Thriller in Shanghai, Amur keeps pressure on Sibir. March 7 round-up

The second of this season’s KHL World Games encounters produced a 12-goal thriller. Barys came out on top in Shanghai thanks to a hat-trick from Michael Vecchione and a busy evening for Reilly Walsh. In the race for the last remaining playoff spots, Amur closed to within three points of Sibir thanks to a 6-3 win over Salavat Yulaev. Sibir lost to Ak Bars by the same scoreline. Sergei Plotnikov made his 1,000th KHL appearance, and proved to be the architect of a victory at Dynamo Moscow. Elsewhere, Neftekhimik ended a four-game skid with victory at Admiral and Spartak thrashed Lada 7-1.

Youngster Sokolov snaps Neftekhimik’s skid

Admiral Vladivostok 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 (1-2, 0-1, 2-1)

Neftekhimik avenged Thursday’s 3-7 loss in Vladivostok by edging another high-scoring game against Admiral. This time the Wolves built a 4-1 lead, paced by a double from 19-year-old forward Sevastyan Sokolov, before a couple of late markers set up a tense finish.

The win also halted Neftekhimik’s four-game slump, a run that saw them allow 15 goals and score just six.

That might explain a hesitant start from the visitor; goalie Yaroslav Ozolin was saved by his crossbar in the second minute as Admiral made the early running. But the first power play of the game went to Neftekhimik and while Vladislav Kara sat for roughing, Sokolov got to the slot to convert Alexander Dergachyov’s feed. That was the youngster’s first KHL goal.

It was quickly cancelled out. On 8:12, Joey Duszak was assessed a high sticking minor, and five seconds later Yegor Chesganov converted the power play. Chesganov had 4 (1+3) points in the previous game, Libor Sulak’s assist brought up 40 points for the Czech defenseman and stretched his hot streak to eight games (3+8 points). But the home team was unable to build on that success, and Matvei Nadvorny restored Neftekhimik’s lead on the wraparound.

After an open and entertaining first period, the second was tight and scoring chances were few. It wasn’t until late in the frame, when a series of penalties broke up the play, that things began to happen. And there were just five seconds left on the clock when Maxim Fedotov converted a two-on-zero breakaway to make it 3-1 for the visitor.

In the third, Admiral came out on the offensive. However, the next goal went to Neftkehimik when another power play brought Sokolov his second of the day – and his career – with a redirect in front of Adam Huska’s net.

Admiral pulled one back just 18 seconds later thanks to Nikita Yefremov’s long-range effort. But the fightback stalled on a major penalty from Dmitry Timashev and the teams were back at equal strength when Sulak made it a one-goal game on 55:46. The closing stages were played in front of Ozolin’s net, but the Sailors could not make the final breakthrough to tie the game.

Tigers claw their way into playoff contention

Amur Khabarovsk 6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (0-1, 4-1, 2-1)

A fightback from 0-2 gave Amur a vital victory in its bid for the playoffs. An exciting 6-3 success cut the gap to eighth-placed Sibir to just three points with the Siberians losing in Kazan later on Saturday.

Salavat Yulaev played here on Thursday, and its 4-1 win secured a playoff spot. The visitor absorbed some early pressure to take a lead into the first intermission. It came at the end of a successful penalty kill, created by Artyom Pimenov’s charge into enemy territory. He drew two opponents to him and turned to set up Maxim Kuznetsov in space.

Amur’s problems continued at the start of the first when Jack Rodewald stripped an opponent of the puck and doubled the lead. But the Tigers got back into the game when Pimenov went to the box and Oleg Li celebrated his 600th KHL game with a glorious shot to halve the deficit. A minute later, a slick combination brought a goal for Grigory Kuzmin and the scores were tied.

That fightback lifted the home team, and Amur finished the middle frame strongly thanks to another quick double. Artyom Shvaryov made it 3-2 when he converted a rebound on 34:02, then Yaroslav Likhachyov potted his 22nd goal of the season on the power play. That matches the club record for the Tigers, set by Jakub Petruzalek.

Ufa replaced starting goalie Ilya Konovalov with Semyon Vyazovoi. That stemmed the flow of goals late in the third period Salavat Yulaev got back in the game. Alexei Vasilevsky jumped out of the box to score a 57th-minute goal and set up a grandstand finish.

But Amur was in no mood to let this game get away. Within a minute Alex Galchenyuk restored the two-goal lead and the final seconds brought an empty-netter for Kirill Petkov to make the final score 6-3.

Dragons suffer second loss in Shanghai

Shanghai Dragons 4 Barys Astana 8 (3-4, 1-2, 0-2)

The second of this season’s KHL World Games produced a thriller in Shanghai. The Dragons faced Barys and the teams produced 12 goals, a hat-trick and a fight before the Kazakhs came out on top.

And the latest attempts to broaden the KHL’s appeal earned the approval of league president Alexei Morozov.

“We’re delighted that Shanghai Dragons managed to play in their hometown this season as part of the KHL World Games,” he said. “It’s an important step towards bringing the team back to China full time. The club and the league are working together to make that happen.

“These games gave us a chance to check out the arena, see how things worked, and get the Chinese public interested in hockey … We had 11,910 people at the two games, which speaks to the potential local audience.  For Saturday’s game, every ticket was sold and the game was shown on Chinese TV.”

Fans in the arena and on the couch saw no shortage of attacking intent from both sides. Shanghai grabbed the opening goal after 57 seconds: visiting defenseman Reilly Walsh gave the puck away, home forward Riley Sutter sprinted through on Nikita Boyarkin’s net to score.

That triggered an avalanche in the first period. Kirill Savitsky drew the Kazakhs level, then Walsh atoned for his early error by making it 2-1 for the visitor with a power play goal on 5:44.

