Metallurg on top after Eastern summit battle. September 26 round-up

A busy KHL card on Saturday saw the Eastern Conference leaders in action. Neftekhimik briefly hit the summit after a 6-3 win at Barys, but Metallurg regained top spot later in the day after edging Ak Bars 2-1. Salavat Yulaev also enjoyed a hard-fought win at Dynamo Moscow. Across the capital, Spartak suffered a home loss as Avtomobilist withstood a fightback to win 4-2. Severstal made it three in a row by downing Sochi, and Shanghai Dragons inched into the top eight with a 2-1 verdict over Dinamo Minsk.

Goals galore in Astana

Barys Astana 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 6 (0-1, 0-4, 3-1)

Saturday’s opening game, postponed from Friday evening, proved to be worth the wait. Neither of these teams were expected to be among the leaders this season, yet Barys is outscoring the rest of the league and Neftekhimik is contesting top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The visitor’s victory in this nine-goal thriller briefly lifted it into first place ahead of Metallurg’s game later in the day. Igor Grishin recalled Nikita Khlystov and Grigory Seleznyov to his team after they missed the previous 7-2 win over Lada. Barys recalled Chase Priskie on defense and started with Andrei Shutov in goal.

There was little preamble, both teams looked to attack from the start. And in the seventh minute Neftekhimik opened the scoring. Scoring leader Andrei Belozyorov claimed his 10th point of the season when he set up Damir Zhafyarov for his fifth goal of the season. Barys created chances of its own, but after beating goalie Yaroslav Ozolin the home team saw the puck come back off the post.

That incident-packed start were merely an hors-d’oeuvre for a blistering second period from the Wolves. German Tochilkin almost scored right at the start with a one-on-one, before Seleznyov made it 2-0 in the 24th minute. That showed Tochilkin the way and he got his goal barely a minute later. That brought Hunter Shepard into the home net, but a change of personnel brought no change of fortune. A power play gave Alexander Petunin his first goal since joining Neftkehimik, then Sevastyan Sokolov grabbed a shorty close to the intermission, making it 5-0 at the break.

Most teams would feel 0-5 was too much to claw back. But the powerful Barys offense always believes it can score and Garrett Pilon pulled one back at the start of the third. That inspired even greater attacking efforts and Semyon Simonov made it 2-5 in the 46th minute. Had the next goal gone to the Kazakhs, we might have seen an extraordinary conclusion. Instead, Artur Tyanulin punished an error from Shepard and Rafael Bikmullin completed a hat-trick of assists as Neftekhimik made the game safe. There was still time for a consolation effort from Alikhan Omirbekov to wrap up a rousing afternoon’s hockey in Astana.

Steelmen edge top-of-the-table clash

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (0-1, 0-0, 2-0)

A clash of the Eastern Conference titans went Metallurg’s way, but it was a hard-fought battle in Magnitogorsk.

The home team was boosted by the return of Vladimir Tkachyov, who played alongside Dmitry Silantyev and Ruslan Iskhakov on the second line. That pushed Nikita Mikhailis onto the third, where he was joined by Stepan Starkov. Yegor Yakovlev and Danila Palivko returned on defense.

Ak Bars was not at its best in a shoot-out win over Sibir, but Anvar Gatiyatulin contented himself with minor changes to the roster.

The early stages were more akin to chess than hockey. Both teams were cagey, probing each other’s defenses with caution. By the middle of the first period, they had mustered just three shots on goal between them. But the visitor managed to convert the first real scoring chance of the game when Kirill Semyonov got clean through on Alexander Smolin’s net and beat the home goalie after 18 minutes. That served as a wake-up call for the Steelmen, who pressed until the end of the first period and almost tied the game on an Iskhakov redirect that flashed agonisingly wide.

