Drama at the top in the West. January 21 round-up

The big action today involved the race for the Western Conference summit. Second met third in Yaroslavl, and Lokomotiv edged past Dinamo Minsk thanks to a goal 24 seconds before the end. However, leader Severstal managed to retain its position, recovering from 2-4 to win in overtime at Sochi. In the East, Ak Bars completed a perfect tour of the Far East with another win at Admiral. Neftekhimik took a shoot-out verdict over Dynamo Moscow in Tuesday’s other action.

Ak Bars wraps up flawless Eastern expedition

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Ak Bars Kazan 4 (1-1, 0-2, 0-1)

A perfect trip to the Far East for Ak Bars concluded with a 4-1 win over Admiral. That makes it eight points in four games for Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men, consolidating their position behind Eastern Conference leader Metallurg.

Home head coach Oleg Bratash reacted to Monday’s 2-5 loss to the same opponent by bringing Adam Huska back into the net and elevating Vladimir Bryukvin to the top line. On the fourth line, defenseman Semyon Ruchkin was deployed alongside forwards Ivan Muranov and Vyacheslav Osnovin. Yegor Petukhov, whose contract was recently terminated, was not involved.

For the visitor there was just one change: Maxim Arefyev took over in goal from Timur Bilyalov.

Ak Bars opened the scoring in the seventh minute with its second shot on goal. Kirill Semyonov’s good work behind the net created the chance for Alexei Pustozyorov. That was a fair return for a good start from the visitor, which played faster and smarter.

However, Admiral tied it up within five minutes when Stepan Starkov tipped in Libor Sulak’s effort. After the goal, the home offense created a couple more promising moments but there were few clear-cut chances at either end as the opening frame finished level.

After the intermission, Ak Bars took control of the game. Mitch Miller started us off with his 14th goal of the season. The American set a club record for goals from defense in the regular season. After falling behind, the Sailors faced three successive penalty kills. Right after the first of those, Semyon Terekhov doubled the lead. Later, Artyom Galimov hit the bar and Alexander Barabanov fired wide of an open corner as the visitor’s uneven power play showed signs of finding its rhythm.

Admiral’s problems increased in the third when Huska sustained an injury and had to leave the game. He was replaced by Arseny Tsyba, who was reprieved almost immediately when Alexander Chmelevski fired against the post.

It took the home team nine minutes to manage a shot on goal in the final frame; later Sulak forced a fantastic save from Arefyev. But the final word went to the visitor with Semyonov completing the scoring in the last minute.

Last gasp goal gives Loko the win

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Dinamo Minsk 1 (0-0, 0-0, 2-1)

The battle between these Western Conference high-flyers was a slow burner – but it finished in dramatic fashion. Yegor Surin, back in action today after a long injury lay-off, grabbed a last-minute winner to return his team – albeit briefly – to the top of the standings.

Surin’s big moment came with 24 seconds left. The 19-year-old won possession in his own zone and sent Alexander Radulov away down the right. While the veteran forward rounded the net, Surin took up a position between the hash marks and waited for the feed before firing home a one-timer to win the game.

Earlier, the teams played two goalless periods with Dinamo enjoying the better of the action. The visitor outshot Lokomotiv 27-17 through 40 minutes and had a significant advantage in offensive possession.

Thus it wasn’t a huge surprise when the opening goal went to the visitor early in the third. Rob Hamilton set up Nikita Pyshkailo on 42:20. That drew an instant riposte from the defending champion, with Artur Kayumov tying the scores just 20 seconds later. Like Surin, Kayumov was recalled to Bob Hartley’s team for today’s game. He missed Monday’s loss at home to Torpedo because of the birth of his son.

After that rapid-fire exchange, the teams played cautiously for much of the second period. The previous two meetings between the clubs this season ended in shoot-outs (with one win apiece) and the closing stages suggested a third edition of overtime was likely.

But in the final seconds, Surin stamped his return to action with a memorable goal. For a time, the win put Lokomotiv on top of the conference before Severstal’s fightback at Sochi saw the Lynx reclaim top spot.

Fightback win keeps Severstal on top

HC Sochi 4 Severstal Cherepovets 5 OT (1-2, 3-0, 0-2, 0-1)

For the second time this week, Severstal rallied in the third period to force overtime. This time, Andrei Kozyrev’s team went on to take the verdict, having lost in a shoot-out after a three-goal fightback at Dynamo on Monday. This time, Mikhail Ilyin grabbed the winner in the 64th minute.

With Severstal dictating the play, the visiting forward picked up a drop pass from Ruslan Abrosimov. After faking a shot, he darted behind Pavel Khomchenko’s net to score on the wraparound and settle the outcome.

Fittingly, Ilyin finished what he started. Four minutes into the game, he opened the scoring. When David Dumbadze made it 2-0 on seven minutes, the visitor looked to be in complete control.

However, Sochi belied its lowly position in the standings with a run of four unanswered goals. Pavel Dedunov pulled one back in the first period. Then the middle frame began with Timur Khafizov and Max Ellis turning the game around. Two tallies in as many minutes put the Leopards in front and chased Konstantin Shostak from his net.

Vsevolod Skotnikov took his place, but he too was beaten by Ellis, this time on the power play towards the end of the second. However, Severstal has a taste for fightbacks just now and Ilya Kvochko reduced the deficit 45 seconds into the third period. Eight minutes later,

Dumbadze turned provider for Ivan Podshivalov to tie the game.

The visitor continued to dominate in the third but could not find a way to win in regulation. Khomchenko made 14 saves in the session, and Sochi blocked a further five shots to force overtime. But in the extras, Ilyin made sure of the road win.

Shoot-out success sustains Neftekhimik’s hot run

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Dynamo Moscow 1 SO (0-0, 0-1, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)

It’s six in a row for Neftekhimik after a hard-fought success over Dynamo. Andrei Belozyorov was the only player to score in the shoot-out, while in-form goalie Yaroslav Ozolin stopped all three attempts from the Muscovites.

The Wolves winning streak has them established in fifth place in the East, just two points outside the top four and a seeded spot at the start of the playoffs. Dynamo, despite some uneven form of late, is in a similar situation in the West, albeit with less of a lead above the teams in pursuit.

There were no goals in the first period. The balance of play was fairly even, although Neftekhimik showed a greater willingness to shoot from all angles and went to the intermission with a 15-7 advantage on the shot count. The home team also got the only power play of the opening frame, but after failing to score on the PP in its previous seven games, Igor Grishin’s men came up blank once again.

In the second period, Dynamo made the breakthrough in the 32nd minute. Max Comtois got the crucial touch on Kirill Adamchuk’s point shot to beat Ozolin and give the Blue-and-Whites the lead. Then Neftekhimik’s power play problems continued with a five-on-three chance bringing nothing in the closing minutes of the session.

The home pressure continued in the third period, with Vladislav Podyapolsky working hard to preserve the visitor’s lead. But Neftekhimik remained patient and got a reward on its 40th shot at goal. After winning possession in the corner, Matvei Zaseda got into the center of the zone and, even as he lost his footing, managed to fire the puck past the visiting goalie.

Neftekhimik finished regulation on the power play, but once again could not take advantage. Then Dynamo took control in overtime. Nikita Gusev might have settled it quickly and the visitor generally looked the more adventurous. But there was no way through, and Neftekhimik proved more clinical in the shoot-out.