Beck sets KHL record, Loko books playoff spot. February 10 round-up

Taylor Beck scored a record seven points in a single KHL game, leading Sibir to a crushing 10-1 victory over Sochi. Among the players who had previously managed six-point games, Lokomotiv’s Alexander Radulov was rested today but saw his Lokomotiv team book its playoff spot thanks to victory at Shanghai Dragons. 

Dynamo got a morale boosting win at Spartak in the Moscow derby, easing some of the pressure on the Blue-and-Whites’s playoff bid.
There was another derby in the Urals, where Metallurg rested its All Stars but still won 4-1 at home to Avtomobilist. Dinamo Minsk climbed to second in the

West with a 7-4 win over Severstal, Marat Khairullin inspired SKA’s 5-1 success at Neftekhimik and Lada moved off the foot of the standings with a 3-1 verdict at home to Torpedo. 

Beck blasts Sochi

Sibir Novosibirsk 10 HC Sochi 1 (0-1, 6-0, 4-0)

Taylor Beck became the first player to score seven points in a KHL game as he powered Sibir to an emphatic victory over Sochi. The Canadian had two goals and five assists as Tuesday’s game in Novosibirsk turned into a rout.

Previously, nine players had enjoyed six-point games, starting with Albert Leshchyov, who had 3+3 for Atlant against Torpedo in Nov. 2018. Brandon Bochenski, Ryan Gunderson, Alexander Radulov, Stephane da Costa, Ilya Kovalchuk, Nikita Mikhailis and Scott Wilson also made the list, while Nikita Gusev is the only man to do it twice.

Beck’s triumphant performance helped Sibir to a club record victory in the KHL, having never previously reached double figures in this league.

Yet there was no sign of this in the first period as Sochi took the lead in an even contest. The Leopards got the first power play of the night and Yegor Petukhov redirected a Cam Lee feed home.

Sochi held that lead to the intermission, but whatever was said in the home locker room made all the difference. The host came out after the break to score six unanswered goals. Beck started with an assist as Vyacheslav Leshchenko tied it up on 21:42. Two minutes later, he scored the go-ahead goal before combining with Leshchenko to set up Arkhip Nekolenko for 3-1.

Then the other lines came out to play: Andy Andreoff and Andrei Churkin padded the lead. But, one second before the intermission, Leshchenko got his second of the night with Beck again involving in the supply chain.

That ended Pavel Khomchenko’s evening in the Sochi net; the goalie allowed six goals off 16 shots in the middle frame. Alexei Shchetilin came in and soon found himself on the penalty kill. With Beck at work on the Sibir power play, it was little surprise that the home team cashed in. Andreoff got his second of the night in the 44th minute.

Ilya Fedotov made it 8-1, and there were two power play goals to come. Beck assisted once more as Anton Kosolapov continued his impressive form since joining Sochi, then the Canadian wrapped up a record-breaking evening with his second goal in the last minute. Between those two, we saw a fight between Sibir’s Andrei Loktionov and the visitor’s Matvei Guskov, then Rafael Bikmullin got a major penalty for butt ending as Sochi’s day got worse by the minute.

Magnitka rests stars, still eases past Avto

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 (1-0, 3-0, 0-1)

Despite resting all of his All-Stars, Andrei Razin led Metallurg to a comfortable victory over Avtomobilist in the team’s first game since the Yekaterinburg extravaganza at the weekend. Razin, who coached at the big event, opted to manage without Yegor Yakovlev on defense and his top strike trio of Vladimir Tkachyov, Roman Kantserov and Dmitry Silantyev.

Nikolai Zavarukhin offered no rest for his All-Stars, though. Daniel Sprong, Maxim Denezhkin and Roman Gorbunov were all in action, although goalie Vladimir Galkin sat as back-up to Evgeny Alikin.

There was little evidence of Metallurg weakness in the first period. Although visiting forward Alexander Sharov hit the crossbar on the first shift, the home team was otherwise untroubled. Three power plays helped, and a 19-3 shot count told the story. The breakthrough came at equal strength, with a deflection helping Nikita Korotkov to open the scoring after 17 minutes.

