Barys gets better of Admiral. March 12 round-up

Barys gets better of Admiral

Admiral Vladivostok 1 Barys Astana 2 (0-0, 0-1, 1-1)

Thursday’s only KHL game was a basement battle in the Eastern Conference. Admiral hosted Barys, hoping to close the gap at the foot of the standings. However, a win for the visitor leaves the Sailors all but doomed to finish in last place this season.

The game promised a head-to-head battle between two of the most prolific defensemen in this season’s KHL. Both Admiral’s Libor Sulak and Barys’s Reilly Walsh are in the top five for goals scored by blue liners. However, the visitor’s Jake Massie proved to be the day’s most influential D-man.

He had helpers on both Barys goals, with a spectacular coast-to-coast surge to set up Max Willman for the opener in the 34th minute. Later, he collected a secondary assist went he sent Willman into the zone to create Thompson’s winner on 56:32.

In between, Sulak continued his productive streak. The Czech defenseman quarterbacked the power play before Nikita Tertyshny tied the game early in the third period. Sulak extended his productive streak to nine games. He has 13 (4+9) points in that run.

The win for Barys opens a seven-point gap over Admiral at the foot of the Eastern Conference table. The Sailors have four games left, and potentially eight available points to save themselves. The teams meet again in Vladivostok tomorrow.