Winning runs end, Torpedo hits seven. January 22 round-up

The Eastern Conference action saw Metallurg and Avtomobilist lose their hot streaks with 1-2 losses on home ice. The Motormen fell in overtime to Avangard, while Magnitka stumbled against Sibir. Torpedo had the biggest win of the day, battering Shanghai 7-2. Spartak left it late to win at SKA; CSKA left it later to get the only goal of the game at home to Barys.

Hawks take OT verdict in Yekaterinburg

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Avangard Omsk 2 OT (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Avangard halted Avto’s winning streak thanks to an overtime goal from Andrew Poturalski. After a 1-1 tie in regulation, the visitor started the extras on the power play. However, the most potent PP in the KHL this season could not find a way through and Poturalski’s winner came with the teams back at equal strength.

The result extends the Hawks hot streak to four games, while ending a similar sequence for Avtomobilist. The teams remain third and fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Avto’s previous game brought a narrow win over Sibir and Nikolai Zavarukhin opted to refresh his offense. Stepan Khripunov got his first action of 2026, while Stephane da Costa returned after missing the Sibir encounter due to the birth of his child. Goalie Vladimir Galkin, recovered from illness, got the start after good performances against this opponent earlier in the season. Avangard was unchanged from the win over Salavat Yulaev.

In the three previous games between these teams, Avangard took the early initiative. Today was no different, with Galkin denying Vasily Ponomaryov before red hot defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov almost saw a deflected shot bring him yet another goal. However, the opening goal went to Avtomobilist on the counter: Reid Boucher sent Roman Gorbunov motoring away to Nikita Serebryakov’s net and the host got in front with its first shot of the game.

For a couple of shifts, the Motormen continued to press. However, it wasn’t long before Avangard reasserted itself. Both teams had power plays, but on each occasion Galkin was the busier goalie: Dmitry Rashevsky was close on an Avangard PP, then Mikhail Kotlyarevsky threatened a shorthanded goal.
At the start of the second, Max Lajoie came out of the box and got clear, only to shoot wide. But the pressure was all at one end and Galkin was finally beaten when Mike McLeod converted the rebound from another Kotlyarevsky attempt.

At the other end, Serebryakov made a huge save to prevent Daniel Sprong restoring the home lead. The remainder of the period saw the two goalies dominant proceedings.

In the third, Galkin came under more pressure, but did well at stopping shots and controlling rebounds to keep his net intact. Avangard’s progress was checked by some unnecessary penalties, but the home PP struggled to take full advantage. And, as the clock ticked down, both teams grew more cautious to preserve the 1-1 scoreline before the visitor grabbed the verdict in the extras.

Sibir snaps Metallurg’s hot streak

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 Sibir Novosibirsk 2 (0-0, 1-1, 0-1)

As in Yekaterinburg, so in Magnitogorsk. A Ural team on a hot streak was shot down by Siberian opposition. This time Metallurg saw an eight-game winning streak – worth 45 goals – ended by Sibir’s first win since Jan. 13.

The result gives the visitors a four-point cushion over Amur in ninth, although the Tigers have two games in hand in that race for the playoffs. Sibir brought back goalie Mikhail Berdin, prolific forward Anton Kosolapov plus imports Scott Wilson and Chase Priskie.

There was a cautious start and it wasn’t until the midway stage that Metallurg began to get its game together. Sibir ran into penalty trouble and had to survive 1:43 with just three skaters by did not allow a goal. Even a Sibir power play saw Berdin in action, snuffing out counterattacks from Sergei Tolchinsky and Ruslan Iskhakov to keep it goalless at the first intermission.

In the first period, Sibir mustered just one shot on goal. At the start of the second, the visitor finally created a meaningful opportunity: Andy Andreoff easily got around Valery Orekhov but could not beat Alexander Smolin from close range. That chance boosted the Siberian offense and the opening goal finally went to Ilya Talaluyev after he won his battle on the slot.

Metallurg had a large quantity of efforts, but only added quality to the mix midway through the game. The top line rediscovered its slick interchanges and Vladimir Tkachyov set up Yegor Yakovlev, arriving from defense, to tie the game just two minutes after Sibir’s goal.

The visitor faced further power play danger on either side of the second intermission. However, it was Sibir’s special teams that decided the outcome. In the closing stages, Yakovlev sat for slashing. The a scuffle between Wilson and Tolchinsky gave the visitor a five-on-three advantage. Kosolapov quickly made the most of the opportunity, moving to 20 (10+10) points from 18 games since arriving from Torpedo and securing the win.

A good day for goalies

CSKA Moscow 1 Barys Astana 0 (0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

A master goalie witnessed a goaltending masterclass as CSKA edged Thursday’s game by a solitary goal in Moscow.

