Leader slips up in Ufa, Dynamo wins again. February 13 round-up

Metallurg saw its five-game hot streak ended in a shoot-out loss at Salavat Yulaev. The home team extended its winning run to six games. Dynamo Moscow celebrated back-to-back wins for the first time since December, edging a 2-1 verdict at Avtomobilist. There were also road wins in the Far East: Avangard scored six on Amur, Traktor proved clinical in a 3-2 result in Vladivostok.

Strong finish gives Avangard the verdict

Amur Khabarovsk 2 Avangard Omsk 6 (0-1, 2-1, 0-4)

A new-look Amur fell to defeat at home to Avangard, giving up four goals in the third period as the visitor claimed a 6-2 scoreline.

Alexander Andriyevsky made seven changes to the team that lost to Traktor last time, bringing in Maxim Dorozhko, Nikita Yevseyev, Raul Akmaldinov, Yegor Rykov, Alexander Filatyev, Evgeny Svechnikov and Artur Gizdatullin.

Both teams made a bright start and there were chances at both ends. Visiting defenseman Max Lajoie had a good opportunity early on, as did Gizdatullin at the other end. The opening goal came in the 10th minute. Avangard got on the power play and Dmitry Rashevsky found the net. At equal strength, the game was still open. Vasily Ponomaryov and Kirill Pilipenko had chances to add to the lead, while Yaroslav Likhachyov was denied an equalizer by the crossbar.

The middle frame largely belonged to Amur. The Tigers made a fast start and Nikita Serebryakov did well to deny Filatyev a goal. When the home team got its first power play, Artyom Shvaryov tied it up, redirecting Danil Yurtaikin’s shot to the desired address.

After that, Avangard improved, but Amur would go to the intermission level. Ponomaryov restored the Hawks’ lead, but only briefly before Likhachyov made it 2-2.

However, the third period was all about Avangard. Pilipenko scored his first goal for Avangard three minutes into the session after a lovely interchange with Konstantin Okulov. Then three goals in three minutes put the game out of reach: Okulov scored himself in the 55th minute, Andrew Poturalski quickly added a fifth after Damir Sharipzyanov’s blast cannoned off the boards, then Nikolai Prokhorkin completed the scoring.

Clinical Traktor wins in Vladivostok

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

The Sailors were left to rue wasted chances after falling at home to Traktor. Despite outshooting the visitor 38-20, the home team fell to a 2-3 loss.

Traktor proved clinical in the first period, opening a 2-0 lead from just eight shots at Ivan Kulbakov. Mikhail Grigorenko opened the scoring midway through the session, taking advantage of a breakdown in the home defense and wiring his shot to the top shelf.

The second goal came in similar fashion, although this time Vasily Glotov’s finish owed more to stick-handling up close rather than a devastating shot. Michal Cajkovsky assisted on that goal to register his first point since joining Traktor on deadline day.

In the second period, Admiral improved significantly. The Sailors had better game play and created greater problems for Dmitry Nikolayev in the Traktor net. However, Nikolayev stopped all 16 of the shots he faced in the middle frame. At the other end, a wayward pass set up another Traktor counter and Stepan Gorbunov padded the lead in the 33rd minute.

Admiral finally solved Nikolayev at the start of the third period thanks to a close-range finish from Vyacheslav Osnovin. That gave the home team hope of saving the game, and the Sailors continued to press. Traktor managed to hit the post in response, but once again found itself under pressure as the initiative remained with the host.

However, the finishing touch was lacking: only a last-minute power play goal from Pavel Shen changed the scoreline, and that wasn’t enough to force overtime.

Rempal, Brosseau lead Salavat past Magnitka

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 SO (1-0, 0-2, 2-1, 0-0, 1-0)

Sheldon Rempal was Salavat Yulaev’s gamewinner at home to table-topping Metallurg. The Canadian forward scored in regulation as the teams tied 3-3, then potted the winner in the shoot-out.

Devin Brosseau had two goals for the home team, while Evgeny Kuznetsov picked up two assists in his first meeting with Magnitka since Metallurg placed him on waivers.

Both teams brought five-game winning streaks into this one, and Ufa put up a big fight in a competitive first period. That effort was rewarded: a misplaced pass from Derek Barach in his own zone went to Rempal, who instantly assessed the situation to shoot home the opening goal in the 13th minute.

Metallurg killed a penalty at the start of the second period and drew confidence from that. The visitor was soon causing problems for Salavat and took the game to the other end of the ice. Pressure brought its rewards: Nikita Korotkov hit the post shortly before Makar Khabarov tied the game with a wrister to the far corner. Then, after 35 minutes, a home attack ended in a turnover that sent Ruslan Iskhakov clean through on Semyon Vyazovoi’s net to give the Steelmen the lead at the second intermission.

Brosseau was the man to change that. He converted a Kuznetsov feed in the 44th minute to tie the game at two, then a home power play saw Rempal and Kuznetsov combine for the forward to pot his second goal in less than two minutes.

That was starting to look like the decisive play, but as the clock ticked down Andrei Razin replaced Ilya Nabokov with a sixth skater. Roman Kantserov burnished his goalscoring credential with his league-leading 30th tally of the season.

In overtime, Vyazovoi was the busiest player, making several saves to deny Metallurg the verdict. And he remained unbeaten in the shoot-out before Rempal potted the decider.

Dynamo edges second successive win

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)

Dynamo picked up another win as Avtomobilist suffered in the absence of its key forwards. Reid Boucher missed out once again due to personal circumstances, while Stephane da Costa was in Olympic action for France, picking up his first point at the Games against Czechia.

The Blue-and-Whites made one change from the team that beat Spartak, calling up productive junior defenseman Timur Kol as Vyacheslav Kozlov’s team looked for back-to-back wins for the first time since Dec. 16.

Despite missing some firepower, Avtomobilist made a solid start. Although there were few clear scoring chances, the home team kept Dynamo penned into its own zone for several shifts. Daniel Sprong and Brooks Macek showed some menace, but seconds after the German international tried to deke his way through the defense, Dynamo broke away and Daniil Pylenkov set up a three-on-one rush that ended in Dylan Sikura’s opening goal.

Vladislav Podyapolsky robbed Alexander Sharov of a tying goal soon after that, and Dynamo began to move the game away from its net. The visitor’s first power play almost brought a second goal, but Yegor Rimashevsky could not finish from close range.

Rimashevsky found the net in the second period, capitalizing as Avtomobilist ran into penalty trouble. The home team had 10 seconds reduced to three skaters, but it was the drain of almost four full minutes on the PK that enabled Jordan Weal to get off a shot for Rimashevsky to stuff the puck home.
Avtomobilist found it hard to get attacking possession in the middle frame, not helped by another penalty. However, the fourth line managed to conjure a goal in the 35th minute. Nikita Shashkov’s shot bounced around off the goalie and the crossbar before dropping into the net.

That turned out to be the end of the scoring. The top line fashioned a good chance as Macek and Sharov threatened; Podyapolsky survived, but Dynamo had to ice the puck. At the other end, Maxim Osipov had to get back to cover Evgeny Alikin after the goalie raced out of his net and invited Nikita Gusev to shoot.

Dynamo was left hanging on towards the end: one dangerous shot flashed just wide, another rang the iron. The visitor struggled to clear its lines but managed to run down the clock before Avto could force overtime.