A day of twos and threes. October 12 round-up

Four out of six KHL games on Monday finished with a 3-2 scoreline – and all four of them went to the visiting team. Sochi’s win at Ak Bars was the shock result, table-topping Metallurg needed overtime to snap at 2-2 tie at Torpedo, Dinamo Minsk won 3-2 at Dragons and Sibir recovered in the third period to take the verdict in Astana. Amur and Salavat Yulaev bucked the trend with home wins, but both their games were tight. The Tigers edged Lada 1-0, in Ufa it finished 4-3 against Neftekhimik.

Lada falls to 10th loss

Amur Khabarovsk 1 Lada Togliatti 0 (0-0, 1-0, 0-0)

Lada suffered a 10th successive loss, failing to score in Khabarovsk on the day the club confirmed the transfer of Riley Sawchuk to CSKA. Sawchuk led the team in scoring last season and was among the leaders again this term; with 55 points in 81 KHL games, his form attracted the attention of one of the Western Conference high flyers.

Amur, meanwhile, continues to impress in the East, returning to third place with today’s win. It’s a success built on solid defense: just 20 goals allowed in 14 games. Alexander Trushkov recorded his second successive shut-out, and a near-flawless PK this season twice denied Lada’s power play.

If there’s a weakness for the Tigers, it comes at the other end: 23 goals scored in 14 games is hardly world-beating form. Today’s game saw plenty of chances, but brave goaltending from Nikita Podskrebalin kept Lada in contention. He finished with 28 saves and kept the game deadlocked until 23 minutes.

The breakthrough came early in the third when Konstantin Lukin reacted smartly to convert a rebound. That was the first goal of the game, and the first of Lukin’s KHL career. Podskrebalin performed heroics at times to keep it a one-game game, but Trushkov was also busy, not least to deny Ivan Zinchenko in a solo rush.

In the final frame, Lada had more of the game but struggled to turn possession into a serious offensive threat. Once again, the two goalies were on top as Lukin’s goal proved to be the only one of the night.

Rempal leads way for Ufa

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 3 (1-1, 1-0, 2-2)

Two goals from Sheldon Rempal saw Salavat Yulaev banish the ghost of a painful loss in Magnitogorsk. An entertaining game at home to Neftekhimik was never easy for the home team, but a 4-3 verdict over an unexpected pacesetter in the East will be taken as a good result.

Home head coach Viktor Kozlov rang the changes after a 1-7 thrashing at Metallurg. Matthew Maggio was elevated to the first line ahead of fellow Canadian Devin Brosseau, who joined Maxim Zagrebin and Alexander Zharovsky on the third. Second defensive pair Yaroslav Tsulygin and Dean Stewart were scratched altogether. Danil Alalykin made a welcome return after the injury he suffered at Sibir proved less serious than first feared.

The first test for Ufa was killing a three-on-five after Ildan Gazimov and Vladislav Yefremov went to the box. Salavat Yulaev survived, and at equal strength home goalie Semyon Vyazovoi made a big save to deny German Tochilkin on his 200th KHL appearance. However, the visitor would not be denied for long: a two-on-one rush saw Grigory Seleznyov open the scoring midway through the session. The lead did not last. A home power play saw Vadim Shipachyov set up Rempal’s first of the game.

The Canadian put the home team in front in the 24th minute, stripping Nikita Khlystov of the puck and skating clear to beat Yaroslav Ozolin once again. That was the only goal of the middle frame, and the most memorable incident saw Matvei Nadvorny slam Shipachyov into the boards. Alalykin stepped up for his team-mate, prompting a scuffle that saw minor penalties for both belligerents.

In the third, Neftekhimik’s leading scorer Andrei Belozyorov tied the game with a goal from nothing. However, it wasn’t long before Ufa was back in front thanks to Yefremov’s first goal of the season. And Yefremov picked up an assist as the visitor saw a 53rd minute power play go all awry. Maxim Zagrebin took advantage, forcing Ozolin into an error and making it 4-2.

Neftekhimik kept fighting and after replacing Ozolin with a sixth skater, Maxim Fedotov unleashed a powerful shot to beat Vyazovoi to the top corner. That left an anxious 42 seconds for Salavat Yulaev to hold on before securing the win.

Fightback win for Sibir

Barys Astana 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 3 (2-1, 0-0, 0-2)

Stepan Nikulin had a hand in all three goals as Sibir turned this game around in the third period, throwing up an unexpected road block for a Barys team chasing second place in the East. This was a second visit of the season to Astana, and it ended rather better than the 1-7 loss on Sep. 7.

The visitor got the first power play of the game, and that brought the opening goal for Nikulin in the 12th minute. However, Barys turned things around before the intermission. Visiting goalie Mikhail Berdin made an ill-judged foray out of his crease to chase down a Logan Day shot; the rebound fell to Mason Morelli for the tying goal. Day’s helper stretches his productive streak to six games, Morelli’s is up to four.

And there was more to come before the break when leading scorer Justin Bailey came down the right to set up Kirill Savitsky for the go-ahead goal.

