Two more book playoff spots. February 15 round-up

Severstal and Dinamo Minsk are the latest teams to confirm their playoff spots. The Lynx won 3-1 at home to Neftekhimik, securing a top-eight finish on their own merits. Dinamo fell to a 3-4 loss at Spartak, but Shanghai’s OT loss to CSKA means the Belarusians can also start preparing for post season. Elsewhere, Avtomobilist produced the performance of the day with an 8-1 thrashing of league leader Metallurg. Avangard enjoyed a 6-2 win over Traktor, and Dynamo won on the road at Torpedo.

Hawks impress at home to Traktor

Avangard Omsk 6 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (2-1, 3-1, 1-0)

Giovanni Fiore and Mike McLeod scored two apiece as Avangard secured a third successive victory. Traktor’s four-game hot streak came to an end despite the return of top scorer Josh Leivo to the roster.

The visitor managed to land the first blow: although Avangard created some early chances, Traktor scored in the fifth minute with its first shot of the game. Grigory Dronov fired in a wrister from the blue line to beat Nikita Serebryakov and open the scoring.

But, after falling behind, Avangard stepped up. Four unanswered goals turned things decisively in the home team’s favor. It started with a couple from Fiore. He tied the scores midway through the opening frame, then added a shorthanded tally a couple of minutes before the hooter to send the Hawks into the intermission with a 2-1 lead.

The second period saw more puck possession for Avangard but the home team struggled to get the puck to the slot and really test Dmitry Nikolayev. After the first power break, Vasily Glotov had a glorious chance to bring Traktor level. However, Avangard survived and thrived on the next shift: Nail Yakupov dragged play out of the corner and got the puck to the slot for Nikolai Prokhorkin to make it 3-1. Then, after killing a penalty, the Hawks padded the lead thanks to Ivan Igumnov in the 36th minute.

Down by three, Traktor needed a swift response. Maxim Dzhioshvili supplied it with a goal in the 38th minute. But the home team took a three-goal advantage to the intermission thanks to McLeod’s first of the night, banging home Andrew Poturalski’s feed from behind the net.

That effective settled the outcome and the third period was a relatively lifeless affair. McLeod’s second of the night came on 56 minutes to seal Avangard’s win, consolidating the Hawks’ grip on second place in the East.

Motormen stun league leader

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 8 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (2-0, 3-1, 3-0)

Not many saw this coming. Metallurg’s progress at the top of the Eastern Conference this season has been sublime, while Avtomobilist has faced some inconsistency over the course of the campaign. Moreover, the Yekaterinburg club is without key center Stephane da Costa, while Reid Boucher remains unavailable due to personal circumstances.

But the Motormen raced away with this game as Daniel Sprong’s hat-trick powered an emphatic 8-1 victory.

The home team got off to a flyer, with Semyon Kizimov opening the scoring after 67 seconds. Sprong potted his first of the game after 13 minutes as the home team asserted itself. Metallurg stepped up towards the end of the session, enjoying some extended stays in home territory, but could not fashion the all-important goal.

Avto increased its lead at the start of the second period when Yaroslav Busygin fired home from out on the boards. Metallurg goalie Alexander Smolin was distracted by Alexander Sharov and could not get a stick to the puck. That saw Smolin replaced by 19-year-old rookie Albert Utkin, but his stay in the net was brief. Roman Gorbunov beat him with a shot from a tight angle and even though the play was called back for offside, Smolin came back into the Metallurg net.

That prompted an angry response from Andrei Razin and he got a bench minor for misconduct. That power play led to Sprong’s second of the night and prompted Razin into some drastic measures. Down by four, the visitor called Smolin to the bench for every power play and got a reward in the 32nd minute when Yegor Yakovlev pulled one back during some six-on-four play.

But there would be no fightback. Sprong completed his hat-trick on a power play late in the third to make it 5-1, and the final frame was dominated by the home team. Maxim Denezhkin added a sixth, then after a flurry of penalties Artyom Kashtanov and Danil Romantsev made the final score a comprehensive one for the home team.

Blue-and-White resurgence continues in Nizhny

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Dynamo Moscow 4 (0-1, 1-2, 1-1)

A third successive win for Dynamo lifted the Blue-and-Whites to sixth in the Western Conference. Following wins at Spartak and Avtomobilist, the Muscovites came out on top at Torpedo to maintain its hopes of a top four finish.

Torpedo grabbed the first goal attempt of the game, but for a long time it failed to add to Maxim Letunov’s attempt. And, midway through the opening session, a power play goal from Yegor Rimashevsky got the better of Mikhail Naumenkov at the back door to score at the second attempt.

That was the only goal of the opening frame, but after the intermission Torpedo tied the game. Amir Garayev’s shot from the right point took a deflection off a Dynamo player and beat Vladislav Podyapolsky. To make it 1-1 in the 25th minute. The home team dominated the start of the middle frame, wiping out the visitor’s 13-6 lead on shots and taking control of the play.

