Magnitka wins top scorers’ duel.January 31 round-up
Saturday’s big game saw the KHL’s top scoring teams go head to head in Magnitogorsk. As expected, it was a high-scoring battle with Metallurg edging Dinamo Minsk 5-4. Ak Bars returned to second in the Eastern Conference thanks to a dominant derby win over Neftekhimik. Salavat Yulaev reeled off a fourth successive victory, beating Torpedo 3-1, while Traktor won by the same scoreline at Sibir. Avtomobilist eased past Admiral and Amur took a shoot-out verdict at home to Barys.
Back-to-back wins for Amur
Amur Khabarovsk 2 Barys Astana 1 SO (0-1, 0-0, 1-0, 0-0, 1-0)
The Tigers moved to within six points of the top eight after completing back-to-back wins. Saturday’s shoot-out success over Barys moves Amur to 43 points and the Khabarovsk club has two games in hand over eighth-placed Sibir on 49.
Barys, which will play at Amur again on Monday, fell to a fourth successive defeat. Mikhail Kravets’ team has nine points to make up on the playoff places and its hopes of making post season are fading.
Yet the visitor got in front here midway through the first period. Amur struggled to get the puck out of its zone and allowed a turnover. Samat Daniyar fired it from the blue line and 20-year-old forward Kirill Lyapunov got possession on the slot and beat Nikita Boyarkin from close range.
That was a rare scoring chance in a hard-fought first period. The second followed a similar pattern. With the home team playing catch-up, Barys was happy to break up the game and limit Amur’s opportunities to attack.
At the start of the third period, Amur youngster Andrei Krutov twice tested Boyarkin as the Tigers looked to increase the tempo. But Barys survived those scares and gradually regained its stifling control of the play. It wasn’t until 57:06 that the home team saved the game. Yegor Rykov saw his first attempt charged down before switching play to the left for Yaroslav Likhachyov to beat Boyarkin with a one-timer.
In overtime, a needless too many men call handed Barys a power play and Maxim Dorozhko had to be alert saw Amur from defeat. Then shoot-out specialist Viktor Kobozev took over in the home net to backstop a win, with Alex Broadhurst the only player on target.
Sailors sunk at home
Admiral Vladivostok 1 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 (0-2, 0-2, 1-0)
After scratching free-scoring forward Reid Boucher, Avtomobilist rebounded from Thursday’s defeat to claim a 4-1 verdict at Admiral. Dutch forward Daniel Sprong was the center of attention, extending his productive streak to six points in three games before he was ejected from the game after an indecent gesture from the penalty box.
There wasn’t much to choose between the teams in the first period until Avtomobilist scored two quick goals just before the hooter. Maxim Denezhkin opened the scoring with a seemingly routine shot that somehow deceived Ivan Kulbakov in the home net. Within a minute, Sprong doubled the lead when he converted Alexander Sharov’s pass with a backhand shot.
In the 26th minute, Sprong turned provider, creating a great opening for Brooks Macek to make it 3-0. Then came a power play goal from Anatoly Golyshev as the visitor took control of the game by the midway stage.
Late in the middle frame, Admiral got a chance to get back into the game. There was confusion over a penalty called on Sergei Zborovsky; initially Sprong went to the box, expecting sit out a bench minor. While seated, he made a crude gesture towards the officials and the forward found himself ejected from the game. Barely had Zborovsky served his time than Avtomobilist was back on the PK after a hooking call on Nikita Tryamkin. However, the Sailors could do little with their numerical advantage.
The home team eventually managed a consolation tally in the third period thanks to Mario Grman. But there was little realistic sign of a comeback and Avtomobilist closed out a comfortable victory.
Traktor halts Sibir’s winning run
Sibir Novosibirsk 1 Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 (0-2, 1-1, 0-0)
Traktor halted Sibir’s four-game winning streak and prevented today’s host from leapfrogging its guest into seventh place in the East. Saturday’s success also saw the Chelyabinsk team rebound from narrow losses to Metallurg and Avangard in its previous games.
Alexander Rykov came to the fore as Traktor took control of the game in the first period. He opened the scoring in the 13th minute, converting a pass from Mikhail Grigorenko after the more experienced forward saw his initial attempt saved by Anton Krasotkin. Then the roles were reversed before the intermission as Rykov forced a turnover in the corner and Grigorenko emerged from behind the net to double Traktor’s lead.
The lead was a fair reflection of the visitor’s grip on the game. Traktor had more than twice as much attacking possession, outshot Sibir 14-10 and forced the home defense to block a further eight attempts in a strong start to the game.
That pattern continued into the second period, despite a power play chance for Sibir. The home team could not capitalize on that and midway through the session Maxim Dzhioshvili added a third for the visitor. Late in the third, Sibir managed to beat Sergei Mylnikov at last. As the game progressed, the home team showed greater willingness to shoot from distance and Mikhail Orlov’s attempt saw Vyacheslav Leshchenko deflect the puck into Traktor’s net.
In the third, Sibir managed to generate some kind of momentum at last. Leshchenko had chances to claim a second goal. But Traktor held firm to close out a 3-1 win.
Kuznetsov returns, Salavat wins again
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 (1-0, 1-0, 1-1)
In-form Salavat Yulaev returned from a successful road trip to record a fourth straight win. Saturday’s verdict over Torpedo consolidates Ufa’s grip on sixth place in the East. The visitor suffered a third successive loss and missed the chance to overtake Dinamo Minsk in third place in the West.
Today’s game marked Evgeny Kuznetsov’s return from injury. He joined the third line alongside Pyotr Khokhryakov and Denis Yan. Defenseman Dean Stewart also returned following injury.
