Lokomotiv triumphs in cup final rematch. October 5 round-up

Monday’s big game saw a repeat of last year’s Gagarin Cup final – and once again, Lokomotiv was too strong for Ak Bars. Artyom Kuzin had a hand in both goals and Daniil Isayev enjoyed a shut-out in a 2-0 victory for the visitor. It was a tough day for two more Eastern powerhouses: Metallurg lost 2-5 at home to Admiral, and CSKA beat Salavat Yulaev 3-1. Lada’s first game after the departure of head coach Pavel Zubov brought a 0-5 loss at home to Shanghai Dragons, while in Minsk …

Amirbekov celebrates debut victory over former club

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Admiral Vladivostok 5 (0-0, 1-4, 1-1)

Goalie Jelal-ad-Din Amirbekov celebrated victory on his KHL debut – and to make it extra sweet, the 24-year-old denied the club that released him in the summer.

The Kazakh netminder spent two seasons in Magnitogorsk, but never played at a level higher than the VHL. After joining Admiral in the off season, he was part of the first-team squad and got his first start today against his former club.

It looked like a daunting assignment: Metallurg won four of its last five and led the KHL standings. The Sailors remained near the foot of the Eastern Conference, but their previous two road games went to shoot-outs (victory in Cherepovets, defeat at SKA), suggesting that the team was getting more competitive.

Amirbekov was well-supported by his team-mates, especially in the first period. Magnitka had plenty of the play, but was held to just eight shots on goal in a scoreless opening frame.

It seemed that home dominance would continue in the second when Metallurg got on the power play. However, Ivan Muranov made light of the numerical disadvantage to score a short-handed goal. It’s the first time this season the Steelmen have allowed a shorty.

Midway through the game, Admiral doubled its lead when Vladislav Tsitsyura finished off a swift play. Metallurg responded with pressure on Amirbekov and Stepan Starkov got his first goal for the club to halve the deficit. By now, though, the Sailors were sailing away: Anthony Camara and Nikita Yefremov added two more goals to build a commanding 4-1 lead before the intermission. Home goalie Alexander Smolin made way for Yegor Zavragin.

The third period began with Metallurg picking up the pace, and leaving Admiral to rely on counterattacks. Amirbekov pulled off multiple big saves before he was beaten at last in the 52nd minute by Danila Palivko’s first of the season. But there would be no fightback, and Alexander Volkov’s empty-netter wrapped up an impressive win for the visitor.

New boss, same old story for Lada

Lada Togliatti 0 Shanghai Dragons 5 (0-1, 0-2, 0-2)

The Dragons bounced back from Saturday’s overtime loss at Severstal to add to Lada’s problems. A 5-0 scoreline made it eight straight losses for the home team. It’s also the fifth time the Motormen allowed five or more goals in that unhappy run, and the fourth time the team failed to score this season.

Lada made a big change before this game, removing head coach Pavel Zubov. Igor Gorbenko took on the interim role. Previously the 54-year-old was appointed assistant to Zubov in the summer. Today was only his second ever game as a KHL head coach, having had a solitary game in interim charge of Lokomotiv in the 2017/2018 season.

Zubov, an ex-Lada player, had been on the club’s coaching staff since 2024. He was appointed head coach in the summer, but managed just one win in 12 games and the Motormen sat 10th out of 11 in the Western Conference, ahead of only Sochi.

Gorbenko’s previous game as a head coach brought a victory, but his 100% record was instantly in trouble today. The Dragons got on the power play early and Mason Millman’s double minor led to Yegor Solovyov opening the scoring in the seventh minute. Lada struggled to respond, and it wasn’t until the 11th minute that the home team fashioned a eal scoring chance. Jeremy Groleau, who played just one game for Shanghai in an injury-wrecked season last term, saw his point shot steered narrowly wide by Ben King on the slot.

In the second, the Motormen posed more of an offensive threat. Lada was helped by a four-minute power play of its own midway through, but could not take advantage of the extra man. Instead, Brett Murray doubled the lead with a shorthanded effort, and Riley Sutter continued his flying start to the season with an assist.

Sutter has at least one point in each of his six games so far and scored a goal for the fourth time in a row late in the middle frame. His power play effort moved him to five goals in six games.

Midway through the third, Sutter was at it again. A second assist on the night brought up double figures for the season (5+5 in six games) as Murray got another goal. And there was more to come in the closing stages as Artyom Chernov, once a youth player in Togliatti, marked his first KHL game of the season with a goal to make the final score 5-0.

Gamzin penalty shot save sets CSKA up for ninth win

CSKA Moscow 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (0-0, 1-1, 2-0)

The Muscovites secured a ninth successive victory, sending Salavat Yulaev to a third straight loss.

