Spartak thumps Severstal, Sibir wins from 0-2 down. February 2 round-up

Severstal missed a chance to close the gap on Western Conference leader Lokomotiv, falling to a surprisingly comprehensive 1-5 loss to Spartak. In the East, Ak Bars edged back into second despite defeat at Sibir. The teams were tied after 60 minutes after the home team rallied from 0-2 and eventually won in a shoot-out. Admiral fell to an 11th loss in 12 games, Salavat Yulaev took a 2-1 verdict over Neftekhimik and Amur handed Barys a sixth straight loss.

Tigers maul struggling Barys

Amur Khabarovsk 4 Barys Astana 2 (2-1, 1-0, 1-1)

The Tigers handed Barys a sixth successive loss, improving on their shoot-out victory when the teams met on Saturday. The visitor came to Khabarovsk for these two games hoping to overtake its host, but now finds itself five points behind fifth-placed Amur.

The home team made changes after struggling to get that win on Saturday. Kirill Slepets, Artur Gizdatullin, Yegor Voronkov and Alexander Filatyev.  

Amur made a good start to the game, forcing Nikita Boyarkin into a save in the first minute and continuing to press after that. Yet the visitor managed to open the scoring in the sixth minute: Jake Massie won possession around halfway, got away from the defense and set up Vsevolod Logvin who beat Maxim Dorozhko at the second attempt. The Tigers hit back fast. A power play did not quite produce a tying goal, but immediately after the return of the fifth Barys skater Alexander Galchenyuk scored from a quick counterattack. That extended his hot streak to four games. Ninety seconds later, defenseman Ivan Mishchenko put Amur in front, blasting a powerful shot past Boyarkin.

The middle frame brought lots of hits and blocked shots as both teams worked hard to protect their goalies. Visiting forward Alikhan Asetov suffered an injury when he was hit by a flying puck, but managed to return to the game later. Amur also had injury problems when defenseman Viktor Baldayev was hurt in a collision with a team-mate. But the home team managed to extend its lead in the 36th minute when Slepets found space on the slot to put a one-timer into the net.

Barys came out for the final stanza looking to force a way back into the game. Renewed offensive intent brought a 46th-minute goal thanks to Asetov’s redirect. At the other end, Boyarkin was a virtual spectator as the Tigers’ offense lost its claws. Amur gave up possession too cheaply in the final frame and the Kazakhs seemed poised to salvage the game. However, in the 57th minute Slepets potted his second of the game, against the run of play, to secure the verdict.

Torpedo hands more misery on to Admiral

Admiral Vladivostok 2 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 OT (0-1, 2-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Torpedo handed Admiral its 11th loss in 12 games as the Eastern Conference basement team continues to struggle. Alexei Isakov’s team snapped a three-game skid thanks to an overtime winner from Timur Mukhanov.

His decisive goal came after three minutes of the extras when he finished off a two-on-one rush, clinching a win that lifts Torpedo to third in the Western Conference. The goal was scored on Ivan Kulbakov, who only recently moved from Nizhny Novgorod to Vladivostok.

Kulbakov was also beaten by his former colleagues as early as the fifth minute. Robert Nardella’s stretch pass found Igor Geraskin, who dished off the puck to the left for Andrei Belevich to score with a wrister. However, Admiral was far from outclassed in a competitive first period.

When Alexander Shepelev took a major penalty at the end of the opening frame, Torpedo looked well placed to build a lead. But Admiral not only defended well, it also managed to tie the game with a shorthanded goal from Dmitry Zavgorodny. Then Shepelev returned to the game with a bang, jumping out of the box to beat Denis Kostin on a breakaway and give the Sailors the lead.

After that unsuccessful power play, Torpedo got it right with its next man advantage. Leading scorer Yegor Vinogradov finished off a good play with a precise wrist shot from the top of the circle to tie the game.

In the third period, neither team was eager to take risks in search of victory. Amid a defensive mindset, play got bogged down in center ice and it was no surprise that the game went to overtime.

Powerful fightback sinks Ak Bars

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

After its four-game winning streak came to an end, Sibir hit back immediately to beat Ak Bars. The home team trailed 0-2 at the first intermission but rallied to force overtime before winning in a shoot-out.

The first shifts went Sibir’s way. Timur Bilyalov had to make a big save to deny Taylor Beck after the opening face-off and the home team looked ready to give Ak Bars a game. So it was a big blow when the visitor scored from its first shot on goal: Ilya Safonov converted a three-on-two rush. Later in the first period the teams traded power plays. Sibir posed questions but could not score before Alexei Pustozyorov doubled the visitor’s lead from its first PP of the evening.

