Great day on the road. March 4 round-up
Wednesday’s KHL action brought four wins out of four for road teams – three of them with shut-outs. However, one of today’s winners, Lokomotiv, was playing in its own arena after its game at HC Sochi was moved to Yaroslavl. The Leopards battled hard but fell to a 51st-minute goal. Elsewhere, Josh Leivo picked up four points as Traktor won 5-0 at Torpedo, Avtomobilist took a 4-0 verdict at Dynamo and Avangard beat CSKA 2-0.
Leivo leads from the front
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 0 Traktor Chelyabinsk 5 (0-1, 0-3, 0-1)
Four points from Josh Leivo powered Traktor to victory at Torpedo. The visitor bounced back from back-to-back losses to enjoy a convincing win, with the Canadian forward contributing two goals and two assists.
At the other end, Dmitry Nikolayev made 38 saves to claim his second shut-out of the season. Torpedo suffered a third loss in four and failed to score for the first time in 2026.
Leivo started in the fifth minute with the opening goal. Traktor’s leading scorer moved onto Vasily Glotov’s pass, skated away from Alexei Kruchinin and drove a shot past Denis Kostin. The home goalie was in action again moments later to deny Alexander Kadeikin on the breakaway but Torpedo remained competitive for the much of the first period and it was a one-goal game at the intermission.
The host had to kill two penalties in the opening frame, but when Anton Sizov sat early in the middle stanza, the third time proved to be the charm for Traktor’s PP. Leivo was on target again, winning a battle for possession against Daniil Zhuravlyov and scoring from close range. Before the midway point, another power play saw Kadeikin add a third.
Torpedo had a great chance to get back into the game in the 32nd minute. First Logan Day was penalized, then Michal Cajkovsky was assessed a tripping minor and talking himself up to 2+2+10+20 for his angry reaction to the call. Yegor Vinogradov almost found a way through before Day returned to the game, then the visitor’s Sergei Telegin again reduced his team to three skaters with a foul on the home forward.
There were further half chances for the Torpedo power play, with Kruchinin, Vladimir Tkachyov and Maxim Letunov involved, but Traktor held on. And, once back to full strength, the visitor celebrated a fourth goal: Telegin joined the attack and found space to score from a tight angle.
At the start of the third period, Kostin made way for Dmitry Shugayev in the home net. But this was merely a cosmetic change; the damage was done and the game lost. There would not even be a consolation goal for Torpedo to celebrate. Instead, the last word went to Andrei Svetlakov, whose later power play goal made the final score 5-0.
Seventh straight win for Loko
HC Sochi 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 (0-0, 2-2, 0-1)
This game was originally scheduled to be played in Sochi. However, following disruption to recent games in the Black Sea resort, it was moved to Yaroslavl.
Thus, Western Conference leader Lokomotiv unexpectedly enjoyed home advantage – but had to battle to see off basement club Sochi. The Leopards twice came from behind but fell to a 51st-minute goal from Alexei Bereglazov.
Lokomotiv got an early power play but could not take advantage. Once back at equal strength, Sochi had the better of the play for a time but the notional visitor soon got back on top. However, the Railwaymen’s offense lacked precision, and Pavel Khomchenko was rarely much tested in the Leopards’ net.
The goals arrived after the intermission. Richard Panik twice put Lokomotiv in front, but Sochi found answers to both. Dmitry Kagarlitsky made it 1-1, then a short-handed effort from Daniil Seroukh tied it up for the second time.
After two goals from Panik, the Slovak forward then produced a fine assist to set up Bereglazov midway through the third period. The defenseman took his chance and secured a seventh successive victory for Lokomotiv.
Serebryakov silences CSKA, McLeod pots winner
CSKA Moscow 0 Avangard Omsk 2 (0-0, 0-0, 0-2)
A goaltending duel between CSKA’s Dmitry Gazmin and Avangard’s Nikita Serebryakov was settled in the third when the Hawks finally found a breakthrough.
The visitor’s imports combined for the opener in the 45th minute. Andrew Poturalski battled effectively for the puck in the corner before Giovanni Fiore sent the puck to the top of the right-hand circle. Mike McLeod unleashed a shot to catch Gamzin off guard and beat him to his near post.
And McLeod doubled the lead in the 52nd minute. Gamzin held onto his initial point shot, but after Avangard won the faceoff, Fiore drilled the puck to the slot and McLeod squeezed the rebound in off the post. The Hawks managed two goals from four shots in the final frame to take the verdict.
In between those goals, CSKA had a power play that came to nothing. And right after McLeod’s second, the home team got what should have been a vital PP chance. However, just seven seconds after Vasily Ponomaryov was assessed a high sticking minor, Denis Zernov was whistled for interference and the teams were even once again. Avangard tightened up its defense and limited the Muscovites to a bare handful of chances.
Earlier, the game got off to a cautious start. Much of the first period was played at the perimeter and there were few shots on goal. There was more offensive intent in the middle frame, but once again the goalies were on top of their work.
Serebryakov finished the game with 26 saves for his fourth shut-out of the season.
Alikin frustrates Dynamo
Dynamo Moscow 0 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 (0-1, 0-2, 0-1)
The Motormen rolled to a fifth successive win, and Daniel Sprong extended his hot streak to eight games with a powerful display in Moscow. Dynamo was unable to build on its win over table-topping Metallurg, failing to solve Evgeny Alikin. It was the first blank for the Blue-and-Whites since Jan. 5 and a 0-2 loss at Sochi.
The home team had a significant edge in possession, but ran into a solid defensive display from Avtomobilist. Alikin made 28 saves and his team-mates blocked a further 27 efforts to frustrate Dynamo.
At the other end, Max Comtois found his own net. Alexander Sharov was looking to find a team-mate at the back door, but his intended pass deflected off the Dynamo forward’s skate and looped into the net. Later in the frame, Avtomobilist got a five-on-three power play and the home team saw Artyom Sergeyev ejected from the game after he collided with the assistant referee when rushing into the face-off circle. Nonetheless, just one goal separated the teams at the intermission.
In the second period Sprong sprang into action. The Dutchman raced away on a two-on-one break but never considered a pass to his partner. Instead he produced a laser of a shot to beat Maxim Motorygin and double the lead in the 25th minute. Late in the middle frame, Avtomobilist padded its lead further on a goal from Nikita Shashkov.
Down by three, Dynamo needed a big start to the third period. Instead, it got a fourth goal from Avtomobilist. Scorers Sprong and Sharov turned provider for Yaroslav Busygin to make it 4-0.
Dynamo made a creditable effort to keep the contest alive, firing in repeated shots. However, the visiting defense mopped up that pressure, and even almost a minute of five-on-three hockey could not bring a goal for the home team.
