Eastern playoff pairs set, CSKA secures fourth in West. March 18 round-up

The playoff pairs for the Eastern Conference are set after Wednesday’s play. The top four places were confirmed ahead of today’s action, and wins for Salavat Yulaev over Neftekhimik (3-0) and Traktor over Metallurg (6-2) sealed places five through eight. Those first-round pairings will be: Metallurg vs Sibir; Avangard vs Neftekhimik; Ak Bars vs Traktor; Avtomobilist vs Salavat Yulaev. In the Western Conference, CSKA secured fourth place thanks to a shoot-out win over Spartak. Fifth-placed Dynamo fell 1-2 at home to Admiral.

Fringe players step up for Sibir

Sibir Novosibirsk 4 SKA St. Petersburg 1 (1-0, 1-1, 2-0)

Having secured its playoff place on Monday, Sibir celebrated with a 4-1 win over SKA. And it got there without several key players: Yegor Alanov was rested, along with imports Taylor Beck and Andy Andreoff, while Valentin Pyanov and Sergei Shirokov were on the injured list.

For SKA, Sergei Sapego missed out. The defenseman was the only player not to miss a game up to now this season for Igor Larionov’s men. For the first time this term, SKA played with 13 forwards, including Brendan Leipsic on his first appearance in almost a month.

In the absence of its experienced players, Sibir gave ice time to its prospects, including Ilya Lyuzenkov, nephew of head coach Yaroslav. And he created the first scoring chance for his team. There were also changes to the power play, with Ilya Fedotov getting an opportunity he rarely sees when Beck and Andreoff are involved. He made the most of it, opening the scoring after Rocco Grimaldi took the first penalty of the game.

Sibir was good value for its lead at the intermission and increased its advantage thanks t Ilya Talaluyev early in the second. The visitor managed to get one back on its first power play of the game when Nikolai Goldobin – wearing the A today for his first time as a SKA player – found the net.

Although SKA looked good in the second period, Larionov’s men could not tie the scores. And the game got away from the visitor in the final frame. Anton Kosolapov continued his blistering form with a power play goal and Mikhail Abramov’s empty-netter finished the job.

Vyazovoi denies Neftekhimik

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 0 (2-0, 1-0, 0-0)

Semyon Vyazovoi made 39 saves, including facing down a penalty shot, as Salavat Yulaev ended Neftekhimik’s three-game winning streak. At the other end, goals from Danil Alalykin (2) and Sheldon Rempal secured a win for the home team.

Alalykin opened the scoring in the second minute. He and Alexander Zharovsky have a good understanding of each other’s game, combined with plenty of pace. That saw them create a nicely-worked play to beat Yaroslav Ozolin. However, Neftekhimik is not short of confidence and the visitor responded with some good hockey in Ufa territory but found it hard to beat Vyazovoi. Then, in the 14th minute, Yegor Suchkov drove play down the ice for Alaykin to score his second of the game.

The middle frame saw Rempal extend the lead when he converted Salavat Yulaev’s second power play of the night. But the next shift saw the home defense fall apart, forcing captain Grigory Panin to foul Andrei Belozyorov as he raced clear on goal. Belozyorov, the visitor’s leading scorer, picked himself up to take the penalty shot but Vyazavoi stoned his attempt and preserved his team’s 3-0 lead.

The home goalie was busy for the remainder of the middle frame as Neftekhimik outshot Ufa 17-6. However, the third period was a more even contest and the best chance fell to Salavat Yulaev. Rempal’s shot almost brought him a second goal, but the post denied him.

Kravtsov sets scoring record

Traktor Chelyabinsk 6 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (2-2, 2-0, 2-0)

Vitaly Kravtsov is Traktor’s all-time scoring leader in the KHL. He had two assists in today’s South Ural derby win over Metallurg, moving to 236 points and overtaking Anton Glinkin’s mark.

Those helpers contributed to a convincing victory over Metallurg, a local rival, regular-season champion and top seed for the playoffs. And, after a competitive first period, Traktor won it fairly comfortably. A 6-2 scoreline secured a first win over Magnitka in six attempts this season.

The home team led twice in the first period, and was pegged back both times. Michal Cajkovsky set up Vasily Glotov for the opener, only for Vladimir Tkachyov to get free in front of the net and convert a counterattack. That brought up 250 goals for Metallurg this season, a KHL record.

However, it took just 14 seconds for Traktor to regain the lead when Andrei Svetlakov celebrated his recall with a goal on 13:31. Once again, Metallurg responded. Andrei Razin handed a debut to Yaroslav Mukhranov and the 20-year-old defenseman celebrated with a goal in the 16th minute.

At the start of the second period, Metallurg posed a brief threat before Traktor seized the initiative. Two goals in 70 seconds saw Cajkovsky make it 3-2 before Yegor Korshkov converted an Alexander Kadeikin feed from behind the net.