Konstantin Barulin, who retired in 2020, is one of just three goalies to win 250+ games in the KHL. The former CSKA, Atlant, Ak Bars, Avangard, Sochi and Neftekhimik man was guest of honor at today’s game, where he received a commemorative medal from league vice-president Andrei Tochitsky.

After that, today’s teams respected a fine goaltending tradition. For 58 minutes, no goals were allowed. Home goalie Dmitry Gamzin stopped 28 shots and visitor Adam Scheel made 22 saves before he was toppled in the 59th minute.

While it’s tempting to assume Barulin’s example inspired today’s custodians, it’s also worth recognizing that neither team arrived in the most fluent form. In 2026, Barys celebrated just one win and managed nine goals in eight games. Today was the third time in four that Mikhail Kravets’ team had failed to score.

However, the one exception to that miserable run was a 3-1 win over CSKA in Astana on Jan. 17. For the Muscovites, revenge wasn’t the only factor: Igor Nikitin’s team needs points to avoid getting dragged into a serious fight for a place in the playoffs.

In the end, the home team got the win it craved. On 58:33 Nikita Okhotyuk exchanged passes with Denis Zernov and scored with a wrister from the left-hand circle. Barys tried to fight back with a sixth skater, but ran out of time. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but the two points put CSKA 13 clear of ninth-placed Shanghai.

Dragons’ worries increase as Torpedo scores at will

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 7 Shanghai Dragons 2 (2-0, 2-2, 3-0)

In St. Petersburg, Shanghai’s new head coach Mitch Love was presented to the Russian media for the first time since becoming a Dragon. Meanwhile, in Nizhny Novgorod his new charges, under interim head coach Mike Kelly, showed how much work is needed to get the team into the playoffs as they fell to a heavy loss against Torpedo.

The home team rolled to a fifth successive victory and moves within four points of Western Conference leader Severstal. The visitor suffered a fifth straight loss and remains 10 points adrift of eighth place.

The first half-hour went according to plan for the home team. Leading scorer Yegor Vinogradov found the net midway through the first period, and the goals came regularly after that. Yegor Sokolov doubled the lead in the 18th minute, then a minute after the restart Amir Garayev made it three.

As the game reached the midway mark, Vasily Atanasov added a fourth. Torpedo converted three of its four power plays, with only the Garayev goal coming at equal strength.

Up 4-0, Torpedo seemed to have this game under control. But late in the second period, the Dragons hit back. Borna Rendulic assisted as Ilya Kablukov pulled one back, then made it 2-4 with 26 seconds left until the intermission.

However, hopes of a fightback took a big hit right after the restart. As in the second period, Torpedo struck early. Vladimir Tkachyov scored, then Garayev thought he had his second of the night on 40:59. The latter play was called back, but a 2-5 deficit was still a daunting one for the Dragons.

There would be no recovery. Torpedo went on to score twice more. Sergei Goncharuk converted yet another power play before Dmitry Shevchenko made the final score 7-2 with four minutes to play.

Third-period turnaround gives Spartak important victory

SKA St. Petersburg 1 Spartak Moscow 2 (1-0, 0-0, 0-2)

A big game in the Western playoff race saw Spartak come from behind to defeat SKA. The result puts the Red-and-Whites two points clear of today’s opponent in seventh place after handing the Petersburg team a third straight loss.

Yet the home team began well enough, taking the lead in the fourth minute with its first attack of the game. Nikita Nedopyonkin was the scorer, moving into the zone just to the right of center and firing in a shot that went over Alexander Georgiyev’s glove.

However, Spartak was also lively in the opening exchanges and came close to tying the scores in the eighth minute when Adam Ruzicka hit the post. The play remained even, but there was no further scoring in an entertaining first period.

The second period was rather different. Although SKA got the first power play of the game in the 24th minute, it was unable to get a shot on goal until midway through the session. Spartak had a promising power play of its own midway through the session, but neither team could find the net.

In the third period, Spartak had an early power play chance but again could not take advantage. However, the visitor kept working and got its rewards in the last 10 minutes.

Nikita Korostelyov finally solved Artemy Pleshkov in the 53rd minute. Dmitry Solovyov won possession in the corner, found some space and fired the puck to the center. From the middle of the zone, Luke Lockhart rifled in a low shot and saw a deflection send to Korostelyov, who got in front of Brennan Menell to score from close range.

Four minutes later, Spartak had the lead. Danil Pivchulin surged down the right, skated away from one defenseman and wired a shot to short side from the face-off circle. Pleshkov was too slow to react with his glove and saw the puck whistle past him.

There was still time for more action. Pleshkov made way for a sixth skater and Georgiyev pulled off two point-blank saves to protect the lead. At the other end, Ruzicka should have made it safe but found the piping rather than the empty net. That might have been costly, but the hooter sounded before SKA could force the game into overtime.