CSKA snaps Avto’s hot streak. March 14 round-up

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0 CSKA Moscow 3 (0-1, 0-2, 0-0)

Saturday’s solitary KHL game brought a road win for CSKA, halting Avtomobilist’s seven-game winning streak. That series included a 1-0 victory over the Muscovites in the capital at the start of the month, a result avenged by Igor Nikitin’s team this afternoon.

The visitor also silenced its former forward Daniel Sprong. The Dutchman had 16 points in his last nine games, but was silenced today as Dmitry Gamzin secured the shut-out with 20 saves.

It turned out to be a gritty encounter with relatively few scoring chances. And CSKA’s greater efficiency in front of goal proved to be decisive. The visitor made the breakthrough when a flowing counter enabled Prokhor Poltapov to move in off the right-hand boards and wire a wrister beyond Vladimir Galkin. That was a 16th goal of the season for CSKA’s scoring leader.

Almost immediately, Sprong had a great chance to respond. However, when he seemed poised to get clean through on Gamzin’s net, Nikita Nesterov got back to make a vital intervention.

After the intermission, Avtomobilist looked livelier. However, the home team fluffed its first power play of the game and Maxim Sorkin doubled CSKA’s lead with a short-handed tally in the 34th minute. He took advantage after Jesse Blacker failed to control the puck on the blue line, skating clear to make it 2-0.

Then in the 37th minute Nick Ebert scored on his former club to make it 3-0. The defenseman fired home from the circle on a delayed penalty.

The Motormen’s prospects weren’t helped when Sprong got a penalty seconds before the intermission. CSKA could not convert its power play at the start of the third, but was able to generate some useful momentum. In the end, the final stanza was a textbook example of Nikitin’s hockey: error-free, percentage play to close out a winning position with a minimum of fuss.

The victory puts CSKA three points clear in fourth place in the West. Avtomobilist is guaranteed to take fourth place in the East.