Kravtsov’s big moment came in the third period. His assist on Mikhail Grigorenko’s goal took him past Glinkin’s record, then he picked up another point as Josh Leivo added a sixth late on.

Road win for Ak Bars

HC Sochi 2 Ak Bars Kazan 4 (1-2, 1-2, 0-0)

There was little riding on this game for either team. Sochi had scant hope of escaping last place in the Western Conference regardless of the result, while Ak Bars was confirmed in third in the East.

Nonetheless, the game proved entertaining. Ak Bars opened a 2-0 lead, Sochi tied it up, then the visitor skated clear to win it 4-2.

The visitor got an early lead through Rafael Zamaltdinov. The 20-year-old forward claimed his third goal of the season in the third minute of the game. Later, Grigory Denisenko doubled the lead.

But Sochi responded. Within a minute, Artyom Volkov had the Leopards on the scoreboard. Then, at the start of the second period, Ak Bars got the first power play of the game and Sochi found a shorthanded goal for Matvei Guskov to tie the scores.

However, the visitor would not be denied. Ilya Karpukhin restored the lead on 25:46, assisted by Denisenko and Kirill Semyonov. Then Semyonov added to his pair of helpers with a power play goal a minute later, completing the scoring beside the Black Sea.

Shoot-out success seals derby for CSKA

Spartak Moscow 2 CSKA Moscow 3 SO (0-0, 1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)

The last Moscow derby of the regular season saw CSKA record its fourth straight win over Spartak. The shoot-out success also confirms fourth place in the Western Conference and a home start in the playoffs.

The first period was a gritty battle with scoring chances at a premium. It was no surprise that the teams went to the intermission with the game still goalless.

In the second period, things opened up a little. Spartak got the lead in the 27th minute when Nikita Kholodilin’s face-off win led to an Alexander Pashin shot that Dmitry Gamzin failed to track. The puck got loose, and Sergei Lukyantsev dived in to stuff it into the net, along with a defenseman. CSKA challenged the play, claimed Gamzin was impeded, but the review awarded the goal.

Spartak failed to do much with its subsequent power play, and when CSKA got a chance with an extra man Maxim Sorkin took advantage. 30 minutes played, 1-1 on the scoreboard.

In the 47th minute, CSKA got ahead for the first time in the game. Sergei Kalinin scored his 100th KHL goal, firing home a Klim Kostin pass after the Spartak defense managed to complicate a seemingly simple situation.

Once again, though, an equalizer soon followed. Mikhail Maltsev got to the slot to pick up the rebound from a booming Andrei Mironov shot and stuff it home.

That sent the game to overtime, which was enough for CSKA to secure fourth place in the standings. In the extras, the visitor killed a penalty, then went on to win the game in a shoot-out. Nikolai Kovalenko’s effort proved decisive.

Admiral sinks Dynamo’s top-four hopes

Dynamo Moscow 1 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)

Dynamo’s hopes of a top-four finish in the Western Conference evaporated after today’s defeat at home to Admiral, while the Sailors still have a chance of getting ahead of Barys and escaping last place in the East.

This was a third successive win for the Sailors, and it halted a four-game hot streak for their host.

Yegor Chesganov had a goal and an assist, continuing his strong recent run of form. The 23-year-old, who began the season at Shanghai, has 6 (3+3) points in his last three games, and 11 (5+6) in his last five. Today he set up Stepan Starkov for the opener on the power play midway through the first period, then scored himself after two minutes of the second.

Dynamo responded with a power play goal for Jordan Weal midway through the second period. The balance of play was fairly even until the second intermission, and the home team had grounds to hope that it could salvage something in the final stanza.

However, Ivan Kulbakov made 17 saves for Admiral as the Muscovites dominated the closing stages. He kept the home team at bay to claim the win.

Defeat for Dragons in final home game

Shanghai Dragons 2 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 6 (1-2, 0-1, 1-3)

Avtomobilist handed Shanghai a sixth successive loss as the Dragons ended their home season. Today’s host doesn’t have far to travel for its final game – a cross-city trip to SKA – but was unable to halt a run of seven successive home losses dating back to Jan. 30.

For their part, the Motormen snapped a two-game skid with in-form Daniel Sprong collecting two points. He opened the scoring after seven minutes – his 10th goal in 12 games – and assisted on Avto’s third goal for Anatoly Golyshev, a power play effort in the second period.

In between, the Dragons briefly tied the game through Vladimir Kuznetsov, but Nikita Shashkov restored the visitor’s lead late in the first period.

The third period saw Kevin Labanc briefly raise hopes of a fightback. However, within 20 seconds Jesse Blacker, who began his KHL career with Kunlun, restored the two-goal advantage.

Then, in the closing moments, further goals from Stephane da Costa and Nikita Tryamkin gave the final score a lopsided look.