Eastern leaders lose out. March 6 round-up

The top two in the Eastern Conference both suffered 3-1 losses. Leader Metallurg fell at home to Avtomobilist, while second-placed Avangard fell to a surprise defeat in Sochi. CSKA edged a 1-0 win over Traktor, preventing the Chelyabinsk club from securing its playoff spot this week.

Sixth straight win for Avtomobilist

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

The Motormen followed up last month’s 8-1 hammering of Magnitka with a 3-1 success on the road at the league leader. The teams meet for the sixth and final time in the regular season on March 16, with Avtomobilist looking to tie the series at 3-3.

After suffering its heaviest loss of the season last time these teams met, Metallurg was looking to build on the impressive defensive performance in Minsk last time out. Alexander Smolin blanked this season’s second most prolific offense and retained his place in goal tonight. His hopes of another shut-out were enhanced by the absence of in-form Daniel Sprong and Brooks Macek from the visitor’s roster.

And Metallurg had the better of the first period. Visiting goalie Vladimir Galkin made a vital interception to prevent Vladimir Tkachyov’s pass presenting Roman Kantserov with a certain goal. At the other end, Avtomobilist barely got a look at Smolin’s net until the end of the frame: Artyom Kashtanov got the puck into the net but the eagle-eyed coaching staff quickly challenged the play and the goal was whistled off after a review.

But the start of the second period saw the visitor take control. Stephane da Costa set up Anatoly Golyshev for the opener 97 seconds after the restart. Within two minutes it was 0-2, and Roman Gorbunov chased Smolin from the net to be replaced by Ilya Nabokov. Despite the score, Metallurg still had the initiative. The home team continued to have more of the puck and earned a power play midway through the session. However, there was little danger for Galkin, save for an attempt from Robin Press and a shot from Daniil Vovchenko.

The shot count gave Metallurg twice as many attempts as Avtomobilist, but the visitor played smart. The Motormen posed a threat on the counter and blocked many shots to preserve the two-goal lead to the intermission.

At the start of the third, home captain Yegor Yakovlev gave Metallurg a lifeline to make it a one-goal game with 17 minutes to play. But the fightback was undermined by penalties, and Maxim Osipov punished a double minor for Robin Press with a long-range effort. Then the last couple of minutes saw a misconduct penalty for Vovchenko, preventing any late surge from salvaging the game. Avtomobilist rolled to a sixth successive victory.

Khomchenko frustrates former club

HC Sochi 3 Avangard Omsk 1 (0-0, 1-0, 2-1)

Western Conference basement club Sochi surprised high-flying Avangard with a 3-1 win. The Hawks remain second in the Eastern Conference despite the end of a three-game winning streak.

The visitor started the game well, repeatedly testing Pavel Khomchenko in the home net. But the Leopards withstood that onslaught and gradually came into the game. Sochi’s best chance went to Will Bitten in a one-on-one that tested visiting goalie Andrei Mishurov.

That revival continued into the second period and brought an opening goal in the 25th minute. Avangard’s offense could not get going, and Artyom Volkov found a weak spot to leave Semyon Chistyakov trailing in his wake before he fired past Mishurov.

Avangard continued to create chances, with Dmitry Rashevsky close to a tying goal late in the session. But overall, Sochi defended well, keeping the visitor to the outside, and ex-Hawks goalie Khomchenko preserved the lead through 40 minutes.

And things got better for the host at the start of the third when Matvei Guskov doubled the lead. Max Ellis won possession on the right-hand boards and fired the puck to the slot where Guskov scored on the backhand.

As Avangard began to tire, Dmitry Kagarlitsky added a third goal for the home team in the 52nd minute, putting the game out of reach of the Hawks. There was time for a late consolation when Vasily Ponomaryov’s last-minute goal robbed Khomchenko of a shut-out despite his 48 saves.

Traktor misses chances to confirm playoffs

CSKA Moscow 1 Traktor Chelyabinsk 0 (0-0, 1-0, 0-0)

Traktor failed to clinch its playoff spot after dropping a 1-0 verdict in Moscow. Vitaly Abramov’s goal in the second period separated the teams in the capital, while Dmitry Gamzin made 19 saves for his 10th KH shut-out.

The visitor was without leading scorer Josh Leivo, who had four points in the previous game but was unwell today. Alexander Rykov took the Canadian’s place alongside Vasily Glotov and Mikhail Grigorenko.

CSKA took the initiative from the start and got on the power play in the second minute. However, solid defense from Logan Day and Michal Cajkovsky ensured that the PK endured. They blocked shots from Dmitry Buchelnikov and Nick Ebert. Later, Dmitry Nikolayev fired against the crossbar before Traktor managed to come into the game.

However, the visitor struggled to generate offense all night. Held to four shots in the first period, Traktor didn’t trouble Gamzin again until midway through the second period. So CSKA’s opening goal was deserved: Traktor coughed up the puck on a rare attack and the Muscovites launched a devastating counterattack that ended with Abramov opening the scoring. There was more bad news for the visitor when Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer took a puck to the face and left the ice injured.

Traktor improved in the final frame, chasing the game in search of that playoff-clinching result. Suddenly, Gamzin was called into regular action, but he coped well with the pressure and kept his goal intact.