These two teams will expect to go deep into the playoffs this season, and the second period offered an unusually early hint of what that might look like. It started with Ak Bars putting Metallurg into the grinder, penning the home team into its zone and trying to take full advantage of the long change. Magnitka struggled, but held firm. Then the host tried to move play down the ice, only for Ak Bars to shut down any free space. The visitor tended to win the physical battles, further draining home energy. And that meant better chances for Kazan, with Alexei Byvaltsev and Semyon Terekhov going club. At the other end, Mikhail Fyodorov burst through on goal, while Timur Bilyalov denied Nathan Todd and Sergei Tolchinsky.

Ak Bars almost grabbed a second goal at the start of the final frame. A defensive error gifted Semyonov and Grigory Denisenko a scoring chance that they could not take. That miss proved costly: five minutes into the session, Artyom Minulin fired home a tying goal. Then Daniil Vovchenko put Metallurg in front on 48:49, seconds after Yegor Sokolov emerged from the penalty box. Alexander Siryatsky assisted on the tying goal, then won the penalty that led to the game-winner.

Magnitka still had to negotiate a four-minute penalty kill to seal the win, and did a great job neutralizing the visiting power play. Metallurg regains top spot from Neftekhimik, Ak Bars remains two points behind.

Hard-fought win for Salavat Yulaev

Dynamo Moscow 1 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (0-1, 1-1, 0-1)

A battling performance from Salavat Yulaev proved enough to take the points in Moscow. Dynamo was unable to build on Thursday’s overtime verdict against Dinamo Minsk, while Ufa recovered from a shoot-out sickener at home to Metallurg and improves to three wins from four.

In an even first period, the only goal went to the visitor in the 13th minute. And it was a play worthy of separating the teams. Young Alexander Zharovsky stormed into the zone, moved the puck to Sheldon Rempal and watched the Canadian fly down the left-hand channel before releasing a laser-like wrister into the top corner past Vladislav Podyapolsky.

Salavat started the second period on the power play; 27 seconds of the game’s first penalty remained at the intermission. The visitor could not convert that opportunity, but rode the momentum through the start of the middle frame and doubled its lead in the 23rd minute. After winning an attacking face-off, the visitor got the puck to Sergei Varlov. His shot lacked venom but took a couple of deflections on its way into the net, leaving Dynamo frustrated at its inability to clear.

There was better news for the home team 22 seconds later as Artyom Bondar celebrated his first KHL goal. Mikhail Melikov followed a dump-and-chase behind the net, held off the opposition and set up the 20-year-old for a one-timer past Semyon Vyazovoi.

That was the only scoring the middle stanza; both teams continued to press, but the goalies proved too good.

In the third, Dynamo made a bright start. However, it was Ufa that found the net again in the 47th minute when a home attack broke down and Zagrebin won possession on the blue line and skated away to beat Podyapolsky. The home bench challenged the play, citing a high stick, and the video review overturned the goal to keep the game very much alive.

Then came a five-on-three power play for Salavat, but once again there was no way through. Dynamo returned to full strength and poured forward in a bid to save the game. The home team dominated the shot count in the closing stages, but also ran into penalty trouble as passions flared late on. A planned six-on-five surge melted into a three-on-five penalty kill and, inevitably, an empty-net goal killed the game. To rub salt into the wound, the scorer was Devin Brosseau, who began last season with the Blue-and-Whites before moving to Ufa.

Motormen halt skid, Spartak fights back in vain

Spartak Moscow 2 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 (0-1, 0-1, 2-2)

Despite a third-period wobble, Avtomobilist snapped a four-game skid with victory at Spartak. Alexei Zhamnov’s men scored twice in the final frame to tie the game, but the Motormen recovered to claim a 4-2 verdict.

It was a game decided by clinical finishing. Spartak had more possession and more shots on goal, but could not score until the 45th minute. Avtomobilist was opportunist, and ended with four goals from 22 shots at Artyom Zagidulin’s net.

The opener came midway through the first period, already somewhat against the run of play. Avtomobilist made a rare foray into Spartak territory, and Maxim Denezhkin seized the puck, got in tight and scored from close range.