But the visitor will point to Sheldon Rempal’s missed penalty shot late in the second period, when the scores were locked at 1-1. The chance came after Klim Kostin threw his stick. However, Rempal was denied by a fantastic recovery from Dmitry Gamzin in the home net. The goalie seemed beaten, but when already sprawled on the ice, he managed to get a touch to send the shot wide of the mark.

At the time, Ufa was building momentum. Devin Brosseau’s power play goal in the 33rd minute cancelled out Prokhor Poltapov’s opener for the host. After that, the visitor began to take control of the play, with CSKA struggling to get the puck away from Gamzin’s net.

However, Salavat’s failure to turn that passage into more goals proved costly. The third period was an even contest, but the breakthrough went to CSKA. Jeremy Roy’s point shot cannoned off the boards, and Nikolai Kovalenko read the rebound more fluently than the rest to steer the puck beyond Semyon Vyazovoi.

Viktor Kozlov challenged the play, believing that his goalie was impeded. However, the review went against him, and his team lost two minutes killing a delay of game penalty. No sooner had Ufa returned to full strength than it fell further behind. Nikita Zorkin’s wayward pass in his own zone went to near namesake Maxim Sorkin who shot early to beat Vyazovoi from a central position.

In the closing stages, the visitor tried to raise a storm in front of Gamzin, but struggled to seriously test the home goalie as CSKA ran down the clock for a 3-1 win.

Defending Champ wins final rematch

Ak Bars Kazan 0 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (0-1, 0-0, 0-1)

The first repeat of last season’s Gagarin Cup Final saw defending champion Lokomotiv head to Kazan to face Ak Bars again.

In May, the Railwaymen lifted the cup here, clinching a 3-2 win in game six of the deciding series thanks to Maxim Shalunov’s golden goal.

But in the new season, new stars are emerging – and today was a big game for 20-year-old Loko forward Artyom Kuzin. In May’s decider, he played just one shift. Today, he played a key role in his team’s victory.

He started with an assist as Nikita Kiryanov opened the scoring midway through the first period: battling for possession on the boards, he got the puck to the slot for his team-mate to shoot past Timur Bilyalov.

Then he doubled the lead at the start of the third period with a goal of his own. Once again the play emerged from behind the net, this time Daniil Tesanov getting the puck out in front. Kuzin had dropped deep and collected it in the deep slot, slamming home a shot from a central position to claim his third goal of the season.

In between those goals, Ak Bars gave the Western Conference leader a battle. The home time twice got on the power play in the first period and had an 8-7 lead on the shot count, but Loko held onto its lead through a hard-fought opening stanza.

The game remained something of an arm wrestle in the middle session as well, with few scoring chances at either end. That suited Lokomotiv, which protected its lead by allowing just four shots at Daniil Isayev in the visitor’s net.

Kuzin’s strike early in the third gave the Railwaymen some breathing space, and Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team responded by tightening up its defense still further. Even when Ak Bars had a five-on-three power play – albeit just 13 seconds of a two-man advantage, but almost a full four minutes against depleted opposition – the home offense struggled to make an impact. The Tatneft Arena crowd whipped up a shrill whistle of discontent at its team’s efforts, while Lokomotiv closed out the verdict.

Tkachyov makes the difference in Minsk

Dinamo Minsk 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 SO (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

A close-fought game in Minsk ended with Torpedo claiming a third straight win, while Dinamo continues to alternate wins and losses.

Vladimir Tkachyov was the key player for the visitor, scoring his team’s second-period equalizer before converting the winning penalty shot. Tkachyov’s was the only success from 10 attempts in the shoot-out.

Yet it was Dinamo that made the brighter start, and got in front late in the first period. Torpedo struggled to clear its lines, Sergei Kuznetsov intercepted the puck near the left-hand circle and unleashed a wrister beyond Denis Kostin.

The second period saw good breakaway chances for Torpedo. Tkachyov was stoned by Vasily Demchenko, then the goalie made a similar stop to deny Yegor Vinogradov. Eventually, though, the visitor’s tactic paid off: Tkachyov skated away once more to tie the game in the 34th minute, claiming his third goal of the season.

Dinamo has the league’s best power play, but failed to take advantage of its only chance with an extra man tonight. That came early in a third period that remained stubbornly scoreless. Overtime could not separate the teams either, although it took a video review to reprieve the home team after Torpedo found the net, but kicked the puck over the line.

When it came to the shoot-out, though, there was nothing more from the Belarusians. Tkachyov claimed the winner, Torpedo stands third in the West.