Foo, team captain and Chinese international opened the scoring in the 17th minute to offer some seasonal optimism.

However, the Dragons also took the lead when the teams met in Magnitogorsk, only to slump to a 1-6 loss. Today, that pattern repeated. Five seconds before the intermission, Makar Khabarov tied the game, then Alexander Petunin put Metallurg in front on the power play in the 28th minute.

Foo found a quick response to tie us up at 2-2, but then came a collapse. Andrei Kareyev allowed three goals in as many minutes as the KHL’s most prolific offense enjoyed itself in the middle frame. Roman Kantserov, Danila Palivko and Sergei Tolchinsky all found the net to put Magnitka in control. Surprisingly, perhaps, Kareyev stayed in his net and the teams traded goals late in the second period: Austin Wagner pulled one back for Shanghai, but Dmitry Silanyev struck 26 seconds later to make it 6-3 at the second intermission.

That meant the game was effectively over. The third period brought one more goal, as Nikita Korotkov made it 7-3. Free-scoring Metallurg plundered another healthy goal haul – and all on the day that it placed Evgeny Kunetsov on waivers after an unconvincing spell with the Ural club.