Mitch feels little Love in Minsk

Shanghai Dragons’ new head coach Mitch Love had a baptism of fire in his first KHL game. His team was down 0-2 in 80 seconds at Dinamo Minsk and fell to a 1-6 loss. SKA also had a rough afternoon, falling 0-6 at Torpedo. Neftekhimik reeled off a seventh successive victory, while Admiral and Amur saw their long skids continue at Traktor and Metallurg respectively. Sibir continued its remarkable Kazan hoodoo and Salavat Yulaev edged a 2-1 verdict at Sochi.

More misery for Sailors as Traktor gets back on track

Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (0-0, 1-1, 2-0)

By snapping a two-game skid, Traktor piled on the misery for struggling Admiral. The Sailors slipped to an eighth successive loss after allowing two goals in the third period.

The visitor handed a debut to goalie Ivan Kulbakov, recently acquired from Torpedo. He made it through the first period without giving up a goal, but at the other end his team-mates failed to capitalize on four minutes of unbroken power play.

In the second period, Andrei Svetlakov put Traktor in front, converting a great feed from Vitaly Kravtsov after he circled the net and picked out his colleague on the left wing. Later, Vasily Glotov had to be helped from the ice after a hit from Admiral D-man Mario Grman. Then Admiral tied it up with a goal from another debutant, Yegor Chezganov, in the 28th minute.

But Traktor went on to win it in the third. Artemy Nizameyev was credited with the go-ahead goal when his attempt from behind the net deflected home off an Admiral defenseman. In time, Admiral got a chance to tie it up on the power play but could not make the most of it. Finally, Kravtsov’s empty-netter finished the job, completing a fifth successive victory over Admiral.

Magnitka bounces back after loss

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Amur Khabarovsk 2 (1-1, 0-0, 3-1)

After losing at home to Sibir, Metallurg got straight back on its game with victory over Amur. The league leader broke the game open with two goals in two minutes at the start of the final frame.

The Tigers had a good start to life: an early power play gave the visitor the early momentum and by the fifth minute the shot count was 8-0 in Amur’s favor. However, quality matters more than quantity and it was Magnitka who opened the scoring on eight minutes. Yegor Yakovlev’s crafty set-up presented Luke Johnson with a redirect to make it 1-0. At the other end, Yaroslav Likhachyov was a constant threat, hitting the crossbar and missing a one-on-one break before finally tying the game just before the intermission.

Metallurg got its first power play of the night early in the middle frame, but could not find a way through. Later, Ruslan Iskhakov forced the puck into the net but his effort was ruled out when a review found he used his hand to score.

The game remained tied until the start of the third, then the home team took control. The third line, which Andrei Razin reshaped during the opening frame, made the breakthrough when Alexander Petunin dished off the puck for Nikita Mikhailis to score in front of the net. Then the first line had its say, with Roman Kantserov back on the goal trail after a six-game drought.

Then Derek Barach added a fourth to put the game out of reach before Evgeny Grachyov claimed a late consolation effort for Amur.

Wolves keep up winning run

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 Barys Astana 2 (1-0, 0-0, 2-2)

This was a seventh successive victory for Neftekhimik as the Wolves continue to consolidate their place in the playoffs. Barys, struggling all season, fell to a six defeat in seven and is in danger of drifting out of contention for a top eight finish.

The Kazakhs were undermined by penalties in the first period, and Luca Profaka opened the scoring on the power play in the 13th minute. The session ended with a fight: Ilya Pastukhov and Mason Morelli picked up major penalties, and there were double roughing minors for Nikita Artamonov and Max Willman.

In the second period, the home team was dominant but failed to put the game away. That set the stage for an engaging final frame. Andrei Belozyorov doubled the lead early the session with a penalty shot, but Barys got back into the game in the 52nd minute when Semyon Simonov scored. Visiting head coach Mikhail Kravets gambled on a sixth skater with two-and-a-half minutes to play, but was punished when Bulat Shafigulin found the empty net. A late power play gave the visitors faint hope of salvation, and Willman pulled a goal back with 24 seconds to play, but there was no way back.

Ak Bars Kazan 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 SO (1-0, 1-2, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Sibir rallied from 0-2 to claim an eighth successive victory in Kazan. Scott Wilson was the only man to succeed in the shoot-out, handing the visitor the verdict. Today’s win opens a six-point gap over ninth-placed Amur as the playoff race enters its closing stages.