However, late in the second period Dynamo built a decisive lead. A power play goal from Dylan Sikura restored the Muscovites’ advantage, and just before the intermission Semyon Der-Arguchintsev made it 3-1 in the 38th minute.

The third period saw Torpedo get on the power play and find a way back into the game. Although Igor Ozhiganov returned to the game before the home team could score, Torpedo continued to attack. Bobby Nardella played the puck along the blue line for Yegor Vinogradov to shoot, then Vasily Atanasov redirected it home midway through the session.

However, the home team could not find a tying goal and, with two minutes to play Sikura put his second of the day into the empty net to seal the win.

Severstal clinches playoff spot

Severstal Cherepovets 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (2-1, 1-0, 0-0)

Victory over Neftekhimik secured a playoff spot for Severstal. The Steelmen suffered a three-game losing streak at the start of February, influenced by a mix of injuries, the Olympics and player trading.

The visitor came to Cherepovets after losing back-to-back home games. That punctured the feel-good factor engendered by a seven-game winning streak.
With Adam Liska away at the Olympics, Ruslan Abrosimov has taken over the captain’s role. And he led from the front, opening the scoring in the eighth minute. Neftekhimik tied it up thanks to Damir Zhafyarov in the 16th minute after forcing a turnover in his own half and racing away to score. But Abrosimov helped to restore the lead before the intermission, collecting an assist as defenseman Nikolai Burenov banged one home.

The second period saw Severstal looking livelier in an open game. Midway through the session youngster Daniil Kazulayev scored his first KHL goal to make it 3-1.

That put the game beyond Neftekhimik’s reach. A power play midway through the thid summed up the visitor’s day: 30 seconds after Danil Aimurzin went to the box, Andrei Belozyorov followed him out of the game and the Lynx closed out the win.

Defeat doesn’t deny Dinamo

Spartak Moscow 4 Dinamo Minsk 3 (1-0, 2-1, 1-2)

Despite defeat in Moscow, Dinamo secured its playoff spot following Shanghai’s defeat to CSKA. The Red-and-Whites, meanwhile, move to 64 points and open a 16 point gap over the ninth-placed Dragons.

Ivan Morozov got his first goal since Dec. 7 to separate the teams at the first intermission. Darren Dietz was caught out attempting a clearance from behind his net, Daniil Gutik seized possession and fed the puck to the slot for Morozov to score.

At the start of the second, Spartak ended its power play drought. Alexei Zhamnov’s team hadn’t scored on the PP for four games until Dmitry Vishnevsky punished Ryan Spooner’s indiscretion with a low shot from the blue line to double the lead.

Dinamo, meanwhile, remains a potent offensive force. Vitaly Pinchuk pulled a goal back in the 34th minute after Rob Hamilton’s shot was blocked by Daniil Orlov. The puck dropped kindly for the Belarusian forward and he put his team right back into the game.

But late in the middle frame Morozov blocked a shot in the left-hand circle and set up a breakaway for Mikhail Maltsev to make it 3-1 for Spartak.

However, Dinamo hit back hard. Two goals in 90 seconds at the start of the third period saw Sam Anas and Xavier Ouellet tie the game at 3-3. However, that was as far as the visitor could get. In the 48th minute, Pavel Poryadin raced onto Nikita Korostelyov’s counter attack to make it 4-3. Almost immediately, Dinamo had it back to 4-4, but only until a Spartak challenge called back the play.

That was the last “goal” incident. Spartak managed to hold its lead to the end, but the news from the Dragons ensured that Dinamo secured its playoff spot.

Kovalenko gives CSKA OT verdict

Shanghai Dragons 1 CSKA Moscow 2 OT (0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)

CSKA moved into the top four in the Western Conference with an overtime victory at Shanghai Dragons. The host fell further behind in its bid for a playoff spot and now has to make up 14 points in its remaining 12 games.

The Muscovites arrived in impressive form, with seven straight wins ahead of Sunday’s game. That included a 1-0 success against this opponent on Feb. 5, and CSKA had not allowed a goal since Timur Khafizov scored for Sochi before the All-Star Weekend.

The unbeaten run carried on in a goalless first period. The Dragons had slightly more of the play, outshooting CSKA 12-8 through the opening frame.
It took until the 29th minute for the teams to produce an opening goal. It went to CSKA, a shorthanded effort from Pavel Karnaukhov just eight seconds after Vitaly Abramov sat for tripping.

The CSKA shot-out almost made it through another period, but three seconds before the intermission Riley Sutter pulled the home team level.

Victory for Shanghai would have prevented Dinamo Minsk from securing its playoff spot. However, the third period was almost bereft of chances as the teams managed just 11 shots on target between them. But overtime produced a winner, with Nikolai Kovalenko settling the outcome in the 64th minute.