The home team assumed control of the game right away, seeing more of the puck and displaying a greater appetite to do something with it. That early pressure drew a penalty when Igor Geraskin’s stick caught Vladislav Yefremov in the face. The subsequent power play saw Yegor Suchkov’s individual skills open the scoring on 5:33. After that, the piping twice saved Denis Kostin as Sheldon Rempal and Devin Brosseau both went close to increasing the lead. At the other end, Yegor Sokolov and Vasily Atanasov had menacing counterattacks but Torpedo could not find a tying goal.
A penalty on Kuznetsov before the intermission gave Torpedo a chance to get back into the game. However, not only did Salavat Yulaev successfully kill that danger, it went on to score soon after returning to full strength. Jack Rodewald’s dump and chase didn’t look all that challenging, but the puck bounced straight to Rempal and the Canadian’s one-timer simply roasted past Kostin to make it 2-0.
Torpedo steadily grew into the game after that and pulled a goal back midway through. Center Kirill Svishchyov found himself out on the blue line and his long-range effort beat Semyon Vyazovoi to make it 2-1 at the second intermission.
There was a sense of ‘next goal wins’ about the third period, with both teams playing cautious, precise hockey and seeking to avoid a calamitous error. Eventually, as the clock ran down, Torpedo had to start taking risks and created a couple of good chances. However, when Kostin made way for a sixth skater the gamble backfired: Grigory Panin’s empty net goal confirmed the home win.
Magnitka grabs high-scoring win
Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5 Dinamo Minsk 4 (2-0, 1-1, 2-3)
This season’s two top scoring teams went head-to-head in Magnitogorsk – and sparks flew. Metallurg and Dinamo traded nine goals, with the visitor threatening a fightback from 2-5 in the last four minutes of play.
Both teams set out to attack: Magnitka created its first chance on the first shift; Dinamo responded with a dangerous counterattack from Sam Anas. His line with Vitaly Pinchuk and Alex Limoges is the most productive in the KHL this season, but Roman Kantserov’s trio for Metallurg is close behind. And that strike force got the opening goal when Vladimir Tkachyov broke clear to beat Zak Fucale in the seventh minute.
In general, Metallurg was on top throughout the first period. The home team outshot Dinamo 12-4 and doubled its lead late in the session when Alexander Petunin set up Daniil Vovchenko for a shot from a tight angle.
That goal came on the Steelmen’s third power play of the day, and the Belarusians were back in the box at the start of the second. This time, the PK did its job and a few minutes later Pinchuk pulled a goal back. He blocked a Robin Press shot, took control of the puck and skated away to beat Alexander Smolin.
However, Minsk’s penalty problems continued. When Sergei Kuznetsov got a major for checking to Vovchenko’s head, Kantserov found a wonderful shot to make it 3-1. Moments later, Petunin hit the post as the Dinamo PK got a thorough workout, but Metallurg could not add to its lead before the second intermission.
When Ruslan Iskhakov was penalized early in the third, it offered Dinamo a way back into the game. Although Metallurg killed that penalty, the home team allowed Pinchuk a second goal just as Iskhakov stepped out of the box.
The game’s turning point came in the 53rd minute when Valery Orekhov sat for high sticking. Dinamo’s power play got it all wrong, allowing two shorthanded goals. Sergei Tolchinsky sent Iskhakov away on a successful counterattack, then the two swapped roles 50 seconds later as Tolchinsky made it 5-2.
But Dinamo wasn’t done. In the closing stages Stanislav Galiyev scored twice to make it a one-goal game once more. With 50 seconds left, the game was back in the balance. With 15 to play, Metallurg iced the puck and had to deal with a face-off in front of Smolin’s net against six Minsk skaters. But in the end, the clock counted out the visitor’s hopes and Magnitka secured the verdict.
Host on top in Tatarstan derby
Ak Bars Kazan 6 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (3-0, 1-1, 2-0)
Buoyed by seven straight wins, Neftekhimik headed to Kazan looking for a third win in six games against its Tatar rival this season. By contrast, Ak Bars had lost its previous two encounters and fallen behind Avangard in the battle for second place in the Eastern Conference.
However, Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men produced a powerful performance, effectively settling the outcome in the first period to maintain local bragging rights and return to second place in the Eastern Conference.
Three goals in four first-period minutes took this game away from the Wolves. Ak Bars converted its first two power plays, with Alexander Barabanov opening the scoring and Nathan Todd doubling the lead. For Barabanov, that’s goals in successive games; for Todd it was his first since joining from Spartak before last weekend’s deadline.
That move saw Todd reunited with former Salavat Yulaev team-mate Alexander Chmelevski, and the American added a third goal in the 10th minute. He fired home from the deep slot after Mitch Miller roamed freely in Neftekhimik territory.
The visitor didn’t panic and head coach Igor Grishin kept faith with starting goalie Yaroslav Ozolin. But the damage was done. Even without sustaining further damage in the first period, Neftekhimik was left with a long journey back into this game.
The path got longer in the second period when Ilya Safonov made it 4-0 on the power play. Grishin challenged that one, claiming interference on Ozolin, but the officials were unmoved and Neftekhimik continued on the PK. Eventually, in the 32nd minute, the visitor had something to cheer when Matvei Zaseda fired a wrister through traffic to beat Timur Bilyalov and generate a measure of consolation.
But this was always Ak Bars’ game. The home team added a fifth thanks to the impressive Miller, who quickly converted a five-on-three power play in the 44th minute. And the final word went to Safonov who got his second of the game late on to complete an emphatic victory.
