Kuznetsov enjoys Chelyabinsk return, Torpedo books playoff spot. February 18 round-up

Evgeny Kuznetsov had never mustered a point on Traktor, his hometown team, until today. Now he has 4 (1+3) after leading Salavat Yulaev to a 6-0 win in Chelyabinsk. There was late drama in the West as Shanghai Dragons struck with six seconds to play at Torpedo, forcing a 3-3 tie. However, Vladimir Tkachyov won it for the host in overtime, securing a playoff spot. SKA tied Severstal at 2-2 with 15 seconds to play, but fell to the second-placed team in the West in a shoot-out. The big game in the East also went to overtime before Amur defeated Sibir to keep its hopes of a top-eight finish alive. And there was another six-goal show as Dinamo Minsk thumped Spartak 6-1, helped by four power play goals.

Split decision in crunch playoff clash

Sibir Novosibirsk 1 Amur Khabarovsk 2 OT (0-1, 0-0, 1-0, 0-1)

Amur gained a valuable victory over Sibir in a head-to-head battle between rival playoff contenders. But the Tigers will be frustrated that they couldn’t finish the job in regulation, allowing the home team to claim a point and maintain a seven-point lead in the race for eighth place.

Things started well enough for the visitor. After repelling a few early attacks, Amur opened the scoring with its first shot of the game. Defenseman Ivan Mishchenko took advantage of Semyon Koshelev’s misjudgement when the right winger got caught out in unaccustomed territory on the blue line. Mishchenko raced away to convert a one-on-one.

Sibir responded to that setback, and Maxim Dorozhko made a big save to deny Ilya Fedotov before Viktor Antipin’s foul gave the home team its first power play.

Amur took its lead into the second period, but almost gave up a shorthanded goal right away when Andrei Loktionov got on a counterattack. Taylor Beck, whose record-breaking seven-point haul on Sochi last week was honored before today’s game, also had a good chance to tie the game when he caught Dorozhko out of position, but Amur held on. Later in the frame, Alexander Galchenyuk and Grigory Kuzmin had golden chances to increase the visitor’s lead, but could not beat Mikhail Berdin in the Sibir net.

The third period saw the Tigers set up to keep Sibir away from the danger zone. It was tough for the home team to get out of its own zone, never mind into Amur’s. At equal strength, there was no sign of a breakthrough, but when Yaroslav Likhachyov sat for a high stick midway through the session, the home PP delivered a tying goal from Koshelev.

That was a big goal for Sibir, preventing a damaging loss in regulation. But the home team could not finish the job: in the first minute of overtime Alex Broadhurst potted a winner for Amur. The race for eighth place looks set to go to the wire.

Happy return for Kuznetsov

Traktor Chelyabinsk 0 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 6 (0-2, 0-1, 0-3)

Evgeny Kuznetsov made a triumphant return to his hometown, picking up four points to lead Salavat Yulaev to victory over Traktor.

The forward’s return was marked before the game when his youth coach Vladimir Shabunin did the honors at the ceremonial face-off. On Saturday, Shabunin celebrated his 80th birthday.

Traktor was under pressure from the start, killing two early penalties. And when defenseman Jordan Gross, recalled to today’s team, lost possession on Ufa’s blue line, Yegor Suchkov led the breakaway and combined with Kuznetsov for the opening goal.

Three minutes later, Kuznetsov rifled home himself from the faceoff circle. That was Evgeny’s first ever goal on Traktor in the KHL, and today’s game brought his first points against his hometown club.

Traktor tried to find a way back in the second period. Vitaly Kravtsov had a great chance from right in front of Semyon Vyazovoi’s net, while Josh Leivo looked to create something against his former club. But a Salavat Yulaev power play changed the momentum and although Traktor’s PK just about held on, the visitor scored as soon as the teams returned to equal strength. Devin Brosseau was alert on the slot to convert the rebound from Yaroslav Tsulygin’s shot.

Things got worse for the home team in the third period. Sheldon Rempal padded the lead when he finished a swift counterattack, and there were two late goals when Jack Rodewald struck on the power play and Brosseau got his second of the game. Kuznetsov claimed two more helpers to take his tally to 4 (1+3) points in the game. At the other end, Salavat Yulaev could not manage even a consolation goal as Vyazovoi secured his second shut-out of the season.

Spartak pays heavy penalty

Dinamo Minsk 6 Spartak Moscow 1 (0-0, 3-1, 3-0)

The Belarusian power play reigned in Minsk, with Dinamo scoring four goals on the PP on a night when Spartak took five penalties and was punished each time. Three of the goals were in five-on-four play, another came in five-on-three.

There was little sign of the lopsided outcome in the early stages of the game. Spartak ultimately had the better of a goalless first period, although Dinamo did get the puck past Alexander Georgiyev in the seventh minute. However, the on-ice verdict was no goal, and a review confirmed that Daniil Lipsky’s effort crossed the line after play had stopped.

Later in the opening frame, Zach Fucale made a couple of big saves. First, he rescued Xavier Ouellet after the Canadian defenseman’s error presented Ivan Morozov with a glorious chance. Then, seconds later, the goalie denied Daniil Gutik as the Red-and-Whites finished strongly.

The momentum carried over the intermission and in the 27th minute, Spartak got in front on a power play goal of its own from Alexander Belyayev.