In the second period, Barys continued to have more of the play but could not build on the lead. And that proved costly.

Sibir’s power play struck again midway through the final frame: Darren Dietz collected another assist as Taylor Beck tied the game at 2-2 with a wrister from the right-hand circle. Then on 55:36, the visitor snatched the win. Home goalie Hunter Shepherd failed to deal with Mikhail Orlov’s routine shot from out on the boards, and Pavel Tyutnev pounced on the rebound to make it 3-2.

Sochi stuns Ak Bars again

Ak Bars Kazan 2 HC Sochi 3 (0-2, 1-0, 1-1)

Sochi’s problems this season are well known. But even after losing 11 of 14 games, the Leopards seem to have Ak Bars’ numbers.

This was the second time this season Sochi beat Ak Bars, and both times with the same 3-2 scoreline. The only other win was a 6-3 verdict over Salavat Yulaev, the other half of the Green Derby rivalry. Maybe life in the Eastern Conference would be happier for today’s visitor?

Today’s result owed much to brave goaltending from Damir Shaymardanov – especially in the first period. Ak Bars outshot Sochi 12-5, yet trailed 0-2 at the intermission. Timur Khafizov surprised the home team with a sixth-minute opener, and surprise became disbelief when Artur Gizdatullin doubled the lead 99 seconds before the intermission.

In the second period, the game changed. Sochi could concentrate on defense, and did so admirably. Ak Bars was limited to just six shots on goal in a session that saw more penalties than serious scoring chances. Semyon Terekhov raised home hopes in the 39th minute when he made it 2-1; Denis Zernov got his first point for Ak Bars with an assist. But the big incident came right before the hooter when Kirill Semyonov was ejected from the game for spearing – seemingly inadvertently – visiting forward Maxim Guskov at a face-off.

That saw Sochi on the power play at the start of the third, and Denis Vengryzhanovsky took advantage to make it 3-1. Nikita Gusev picked up an assist, his third since joining the club, and this helped him pick up the first win bonus associated with his new contract. In a final stanza littered with penalties – the teams finished with 59 minutes between them – Andrei Stas pulled a goal back on the PP in the 54th minute. And late on, Sochi had to kill another penalty with 75 seconds to play and Ak Bars using six skaters. But the Leopards held on to complete an unlikely double over last season’s Gagarin Cup finalist.

Lipsky leads Minsk past Dragons

Shanghai Dragons 2 Dinamo Minsk 3 (0-1, 0-1, 2-1)

Two goals from Daniil Lipsky set Dinamo on the way to victory over the Dragons. It was the third meeting of the teams this season and, once again, it proved a close-fought game. This time, though, Dinamo got the verdict after suffering an OT loss and a 2-1 reverse previously.

That result leaves these teams level on 17 points in fifth and sixth place in the Western Conference.

Lipsky made the early difference here. He opened the scoring in the fourth minute, and doubled the Minsk lead midway through the second period.

But in previous games, the partnership between Dmitrij Jaskin and Brennan Menell has undone Dinamo. They struck again with a power play goal at the start of the third, setting up a hard fought final frame. Chris Tierney restored the two-goal advantage for the visitor, and that marker turned out to be the winner. Shanghai’s power play struck again with 30 seconds left – David Chen scoring in six-on-four play – but time ran for the home team.

Orekhov delivers OT verdict for Metallurg

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 OT (0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 0-1)

A third game without Andrei Razin behind the bench brought a third win for Metallurg, consolidating the Steelmen’s position at the top of the KHL standings. Magnitka is now three points clear of Lokomotiv and CSKA overall, and seven ahead of Neftekhimik, currently second in the Eastern Conference.

Two goals from defenseman Valery Orekhov made the difference. He scored in the third period and again in overtime to subdue a stubborn Torpedo. The home team suffered a second successive loss, and its third in a row at the new VOLGA Arena, which opened at the start of the season.

Alexei Isakov’s team was always chasing this game but the first period, arguably, should have worked out differently. Torpedo had a five-on-three power play and outshot Metallurg 10-2 without scoring. Worse, the second of those two shots at Dmitry Shugayev found the target as Nathan Todd scored on the power play after Yegor Vinogradov was assessed a simulation minor.

The home team put things right early in the second when Matvei Polyakov tied it up on 20:58. Torpedo’s advantage wasn’t as great as in the first, but Alexander Smolin was still the busier of the goalies. And he was beaten for a second time midway through the session, but an astute bench challenge uncovered an offside call and kept the game tied through 40 minutes.

The third period was the most evenly contested of the evening. Metallurg regained the lead midway through thanks to Orekhov’s first of the night. But Torpedo recovered to make it 2-2 with five to play. Vladimir Tkachyov, today playing his against namesake on the Metallurg team, was the scorer and the game went to overtime.

At last, Magnitka began to dictate the play. Torpedo could not muster a shot in the extras, while Metallurg had a few looks at Shugayev. And Orekhov got the winner in the 64th minute, tightening his team’s grip at the top.