Ak Bars had another dangerous power play at the start of the second period but could not add to its lead. Instead, in the 28th minute, Sibir pulled one back. The home team got on the PP and this time Anton Kosolapov continued his prolific form with an impressive one timer to beat Bilyalov. That goal lifted the host, which dominated the next few shifts but Ak Bars survived and managed to move play back down the ice. Alexander Barabanov and Nathan Todd had good chances to increase the lead, but the next goal went to Sibir.

The visiting fourth line found itself unable to make a change and was forced into a draining shift on defense before Maxim Sushko found the tying goal. Andrei Loktionov’s assist was his first point since arriving from SKA.

Ak Bars had several chances to get in front at the start of the third, but Mikhail Berdin denied Barabanov on the power play, then Dmitrij Jaskin from behind the net. Then it was Bilyalov’s turn to shine as Sibir’s first line began to dominate. The home team had a great chance when Safonov was assessed a major for slashing, but after some gritty defense the visitor was relieved when Andy Andreoff also went to the box. Late on, Barabanov hit the post; Andreoff did the same in overtime.

It ended in a shoot-out, with Loktionov and Kosolapov on target to give Sibir the win.

Victory sees Salavat leapfrog Neftekhimik

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (1-0, 1-1, 0-0)

Victory over Neftekhimik made it five in a row for Salavat Yulaev, with the win lifting the Ufa club into fifth place in the East at the visitor’s expense.

Home hopes took an early knock when free-scoring Sheldon Rempal was assessed a minor penalty. The Wolves power play could not find a breakthrough despite creating some chances. After killing the penalty, Ufa began to test Filipp Dolganov in the Neftekhimik net. That brought an instant breakthrough: Evgeny Kuznetsov’s feed for Nikita Zorkin did most of the work for the defenseman, and he obligingly completed the job to open the scoring in the third minute.

Despite that early blow, Neftekhimik played well in the first period, outshooting Ufa 14-7. However, there was a lack of a cutting edge in front of goal. Early in the second, Nikita Khoruzhev solved that problem, finishing a well-worked play to tie the game after 25 minutes.

At the other end, Ufa responded. Devin Brosseau left the box, ran onto Grigory Panin’s pass and raced clear before hitting the post. Then, in the 32nd minute, defenseman Evgeny Kulik got open and took a cross-ice pass from Yegor Suchkov to fire home.

Late in the middle frame, Salavat Yulaev got its first complete power play of the night but could not convert on either side of the intermission. Rempal hit the bar after a solo rush, but also faced his second penalty of the game as Neftekhimik began to take control. The third period saw the visitor lead the shot count 9-4 and enjoy more than twice as much offensive possession. However, Ufa defended well to secure a valuable victory.

Dominant Spartak downs Severstal

Severstal Cherepovets 1 Spartak Moscow 5 (0-3, 1-0, 0-2)

Spartak produced a dominant performance to beat second-placed Severstal. Andrei Kozyrev’s team failed to close the gap on Western Conference leader Lokomotiv after a first period that left it down 0-3.

Those Spartak goals came in the first 18 minutes, chasing Vsevolod Skotnikov from his net and bringing Konstantin Shostak into the game.

Nikita Korostelyov opened the scoring in the sixth minute, finding the net for the fifth game in a row. His first attempt to redirect Andrei Mironov’s point shot was saved, but he managed shovel the rebound home. Korostelyov now has 7 (6+1) points from his last six games.

His team-mates soon built on that lead, with Joey Keane and Danil Pivchulin padding the lead. Both goals came on swift counterattacks, highlighting the vulnerability of a sometimes ponderous home defense.

With Shostak in goal, Severstal at least stemmed the bleeding for a time. He was unbeaten in the second period, helped by better support from his defense. At the other end, the Lynx pulled one back in the 37th minute. Nikolai Burenov fired home from the left-hand circle to raise hopes of a fightback.

But Spartak was in no mood to ease off. Early in the third, Luke Lockhart’s face-off win set up Brandon Biro. The Canadian, whose stats with Ak Bars were underwhelming, scored his first goal for his new club. He also has three assists in Red-and-White. After that, Spartak was content to allow Severstal plenty of possession, but did a good job of keeping the home team to the perimeter. And midway through the final frame, German Rubtsov added a fifth to complete an emphatic win.