That goal lifted Avtomobilist and the visitor had a couple more chances in the first period. After the break, too, the Muscovites were compelled to do more on defense and the second period was the most even in terms of patterns of play. Once again, though, the only goal went to the visitor: Yaroslav Busygin joined the offense, went behind the net and picked out a pass for the unguarded Yegor Chernikov to double the lead.

At the start of the third, Spartak picked up the pace and took the game to Avtomobilist. The home team found a way back into contention thanks to Yegor Filin, who grabbed a quick-fire double to tie the scores. First, he stuffed home the rebound from Will Reilly’s shot in the 45th minute. Three minutes later, he produced a stunning solo effort, circling the net, evading Jesse Blacker and driving to the slot to beat Evgeny Alikhin.

Now the momentum was with the Red-and-Whites and it felt that the game was there for the home team to win. But, as the pressure built, visiting head coach Alexei Kudashov called a time-out and found the words to change things. Within a minute, his team regained the lead on a neatly-worked play. Ilya Karpukhin exchanged passes with Denezhkin then stepped up from the blue line to lift a shot to the top shelf with four to play.

Spartak kept battling and after Zagidulin made way for a sixth skater, Filin was close to a hat-trick: his attempt to redirect Joey Keane’s point shot forced Alikin into a last-minute pad save. From the next face-off, Avtomobilist won possession and the game: Daniel Sprong collected the puck and raced away to score into an empty net.

Smith preserves hot streak, but Minsk can’t tame the Dragons

Shanghai Dragons 2 Dinamo Minsk 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)

Mitch Love’s Dragons recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Victory over Dinamo Minsk lifts Shanghai ahead of the Belarusians and into the top eight in the Western Conference.

Throughout the season, Dmitrij Jaskin and Brennan Menell have been key players for the Chinese franchise. Both were involved again today. Jaskin opened the scoring midway through the first period, and Menell picked up an assist against his former club as Yegor Solovyov doubled the lead early in the second.

Those two have already given Dinamo much angst this season: in the teams’ first meeting in Minsk, they combined for Jaskin’s late tying goal before swapping roles on Menell’s OT winner.

However, Dinamo could take comfort from the way the lead changed hands in that game. The visitor recovered from that slow start and began to take control of the play. After shading the second period, Minsk was clearly the more attacking force in the third. The Dragons dug in, and Pavel Khomchenko was just 12 seconds away from a shut-out when the Bison finally found the net. Ty Smith maintained his productive start to the season – now 10 (1+9) points from an eight-game hot streak – with a helper as Daniil Sotishvili spoiled a perfect day for the goalie. But there was no time to save the game; the Dragons held on for a narrow victory.

Third straight win for Severstal

Severstal Cherepovets 3 HC Sochi 1 (0-0, 2-1, 1-0)

There’s more good news for Severstal after a 3-1 verdict at home to HC Sochi stretched the team’s winning streak to three games.

After struggling for goals at the start of the season, Andrei Kozyrev’s men have scored 12 in those three victories. Leading scorer Denis Yan was on target again – he has six this season, four of them in the current hot streak.

But this was not a straightforward assignment for the home team. Sochi might be struggling at the foot of the standings, but today it matched Severstal for much of the game. The teams tied for shots on goal (29 each) and the Leopards had slightly more offensive possession, helped by better discipline which brought four power play chances.

However, when it came to converting chances, Severstal had the edge. Young goalie Pyotr Andreyanov kept his net intact through the first period, but was beaten by Thomas Gregoire at the start of the second. The response was swift: within a minute, former Severstal favorite Dmitry Kagarlitsky set up Timur Akhiyarov for his first goal for Sochi. The scoring flurry continued, and in the 29th minute Severstal regained the lead on Ilya Ivantsov’s effort.

The game remained even, with Sochi more than capable of getting back on level terms. Alexander Samoilov did well to keep the visiting offense at bay, while both teams blocked shots on a regular basis. The killer blow did not land until 30 seconds from time when Yan scored into an empty net, making the final score 3-1 to Severstal.