Shen halts Dynamo’s skid. October 11 round-up

An overtime goal from Pavel Shen ended a six-game losing streak for the Blue-and-Whites in Sunday’s only KHL action. SKA rallied from 0-2 and 1-3 but could not escape a fourth loss in five games.

Edgy Dynamo scrapes past SKA

Dynamo Moscow 4 SKA St. Petersburg 3 OT (2-0, 0-1, 1-2, 1-0)

It was nervy at times, but Dynamo finally got back to winning form with an overtime success against SKA. The Muscovites had dropped out of the playoff spots after a six-game skid, but stopped the rot thanks to Pavel Shen’s winner in overtime.

Dynamo won possession in center ice and launched the first – and only – attack of the extras. Luka Profaca released Shen, who advanced on the net to pot the winner. The former Admiral man has a goal in each of his last three games.

But the home win seemed under threat as SKA made a huge turnaround in the third period. When Nick Merkley potted his second of the night midway through the final stanza, a 3-1 lead looked decisive. However, it was gone in 90 seconds as Matvei Korotky and Vasily Atanasov dragged the visitor level. With 10 minutes to play, the game was in the balance and the closing stages saw SKA closer to finding a winner.

Yet all that drama seemed remote in a first period when the home team took control of the game.

Leonids Tambijevs’ men could hardly have wished for a better start, getting on the power play in the first minute and converting that chance. Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi got the opener, redirecting an Igor Ozhiganov shot past Sergei Ivanov in the second minute.

And there was more to come. Dynamo killed two penalties in quick succession and, back at equal strength, doubled the lead. Jordan Weal intercepted a wayward pass from Sergei Sapego and dished the puck off for Merkley to shoot home.

The action and the penalties continued: by the first intermission Dynamo was up 21-9 on shots while the teams traded 12 minutes of penalties.

In the second period things calmed down a little. The box saw less activity, and SKA got back in the game thanks to a Vladislav Syomin effort midway through the session. But Merkley’s power play goal midway through the third triggered another flurry of action before Shen gave his team a vital victory.