The goals kept coming. In the ninth minute, Adam Clendening tied it up at two, only for Michael Vecchione to restore the Barys lead on an assist from Walsh. Mason Morelli padded that advantage, but 16 seconds before the intermission Borna Rendulic made it 3-4 on a power play goal. Ex-Dragon Ian McCoshen was the man in the box, penalized after he took issue with a heavy hit on that man Walsh, who was determined to be the man of the first period.

If Walsh was the player of the opening frame, Vecchione was the key figure in the second. He scored a fifth goal for Barys, then assisted as Semyon Simonov made it 6-3. There were less than three minutes between those goals, and the teams had traded nine markers inside 26 minutes.

And it kept on going. Vladimir Kuznetsov pulled one back for Shanghai and the second period finished 4-6. Notably, despite the procession of goals, neither Boyarkin nor Dmitry Shikin were pulled from their nets.

Boyarkin repaid that faith by denying the Dragons any further goals: from 27:37 to the end, the home team could not add to its tally. At the other end, Barys stretched its lead through Vsevolod Logvin at the start of the final frame. Then the final word went to Vecchione, whose late power play goal completed his hat-trick. That goal came after a fight between Wyatt Kalynuk and Alikhan Asetov in a game full of incident.

Spartak smashes sorry Lada

Lada Togliatti 1 Spartak Moscow 7 (0-3, 0-2, 1-2)

A three-goal blast in the first period settled this game emphatically in Spartak’s favor. The visitor potted three in 1:47 to assume complete control on the way to a crushing 7-1 victory.

Pavel Poryadin broke the deadlock, albeit with help from a deflection, in the 14th minute. Daniil Gutik’s assist stretched his productive streak to five games and moves him to 7 (5+2) points. Within a minute, Mikhail Maltsev doubled the lead on the power play. Then Daniil Orlov banged in a third, leaving the home team shell-shocked.

Starting goalie Ivan Bocharov gave way for Alexander Trushkov, but the goals kept coming for Spartak in the second period. Poryadin cut open the home defense to set up Ivan Morozov for 4-0, then Joey Keane added a fifth as the Red-and-Whites threatened to run riot.

By the third period it was already a question of ‘how many?’ Alexander Pashin made it 6-0 in the 44th minute before, at last, there was some relief for the home team. Andrei Altybarmakyan halted his goalless run with a consolation effort. But the last word belonged to Spartak as Poryadin got his second of the night to make the final score 7-1.

Barabanov treble downs Sibir

Ak Bars Kazan 6 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 (2-1, 3-1, 1-1)

An Alexander Barabanov hat-trick sent Sibir to defeat in Kazan. The visitor saw its lead over ninth-placed Amur cut to just three points as the race for a playoff spot looks set to go down to the wire. Ak Bars recovered from a disappointing loss against Lada to get back to winning ways as it chases second-placed Avangard at the upper end of the Eastern Conference table.

Sibir’s need for points was greater, and the visitor made a bright start. An early power play almost brought an opening goal for Semyon Koshelev. However, Ak Bars survived that scare and got in front after five minutes when Kirill Semyonov scored on a counterattack. Once ahead, the host looked more comfortable, creating further chances and increasing its lead through Alexander Barabanov in the 13th minute. But Sibir stayed competitive and grabbed a power play goal late in the opening frame: Andy Andreoff converted the PP after just seven seconds.

Taylor Beck assisted on that goal, and midway through the second period the Canadian tied the game. That, too, came on the power play. However, Ak Bars looked better at equal strength and it was little surprise that the home team regained its lead. Barabanov got his second of the night, surprising Mikhail Berdin with a one-timer.

After that, the home power play showed its qualities. Vyacheslav Leshchenko twice went to the box for fouls on Mitch Miller, and each opportunity was eagerly seized. First Alexei Pustozyorov added a fourth, then Semyonov’s one-timer brought him a second of the game. Berdin made way for Anton Krasotkin as Sibir looked to halt the damage.

The penalties kept coming, and Beck joined Barabanov and Semyonov on two goals when he pulled one back for Sibir midway through the third. But the final word went to Ak Bars, with captain Barabanov completing his hat-trick with an empty-netter to seal his team’s first home win over Sibir since 2020.

Goldobin gives SKA OT verdict, Plotnikov celebrates 1,000 games

Dynamo Moscow 1 SKA St. Petersburg 2 OT (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Sergei Plotnikov marked his 1,000th KHL game with a two vital assists for SKA at Dynamo Moscow.

First, the veteran forward collected a rebound off a defenseman, beat Jordan Weal down the right flank, then dished the puck off for Marat Khairullin. An instinctive shot was enough to beat Vladislav Podyapolsky and tie the game in the 55th minute.

Khairullin’s snipe took the game into overtime, where Dynamo enjoyed a power play following Markus Phillips’ foul on Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi. Jordan Weal had a couple of chances on that power play, but SKA survived – and went on to win it.

Once again, Plotnikov was involved, this time assisting Nikolai Goldobin as he stopped the clock with 58 seconds remaining. SKA took a third straight victory, Dynamo fell to a second successive loss.

Earlier, Dynamo shaded a goalless first period. Then the Blue-and-Whites got in front in the second when Shvets-Rogovoi scored on his former club. Nikita Gusev, another former SKA player, produced a great pass to release Artyom and he advanced on the net to outwit Artemy Pleshkov.

But this turned out to be Plotnikov’s day. He moved his career tally to 590 (253+337) points and joined a group of just three players to complete 1,000 games in the KHL. Previously Evgeny Biryukov was the first to reach that landmark before retiring on 1,001. Dinamo Minsk’s Vadim Shipachyov leads the way with 1,121 and counting, and Shanghai Dragons’ Ilya Kablukov has 1,044 appearances.