In the middle frame, Magnitka built the lead that its dominance deserved. Two minutes after the restart, Alexander Petunin set up Ruslan Iskhakov for 2-0. The next shift saw a turnover and Yegor Korobkin forcing a big save from Alikin. But the visiting goalie was on borrowed time: in the 28th minute he allowed a breakaway goal for young Andrei Kozlov and was replaced by Galkin.

The incoming goalie quickly made a notable save to deny Valery Orekhov a power play goal. However, he was beaten after his own offense gave Metallurg a five-on-three power play. Mikhail Fyodorov converted that opportunity, making it 4-0 in the 34th minute.

There was little left to play for in the third period. Metallurg never relinquished control of the game, but did ease off and allow Avtomobilist’s offense some time to play. The visitor got one goal back through Brooks Macek, but could do no more to prevent a comfortable home win.

Motormen move out of conference basement

Lada Togliatti 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 1 (0-0, 0-1, 3-0)

Victory over Torpedo lifted Lada off the foot of the Western Conference, with Sochi slipping into the basement.

The Motormen had lost their previous five games but snapped that streak to put a dent in the visitor’s push for a top-four finish in the West. Given the teams’ recent form, it perhaps wasn’t a surprise that Torpedo looked brighter at the start of a goalless first period, with Yegor Vinogradov especially lively after his trip to the All-Star Game. Gradually Lada came into the game and ended up creating the best chances. However, the opening goal went to Vinogradov early in the second period, and that lead held until the second intermission.

Things changed at the start of the third. Dmitry Kugryshev set up Ivan Savchik for a tying goal and, once level, Lada went on to win the game. For a long time, play got bogged down in center ice and there were few scoring chances. But the 53rd minute saw Torpedo get a too many men penalty for the second time in the game. That proved to be one too many for the visiting PK and Alex Cotton put Lada in front. There were chances for Riley Sawchuk, Kugryshev or Andrei Chivilyov to put the game out of reach but Torpedo stayed alive until Andrei Altybarmakyan’s empty netter.

Belarusians up to second in West

Dinamo Minsk 7 Severstal Cherepovets 4 (3-2, 2-0, 2-2)

Two teams pursuing Western Conference leader Lokomotiv met in Minsk, with Dinamo moving into second place ahead of Severstal thanks to Tuesday’s win.

The Belarusians built on an 8-3 win at Lada before the All-Star break and produced an 11-goal game once again here. But if the Togliatti triumph was built on a five-goal third period, today’s success owed much to a fast start.

Dinamo jumped to a 3-0 lead after just eight minutes. Kirill Voronin opened the scoring in the second minute, Sergei Kuznetsov doubled the advantage on a power play, then Vadim Shipachyov scored on his hometown team on 8:10.

To their credit, Severstal’s players did not panic. Instead, they set about playing their way out of trouble and clawed back two goals before the intermission.

Dinamo took a couple of penalties, and the visitor’s second power play of the game saw Alexander Skorenov on target. Then Ilya Kvochko made it 2-3 before the intermission, with Danil Aimurzin getting his second assist of the night.

In the second period, Dinamo restored its advantage. A Sam Anas power play tally early in the frame eased home nerves, then Yegor Borikov made it 5-2 in the 34th minute. That turned out to be the game winner, but there was plenty more scoring to come.

Anas got another power play goal midway through the third, seemingly ending the contest. But Severstal thought different. Two goals in two minutes from Ilya Chefanov and Mikhail Ilyin gave the visitor a shot at salvation. However, Dinamo would not let go despite almost blowing its lead in the first period. Borikov put his second of the night into an empty net to seal the win.

SKA’s revival continues

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 SKA St. Petersburg 5 (0-0, 1-3, 0-2)

A third successive victory keeps SKA’s mini revival going after a club record skid came to an end last week. Despite falling behind at the start of the second period, Igor Larionov’s team secured a crushing verdict in Nizhnekamsk thanks to a four-point game from Marat Khairullin.

The visitor dominated the first period, enjoying more than twice as much attacking possession and firing 17 shots at All-Star goalie Filipp Dolganov. But SKA could not score, and Neftekhimik’s nine shots on goal suggested the home team was not going to be a pushover.

At the start of the second, the Wolves underscored that point. Damir Zhafyarov, playing against one of his many former clubs, opened the scoring within a minute of the restart.

