Loko pads its lead, Traktor makes Ak Bars wait. February 4 round-up

Lokomotiv is now five points clear in the Western Conference thanks to Wednesday’s 3-1 win at home to Spartak. In the East, Ak Bars missed a chance to secure its playoff spot with a 0-4 loss at Traktor. In the battle for the top eight in the East, there were home defeats for both Amur and Sibir against Torpedo and Neftekhimik respectively. Barys won the basement battle at Admiral 4-1.

Torpedo up to third in the West

Amur Khabarovsk 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 (0-0, 0-1, 1-1)

Torpedo ended Amur’s three-game winning streak, undermining the home team’s playoff push. Today’s game produced a second successive victory for the visitor, moving Alexei Isakov’s team up to third in the West.

Amur made several changes to the roster, bringing back defenseman Alexei Solovyov and forwards Ivan Chekhovich, Artyom Shvaryov and Ivan Vorobyov. Torpedo made fewer changes, refreshed the bottom six.

The game got off to a high-speed start but in the early stages there wasn’t much work for goalies Maxim Dorozhko and Denis Kostin. Things opened out closer to the intermission, with Torpedo having the better of the play.

And the visitor continued to press at the start of the middle frame, helped by a four-minute power play. Amur killed that and began to get back into the game, only to allow an unexpected goal. Torpedo’s first line launched a swift counter and Vasily Atanasov beat Dorozhko. At the other end, Kostin also had work to do with Yaroslav Likhachyov posing a threat.

Early in the third there were almost no attempts on goal, even though Amur twice got on the power play. Torpedo also failed to capitalize on a numerical advantage, but at equal strength Igor Geraskin scored on a rebound to boost the visitor’s lead. Amur tried to hit back and Likhachyov got a goal a couple of minutes from the end. The forward extended his hot streak to four games, but could not inspire his team to a fourth straight win.

Barys keeps Sailors on the bottom

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Barys Astana 4 (0-0, 0-2, 1-2)

This Eastern Conference basement battle went to Barys. A confident 4-1 verdict lifts the Kazakhs five points clear of bottom club Admiral, but the gap to the playoff spots remains an intimidating nine points with 13 games to play.

There wasn’t much action in the first period, despite a second-minute power play for Barys after Mario Grman went to the box. Admiral survived that scare, with the Barys PP looking toothless.

Things changed at the start of the second period. Kirill Savitsky scored a good goal to break the deadlock and soon after Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan doubled the lead.

Down by two, Admiral began to offer more attacking threat and Adam Scheel came into the game more in the Barys net. That pattern continued into the final stanza, but the visitor’s first foray into enemy territory brought a third goal for Emil Galimov.

Galimov’s goal effectively killed the game with 18 minutes to play. Michael Vecchione added a fourth before Libor Sulak found a late consolation effort for the Sailors.

Five-goal surge lifts Wolves past Sibir

Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 5 (1-1, 0-4, 1-0)

A strong second period lifted Neftekhimik to victory at Sibir. The home team was hoping to increase the gap to ninth-placed Amur after the Tigers’ earlier defeat; the visitor sought to bounce back after two losses. Prior to that, the Wolves enjoyed a seven-game winning streak and started to sniff out a top four finish.

In an even opening frame, Sibir got the first goal thanks to Alexei Yakolev in the ninth minute. But that was the last highlight for the home team. Neftkehimik responded by scoring the next five goals. Late in the first period, German Tochilkin’s shorthanded tally tied the game and gave the visitor a platform to dominate the second period.

The stats told much of the story. Neftekhimik led 19-6 on shots and 13-3 on the draw. Sibir’s defense was ragged: Nikita Popugayev overcame two opponents on the slot to make it 3-1; Chase Priskie failed to deal with Bulat Shafigullin as he put the visitor in front. An unsuccessful bench challenge on that play gave Neftekhimik a power play, and Evgeny Mityakin added a fourth. Then, late in the frame, another power play had barely expired when Damir Zhafyarov made it 5-1.

Mikhail Berdin replaced Anton Krasotkin in the Sibir net and prevented Torpedo from scoring any more. However, the damage was done. Priskie pulled one back on the power play in the 43rd minute, but there was never much hope of a fightback.

Shut-out loss leaves Ak Bars waiting on playoff spot

Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Ak Bars Kazan 0 (2-0, 1-0, 1-0)

Ak Bars went onto the ice in Chelyabinsk knowing that victory in regulation would clinch a playoff spot following Amur’s loss earlier on Wednesday. However, the visitor produced a listless display, losing to Traktor for the first time this season.

For former Traktor head coach Anvar Gatiyatulin it was a first loss against his former club in almost a year: on Feb. 28, 2025, Traktor took a 3-2 verdict over Ak Bars, but lost the two previous meetings this season.

New signing Dmitry Nikolayev was named on a Traktor roster for the first time as back-up to Sergei Mylnikov. However, he wasn’t needed as Mylnikov produced a shut-out.

At the other end, Grigory Dronov gave the host a perfect start with a goal after 42 seconds. His point shot was assisted by Josh Leivo, who also had a hand in Vitaly Kravtsov’s tally in the 14th minute. The goal gave Kravtsov his second point of the game and he is now just eight points shy of Anton Glinkin’s club record of 234.

Leivo and Kravtsov weren’t the only players to enjoy a two-point game. Arseny Koromyslov produced his second helper of the night as Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer made it 3-0 in the second period. Then, late in the game, Dronov assisted on Goryunov-Rolgizer’s second to complete a 4-0 scoreline. Mylnikov made 29 saves to claim his second shut-out of the season.

Western leader beats Spartak again

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 Spartak Moscow 1 (1-1, 1-0, 1-0)

Table-topping Lokomotiv allowed the opening goal against Spartak but hit back within seconds on the way to a 3-1 victory. Bob Hartley’s team completed its fourth win in four scheduled games against the Red-and-Whites this season, and moves five points clear of second-placed Severstal.

The game got off to a slow start, with just three shots on target in the first 10 minutes. But Spartak scored off its second attempt of the game, taking the lead on 11:10 through Daniil Orlov. He used his skills to get into the Lokomotiv zone before beating Daniil Isayev to his top corner.

However, that lead lasted just 20 seconds before Loko tied it up. Alexander Radulov circled the net then turned sharply and fired to the slot. The puck was deflected for Yegor Surin, who set up Maxim Shalunov to score past Alexander Georgiyev. It was one of the simpler finishes for Shalunov this season as he moves to 22 goals.

After that, Lokomotiv had the better of the play. The pressure eventually brought a go-ahead goal from Maxim Beryozkin midway through the second period. His wrister from the center of the zone wasn’t the most testing, but Alexander Volkov’s movement in front of Georgiyev’s net distracted the goalie and helped Beryozkin to score.

Spartak’s problems weren’t helped by penalties at the end of the middle frame, but despite being reduced to three skaters for a few seconds, the visitor was still in the game going into the third.

However, the visitor was unable to make much impact on the Railwaymen’s defense in the final stanza and Isayev had just four saves to make. At the other end, an empty-net goal from Artur Kayumov, with Beryozkin among the assists, sealed the a sixth successive win for Lokomotiv.