Ak Bars, meanwhile, missed a chance to consolidate its position in second in the East. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men had a four-game winning streak coming into Saturday’s play, but could not extend that run.

For a time, though, it seemed that the form would continue. Kirill Semyonov opened the scoring after eight minutes, then Dmitry Katelevsky doubled the lead in the 35th minute.

That was Sibir’s cue for action. The visitor scored twice in barely a minute to tie things up. Timur Akhiyarov reduced the deficit, then Anton Kosolapov continued his red-hot form since arriving in Novosibirsk to tie the game on 36:23. Kosolapov started that play in his own zone and finished it by converting Yegor Alanov’s feed.

In the third, Ak Bars again dominated much of the play. The shot count of 20-3 told the story of the game, and highlighted the brilliance of goalie Mikhail Berdin. And that form continued in the shoot-out, with Berdin unbeaten as Wilson won it for the visitor.

Rempal keeps scoring, Salavat snaps skid

HC Sochi 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (0-0, 0-1, 1-1)

A two-point game from Sheldon Rempal prolonged the hottest streak in the KHL as Salavat Yulaev recovered from back-to-back losses. The Canadian’s productive run is now 14 games, with 26 (8+18) in that span.

Today that was sufficient to condemn Sochi to yet another loss. The Leopards now have just one win in seven, albeit a memorable 2-1 success at SKA.
The home team was under pressure in the first period, with Salavat Yulaev enjoying more of the play and outshooting its host 11-5. But things remained goalless until Sochi twice had too many men on the ice and Ufa had a five-on-three power play. Rempal assisted as Jack Rodewald opened the scoring in the 28th minute.

Despite Salavat’s goal, the second period was a more even game. And in the third period, as Ufa tried to close out a one-goal win, Sochi had a slight advantage. However, going into the closing stages there was no way to goal for the Leopards. Instead, Rempal potted an empty-netter with 90 seconds remaining. There was an instant Sochi response, with Daniil Seroukh scoring on the next shift, but the clock ran down before the home team could rescue the game.

Crushing win maintains Torpedo’s hot streak

Torpedo Nizhny Novgood 6 SKA St. Petersburg 0 (3-0, 2-0, 1-0)

Six goals brought a sixth straight win for Torpedo, thumping SKA to move just two points behind Western Conference leader Severstal. The visitor remains eighth in the standings but holds a comfortable 10-point lead over Shanghai Dragons.

The game was effectively settled in the first period as the home team rattled up three unanswered goals. In the 10th minute Sergei Goncharuk opened the scoring off a great feed from Maxim Letunov. The Vasily Atanasov increased the lead before Kirill Svishchyov added a third with his first goal in the KHL.

That was enough to send starting goalie Artemy Pleshkov to the bench in favor of Sergei Ivanov.
Igor Larionov was not enjoying his return to Nizhny Novgorod and tried to reshuffle his team. He switched playing with three lines but had little reward.

Instead, the goals kept coming at the other end. Midway through the second, Yegor Vinogradov struck during a passage of four-on-three play and Svishchyov potted his second to make it 5-0 before the intermission.
Even with the game done, Torpedo continued to press in the third. And Vinogradov got his second of the day to pad the final score on a miserable day for SKA.

Bison stampede past Dragons

Dinamo Minsk 6 Shanghai Dragons 1 (2-0, 2-1, 2-0)

Mitch Love suffered a nightmare introduction to life in the KHL. The newly-appointed Shanghai head coach took charge of his team for the first time – and was down 2-0 after just 80 seconds.

That set Dinamo on the road to a win that lifts it back to second place in the Western Conference. The Dragons remain 10 points adrift of the playoffs and look to be in trouble.

The fast start came from Sam Anas, who opened the scoring after 23 seconds. Then, a minute later, Daniil Sotishvili doubled the home lead. That was end of Andrei Tikhmirov’s game, with Andrei Kareyev replacing him.
For a time that was helpful Dinamo did not score again in the first period, then early in the second Nick Merkley pulled one back on the power play. But another quickfire blast brought two goals in 99 seconds midway through the session. Ty Smith made it 3-1 on the power play, then Yegor Borikov opened a three-goal lead.

That was effectively the end of the contest, but Dinamo kept on scoring. Stanislav Galiyev added two more power play tallies in the third to complete an emphatic win – and give Love an instant headache in his new role.