But SKA had an ‘ex factor’ of its own. Ex-Neftekhimik forward Khairullin enjoyed his return home. He assisted on Matvei Korotky’s tying goal, then the youngster returned the favor with a helper as Khairullin made it 2-1 in the 33rd minute. Soon after the imports combined: Scott Wilson assist, Joseph Blandisi goal, 3-1 SKA.

Neftekhimik began the third period on the power play, but Khairullin grabbed a shorthanded goal. Then the home team lost its way completely. A five-on-three power play saw Khairullin set up Sergei Plotnikov for 5-1. That killed the game with 17 minutes to go, and the visitor closed things out with little stress.

Loko steams into playoffs

Shanghai Dragons 0 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (0-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Lokomotiv is the first team from the Western Conference to confirm its playoff spot, with today’s win at ninth-placed Dragons opened an insurmountable 30-point gap between the teams. With 14 games left, Shanghai can only add 28 more points this season.

The home team’s playoff battle is about catching eighth placed SKA, and the Dragons had a decent effort in a goalless first period. Shanghai outshot Loko 12-8 despite the visitor seeing more of the puck. However, that stat masked the greater danger that Lokomotiv generated. The Dragons blocked a further seven attempts and needed a bench challenge to overturn an eighth-minute goal due to interference on Andrei Tikhomirov in the home net.

The opening goal came in the 33rd minute. Yegor Surin had just served a two-minute penalty and he went out for the next shift and had a big impact. He collected the puck at the boards after Maxim Shalunov’s face-off win. Surin moved around the corner and returned play to the slot, where Shalunov was waiting to fire home.

After that, the Dragons had more of the play in the second period, but could not find a tying goal. And the third frame saw Lokomotiv close out the game impressively. The visitor was close to a second goal, but a video review in the 44th minute backed the on-ice decision that the puck did not cross the line.

Nonetheless, the table-topper was unruffled and closed out the game fairly comfortably. The job was done in the last minute when Nikita Kiryanov found the empty net. Surin got his second assist of the night; the Dragons are now 13 points adrift of the playoff spots.

Dynamo edges much-needed derby verdict

Spartak Moscow 2 Dynamo Moscow 3 (2-1, 0-2, 0-0)

Struggling Dynamo picked up a much-needed victory, improving a dismal run of three wins in 12 games since the start of the year. The fact that it was a Moscow derby success just added to the joy for the Blue-and-White quarter of the capital.

The first period action was condensed into a few minutes around the midway stage. Yegor Rimashevsky gave Dynamo the lead in the 10th minute, after Daniil Pylenkov got away from Andrei Mironov to set Maxim Mamin away on the left. His timely feed set up Rimashevsky to convert a two-on-one rush.

Spartak responded immediately, with defenseman Daniil Orlov bringing play through center ice before getting away from Ansel Galimov and firing in a powerful shot from the deep slot.

And the home team completed a rapid turnaround in the 12th minute when another D-man, Dmitry Vishnevsky, picked up the pieces from a broken play. Spartak’s initial odd-man rush came up short, but Vishnevsky’s positioning and powerful shot delivered a second goal.

There was another turnaround to come, however. In the second period, Dynamo hit back to regain the lead. The first warning came from Igor Ozhiganov, who rang the Spartak crossbar with a shot clocked at 165.4 kph. That was followed by a strong Dynamo penalty kill as the home team struggled to find its game on the PP.

Back at equal strength, the teams traded opportunities until ,in the 34th minute, Jordan Weal tied it up for the visitor. A swift counter attack saw Nikita Gusev feed the Canadian on the slot. Weal had plenty to do, but held off Pavel Poryadin as he turned to shoot home. And just before the intermission, a Dynamo power play brought a goal for Dylan Sikura. Gusev was involved again, winning his puck battle and sending the play towards the Canadian, who moved to a central position and fired past Alexander Georgiyev.

Spartak’s hopes of a fightback were boosted with a five-on-three power play at the start of the third. But once again, the Dynamo PK was strong and the visitor did a solid job of frustrating the Red-and-Whites throughout the third period. Kirill Adamchuk almost added a fourth, killer goal with a shot against the piping in the closing stages, but three proved to be enough for Vyacheslav Kozlov’s team to claim a much-needed win. The two teams are now level on 62 points, two better off than resurgent SKA in eighth place.