Smolin denies Dinamo, Amur boosts playoff hopes. March 3 round-up

Dinamo Minsk’s in-form offense was halted by Metallurg goalie Alexander Smolin. He made 42 saves in Belarus to help the league leader to a 3-0 win. In the playoff race, Amur moved to within three points of eighth-placed Sibir with a 3-1 win over Neftekhimik. Tuesday’s other action saw Evgeny Kuznetsov led Salavat Yulaev to a shoot-out win at Admiral, and Lada came from 0-2 to beat Ak Bars at home.

Playoff race hots up after Amur victory

Amur Khabarovsk 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (1-0, 1-0, 1-1)

The Tigers moved to within three points of the playoff places thanks to a second victory over Neftekhimik in three days. Amur managed to win both its games in hand on eighth-placed Sibir, and the stage is set for a dramatic finish to the race in the Eastern Conference.

Neftekhimik, in seventh in the East, has yet to confirm its own playoff spot. The visitor made a bright start to Tuesday’s game, hitting the post in the first minute then securing the first power play of the evening. However, Amur survived that early scare and went on to take control of the game. It took a fine performance from visiting goalie Filipp Dolganov to keep the score to a minimum: he was beaten just once, when Kirill Slepets redirected Ivan Mishchenko’s effort after eight minutes.

After the intermission, Neftekhimik improved – only to allow a second goal. Kirill Ukrakov blocked a shot at one end and the puck dropped for Andrei Krutov. He advanced into the visitor’s zone, rode his luck with a fortuitous bounce of an official’s skate, and fired past Dolganov.

In the third period, Amur limited Neftekhimik to counterattacks. However, the visitor managed to turn one of them into a goal. Damir Zhafyarov released

Nikita Artamonov, who attempted to return the play to his partner at the back door, only for the pass to return to him via a defenseman. At the second attempt, Artamonov shot himself and scored.

Back in the game, Neftekhimik then had two power plays in a row but could not take advantage. Amur endured and then scored during a passage of four-on-four play. Yaroslav Likhachyov potted his 21st of the season and is now just one behind Jakub Petruzalek’s record 22-goal haul back in 2011/2012.

Kuznetsov sinks Sailors

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 SO (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Evgeny Kuznetsov was the main man as Salavat Yulaev avenged Sunday’s 2-4 loss in Vladivostok. He scored his team’s tying goal In regulation, then potted the shoot-out winner.

Despite today’s win, Salavat is still not mathematically assured of a playoff spot. Amur’s victory means Viktor Kozlov’s team could theoretically still be caught. At the same time, defeat did not officially end Admiral’s hopes: the solitary point from the tie in regulation maintains a notional possibility of the basement-dwelling Sailors sneaking into the top eight.

The first period was well contested but did not produce a goal. Kuznetsov and Sheldon Rempal had the best chances of the opening frame and Ufa looked slightly sharper in front of goal.

After the intermission, the visitor enjoyed more possession but could not find the key to Adam Huska in the home net. And Admiral took advantage late on when Grigory Panin’s penalty helped Libor Sulak open the scoring with a power play goal. Sulak took his productive streak to six games.

In the third, Salavat Yulaev found a way back. In the 46th minute, Sergei Varlov went around the back and threaded a great pass through a forest of sticks to find Kuznetsov on the slot. He picked his moment to unleash a shot and tie the game.

There were chances for the visitor to win it in regulation, not least on the power play after a too many men call in the 57th minute. But Admiral held on to take the game to the extras before falling to Kuznetsov in the shoot-out.

Ak Bars blows lead, falls to Lada

Lada Togliatti 5 Ak Bars Kazan 3 (0-2, 3-1, 2-0)

There hasn’t been much for Lada to enjoy in a difficult season, but the Motormen seem to have the answers when it comes to Ak Bars. Today was Lada’s third win over its rival from Kazan, and this one was a thriller.

The early stages saw the home team dominant. Young Ak Bars goalie Maxim Arefyev faced 12 shots before his team-mates managed to test Alexander Trushkov at the other end. However, once the visitor found its game, Trushkov was beaten twice before the intermission. Stepan Terekhov got his first goal of the season, with Kirill Semyonov’s assist bringing his 400th point in the KHL. Then Mitch Miller doubled the lead with a fine individual effort 90 seconds later.

At the start of the third, Ak Bars looked the likelier team to score, only to give up a goal against the run of play. Maxim Belousov ended Arefyev’s resistance with the help of a deflection. That lifted Lada, but not as much as a five-on-three power play. Alex Cotton took advantage of that to tie the game in the 28th minute.

The game was more open and the teams traded goals late in the middle frame. Riley Sawchuk put Lada in front for the first time from close range, but Ak Bars responded with a well-worked goal from Nathan Todd to make it 3-3 at the second intermission.

Both teams looked to creativity to produce the winning goal in the third period. The decisive play came in the 54th minute, when Lada combined speed and technique for Nikita Mikhailov to score. Andrei Altybarmakyan and Grigory Denisenko then came to blows before Ak Bars called Arefyev to the bench and tried to launch a late surge. Instead, though, Sawchuk put his second of the night into an empty net to seal the win for Lada.

Smolin silences in-form Dinamo forwards

Dinamo Minsk 0 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (0-2, 0-0, 0-1)

The most prolific offenses in the KHL went head-to-head – and Metallurg produced a shut-out to halt Dinamo Minsk.

It was the first time the Belarusians had failed to score since Nov. 8, and only the second all season. Alexander Smolin’s shut-out halted Magnitka’s three-game skid and also broke nine-game hot streaks for the home team’s American forwards Sam Anas and Alex Limoges.

It wasn’t for want of trying. Minsk rained in 42 shots at Smolin but could not beat him. Anas contributed four of those attempts, with three more from Limoges.

Dinamo remains on 226 goals for the season, but Metallurg advanced to 237. The two are way out in front, with only Avangard (205) also clearing the 200-goal mark.

Metallurg got in front midway through the first period. Nicolas Meloche sat for roughing and the visitor scored on the power play. This season’s top goalscorer, Roman Kantserov, saw his shot bounce off Derek Barach for Andrei Kozlov to score from close range. Then Kantserov himself claimed his 33rd goal in the final second of the frame. Vladimir Tkachyov fired the puck to the net, where it bounced off Kantserov’s skate and in.

That goal was awarded after a video review, but in the second period another stint of screen time saw Dinamo denied. Ty Smith’s wrister found the net, but the review showed that Andrei Stas impeded Smolin’s attempt to save. Smolin was a busy man in the middle frame as Dinamo outshot Metallurg 15-1. However, there was no change to the 2-0 scoreline as the league leader remained in front.

The third period was not very different. Magnitka again struggled to generate offense and rarely tested Vasily Demchenko in the home net. He faced just three shots in the first 15 minutes of the final stanza. But when Demchenko went to the bench, Metallurg won back possession and Kozlov potted his second of the night. Kantserov collected an assist for a three-point game and Metallurg’s three goals proved decisive.