Kuznetsov pots first in Ufa, Severstal goes top. January 10 round-up
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his first goal since joining Salavat Yulaev this week, helping his new club to a 3-1 win at home to Barys. His previous employer, Metallurg, thrashed Barys 5-1. There were goals in the West as Severstal beat Torpedo 7-6 to return to the top of the conference standings. Neftekhimik rallied from 0-2 to beat Admiral.
Third period’s the charm for Neftekhimik
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (0-1, 0-1, 4-0)
The Wolves celebrated a second victory in three days over the Sailors, recovering from 0-2 with a fine third-period display.
Two goals from Damir Zhafyarov made the difference as the home team turned the game around. The result makes it three successive losses for Admiral, and seven in the last eight games.
In the first period, visiting goalie Arseny Tsyba was the busier of the netminders. He made 18 saves as Neftekhimik looked for a strong start. The home team’s frustrations intensified late in the opening session when a kind bounce set up Dmitry Zavgorodny to give Admiral a barely-merited lead at the intermission. Libor Sulak’s contribution to that goal takes him to 100 assists in the KHL.
With a lead to defend, Admiral was happy to see the tempo drop a little in the middle frame. And the visitor was even happier when a rebound off the boards led to Arkady Shestakov doubling the lead. Although the Sailors had more of the game in the second period, Tsyba continued to make good saves to keep the lead intact.
But he was beaten early in the third when Zhafyarov banged in a powerful shot from a dead angle. The home team hit the post shortly after that, then in the 48th minute Zhafyarov’s second tied the game. This was an impressive play: Andrei Belozyorov stripped an opponent of the puck and set up his team-mate for a shot to the open corner.
Now the momentum was behind the home team and in the 53rd minute Maxim Fedotov’s classy one-timer gave Neftekhimik the lead for the first time in the game. The final word went to Matvei Hadvorny, called into the team due to Alexander Dergachyov’s illness. He found the empty net to make the final score 4-2.
Magnitka thumps SKA
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (2-0, 2-0, 1-1)
Table-topping Magnitka romped to a convincing victory over SKA. Saturday’s convincing success makes it five in a row for Andrei Razin’s men, putting them nine points clear of Lokomotiv in the overall KHL standings. SKA, meanwhile, saw a run of three wins in four rudely interrupted.
The game started at high speed, although the early exchanges offered more anticipation than genuine excitement. However, midway through the first period Metallurg opened the scoring. Roman Kantserov spotted Dmitry Silantyev open in center ice and released his team-mate to skate clear and beat Artemy Pleshkov. The visitor then produced a dangerous but unsuccessful power play, only to allow a goal after taking a too many men penalty. Alexander Petunin battled away on the slot to stuff home for 2-0.
Metallurg built on that lead in the second period with two more unanswered goals. Artyom Minulin and Sergei Tolchinsky struck twice in a minute – the latter scoring on his previous club and sending Pleshkov to the bench as Sergei Ivanov took over between the piping.
SKA rarely threatened a goal until early in the third period. Then, after killing Marat Khairullin’s penalty, the visitor got on the scoresheet through Markus Phillips. However, there was no chance of a fightback. A home power play saw Vladimir Tkachyov set up Derek Barach to make it 5-1 and complete a solid victory for Metallurg.
Kuznetsov & Kuznetsov set up Salavat victory
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Barys Astana 1 (1-0, 0-1, 2-0)
Evgeny Kuznetsov got his first goal for his new club – and it turned out to be the gamewinner against Barys.
The 33-year-old forward also picked up an assist in Saturday’s game and has 1+2 in his first two appearances since he was claimed off waivers by Salavat Yulaev on Monday.
Victory helps consolidate the Ufa club’s position in the top eight in the Eastern Conference. Salavat Yulaev remains seventh but is five points clear of ninth-placed Sibir and has an eight-point gap to Barys in 10th.
Kuznetsov’s first contribution came in the first minute. He combined with youngster Alexander Zharovsky to create the opening goal for Yegor Suchkov.
After that, the game developed into an uncompromising physical battle. It threatened to bubble over at times, not least when Barys forward Vsevolod Logvin was assessed a slashing major after chopping down Zharovsky late in the first period.
The visitor survived the five-minute penalty kill and managed to tie the game in the second period. A quick counterattack saw Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan beat Semyon Vyazovoi in the 27th minute. Then Jack Rodewald took a double minor, but the Barys power play missed the chance to get in front.
Salavat Yulaev regained the lead on a delayed penalty in the 46th minute. This time Kuznetsov was the scorer, picking out the top corner to claim his first goal in green. And as the game moved into the closing minutes another Kuznetsov, Maxim, made it 3-1 for the home team to secure a third successive victory.
Lynx back on top after 13-goal thriller
Severstal Cherepovets 7 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 6 (3-1, 3-1, 1-4)
A high-scoring win over Torpedo brought Severstal back to the top of the Western Conference standings. Torpedo, which flirted with the summit last month, is now down in sixth after losing five of its last six.
Incredibly, two of those losses came by the same 7-6 scoreline. Torpedo hockey might be frustrating at the moment, but nobody can argue Alexei Isakov’s team is short on entertainment – even if best appreciated as a neutral.
The home team made a fast start. David Dumbadze opened the scoring in the third minute, then doubled the advantage midway through the first period on Alexander Skorenov’s power play goal. Ruslan Abrosimov added a third before Vasily Atanasov pulled one back in the 17th minute.
Atanasov struck again early in the second and, at 3-2, it looked like this might be a more competitive game. But Severstal responded well, grabbing three more in that middle frame. Abrosimov got his second, then assisted Adam Liska to make it 5-2. A power play goal from Nikolai Chebykin made it six a minute before the intermission.
Torpedo struck early in the third thanks to Anton Sizov, but Liska made it 7-3 midway through the session. The Slovak international is on a hot streak at the moment, and his eight-game productive run is now worth 11 (8+3) points.
However, there was almost a sting in the tail for the home team. Maxim Letunov pulled one back with five to play, and after back-up goalie Ivan Kulbakov went to the bench the six visiting skaters produced late goals from Vladislav Firstov and Bogdan Konyushkov. But the second of those, making it 6-7, came with just five seconds left; Severstal held on to take the points.