But after that, everything changed. Dinamo got on the power play almost immediately, and Vadim Moroz tied the game. Midway through the session, Georgiyev was penalized for moving his net, giving the Bison a five-on-three advantage. It took the home team just 12 seconds to capitalize, with Vadim Shipachyov on target. A theme was developing, and the Minsk power play struck again seconds before the intermission. This time Ty Smith was the scorer as Spartak’s prospects dwindled amid penalty calls.

In the third, we saw our first goal at equal strength when Vitaly Pinchuk made it 4-1 for Dinamo. But the big story of the night was the home PP and midway through the final frame it struck again. Lipsky scored, while Shipachyov’s assist gave him a three-point game. The closing stages brought a rare goal for Ouellet – only his seventh in 114 games for Dinamo – to complete the rout.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 Shanghai Dragons 3 OT (0-1, 1-0, 2-2, 1-0)

Vladimir Tkachyov’s overtime goal secured a playoff place for Torpedo, despite allowing a late tying goal at home to Shanghai Dragons.

Any kind of win today would see Alexei Isakov’s team punch its post season ticket and, after a 3-3 scoreline in regulation, Tkachyov wired home a wrister off Bobby Nardella’s feed to the top of the circle, beating Andrei Tikhomirov and bagging the all important bonus point.

Just six seconds separated CSKA from joining Torpedo in the playoffs. A regulation-time win for the host would have seen the Muscovites lock their top-eight finish.

However, on 59:54, with Torpedo up 3-2, Gage Quinney grabbed a dramatic tying goal for the Dragons. As Adam Clendening fired in one last point shot, Quinney emerged from behind the net to get a vital redirect, taking the puck past Dmitry Shugayev to make it 3-3.

That secured a valuable point for a ninth-placed Dragons team desperate to stay in touch with the top eight as the season approaches its finish.

Earlier, the Dragons got ahead midway through the first on a Troy Josephs goal. However, Mitch Love’s team has struggled to make the most of winning positions in recent months and Torpedo tied it up on a Vasily Atanasov marker in the 26th minute.

In the third period, the home team led twice. Maxim Letunov’s power play goal midway through the session was cancelled out by Parker Foo barely a minute later. Then, on 53:57, another power play goal – this time from Bogdan Konyushkov – restored the home lead and seemingly got the playoff-securing win before the late drama kicked in.

Polyakov’s late goal can’t save SKA

SKA St. Petersburg 2 Severstal Cherepovets 3 SO (0-1, 1-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1)

A shoot-out success in St. Petersburg keeps Severstal second in the Western Conference, still one point ahead of Dinamo Minsk.

SKA salvaged a point from today’s game with 15 seconds on the clock when Matvei Polyakov tied the scores at 2-2. The youngster started the play, finding Scott Wilson behind the net. Then he advanced to join Matvei Korotky on the slot and stuffed the puck home amid a crowd of players to save the game for the home team.

However, SKA could not press home its advantage in the extras. There were few chances in overtime, with Alexander Samoilov denying Rocco Grimaldi for SKA, and Danil Aimurzin denied by Artemy Pleshkov late in the session. The shoot-out saw Korotky on target for the home team, but successful attempts from Ilya Chefanov and Alexander Skorenov saw Severstal over the line.

The visitor was fair value for the win. Severstal got in front in the first period, converting the game’s first power play when Skorenov redirected a Yanni Kaldis point shot past Pleshkov. That was one of just nine efforts on target between the two teams in a cautious opening session.

Nikolai Goldobin fired SKA level from a central position after 26 minutes, but the home team could not consolidate on that. Instead, Ruslan Abrosimov converted a two-on-one rush to restore Severstal’s lead and the visitor again had a solid advantage in shots. After 40 minutes, the count was 20-10 in the Lynx’s favor and SKA was finding it hard to get pucks to Samoilov’s net.

The home team improved in the final frame, with a combination of urgency and desperation seeing Samoilov tested more often. However, it took a late goal to salvage a tie and that wasn’t enough for Igor Larionov’s team to finish the job. The point lifts SKA ahead of Spartak into seventh.

Olympic Games

Slovakia 6 Germany 2 (1-0, 3-1, 2-1)

Three KHL players – Martin Gernat, Adam Ruzicka and Adam Liska – helped Slovakia into the semifinals at the Winter Olympics in Milan. The Slovaks remain on course to match the bronze medal they won in 2022 and could yet improve on their best ever result at the Games.

After topping a group that also included Sweden and defending champion Finland, the Slovaks advanced directly to the last eight. Germany, which ousted Stephane da Costa’s France in the qualification round, provided Wednesday’s opposition. However, the game ended in a fairly straightforward Slovak win.

After Pavol Regenda broke the deadlock late in the first, Slovakia moved to a 4-0 lead before Lukas Reichel pulled a goal back in the 35th minute. There would be no way back for the Germans in the third, and Ruzicka continued his productive tournament with an assist as Juraj Slafkovsky potted the sixth and final goal.

Spartak’s Ruzicka is centering the top line for Slafkovsky and Tomas Tatar, two established NHL stars, and has 4 (2+2) points from his four games in Milan. Lokomotiv defenseman Gernat also has 4 (1+3) points, with Severstal’s Liska collecting two helpers in the tournament so far.