Streaks shattered. October 21 round-up

It was a day when unbeaten runs came to an end and hot streaks cooled. CSKA’s powerful 12-game winning series was halted with a 2-0 derby loss at Spartak. Severstal’s seven-game surge was ended emphatically by Shanghai Dragons, who won 5-1 in Cherepovets. And Metallurg’s five-game winning run since Andrei Razin’s suspension came to an end with a 4-5 shoot-out loss at home to Salavat Yulaev. That wasn’t the only 5-4 game today: Admiral beat Barys by that margin in overtime. Another shoot-out saw Torpedo edge Ak Bars for the second time this season.

Sulak’s Star turn

Admiral Vladivostok 5 Barys Astana 4 OT (0-0, 1-2, 3-2, 1-0)

A five-point haul for Libor Sulak lifted Admiral to an overtime victory over Barys and pushed the Sailors into the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

There was little sign of the scoring to come in a first period that generated more anticipation than excitement. Both teams tried to generate offense, but genuine chances were scarce.

But things warmed up in the second. Barys goalie Hunter Shepherd was saved by his post early on, and in the 24th minute Semyon Ibragimov opened the scoring for the home team. Barys hit back fast: Justin Bailey tied the game, and moved clear in the KHL scoring race this season with 20 (12+8) points. He also ended Nikita Boyarkin’s shut-out streak at 103:11 for the former Barys man. And the visitor finished the second stanza in front thanks to Tyce Thompson’s 37th-minute marker.

That lead didn’t last long. Although the visitor began the third on the power play, Sulak scored his first goal of the season on the power play. That’s the sixth short-handed goal the Kazakhs have allowed, and the second in as many games. Admiral went on to kill a three-on-five penalty before Dmitry Zavgorodny scored at equal strength.

The Barys power play finally delivered in the 47th minute when Chase Priskie tied the game, and the teams exchanged further goals through Anthony Camara and Semyon Simonov to leave the game tied at 4-4 and heading to overtime.

In regulation, Sulak had a goal and three assists. It was fitting, then, the Admiral captain was on the ice for the first shift of the extras and added one more assist on Alexander Volkov’s winner.

Salavat hands Metallurg first loss in five

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 5 SO (3-1, 0-0, 1-3, 0-0, 0-1)

Salavat Yulaev avenged a 7-1 loss from its previous visit to Magnitogorsk and handed the Steelmen a first loss since Andrei Razin’s departure.

There were more changes behind the Metallurg bench for today’s game. On the morning of the game it emerged that Vladimir Vorobyov and Evgeny Mikhalkevich had followed Razin to St. Petersburg, leaving Yury Trubachyov in interim charge for Wednesday’s game.

The visitor handed Ivan Bocharov a debut in goal, despite his lack of recent gametime. Sheldon Rempal was surprisingly demoted to the third line with Alexander Zharovsky joining Devin Brosseau and Jack Rodewald on the first.

Trubachyov’s Metallurg roster also had changes: Danila Palivko replaced Yegor Zelenov on defense, while forwards Stepan Starkov and Dmitry Silantyev returned in place of Yegor Korobkin and Ruslan Iskhakov. Sergei Tolchinsky played his 500th KHL game.

Salavat’s previous trip to Magnitogorsk was undermined by a slow start. Today, the visitor was much livelier from the start, and got its reward thanks to an early goal from former Metallurg prospect Maxim Kuznetsov in the second minute. However, a needless hooking penalty for Zharovsky got the home team back into the game; 10 seconds after his return from the box, Daniil Vovchenko tied the scores. Midway through the first period, the 10-second rule applied once again: Rempal went to the box on 12:03, Nathan Todd converted the power play on 12:13.

By now, Metallurg was dictating the play. Silantyev had a goal called back for use of the hand, but a third goal arrived just before the intermission when Vladimir Tkachyov skated clear to beat Bocharov and make it 3-1.

The second period was more notable for penalties than scoring chances. Tolchinsky picked up a misconduct penalty for shooting the puck after the whistle, prompting a scuffle on the ice. Metallurg twice played with a five-on-three advantage, but Salavat Yulaev survived both times. The visitor also had to adapt to the loss of captain Grigory Panin, ejected from the game on a boarding charge after his challenge on Silantyev left the home forward groggy.

Then the third period brought a fightback for the visitor. Zharovsky cut the deficit after 44 minutes, then Vadim Shipachyov’s power play goal tied the scores midway through the session. The turnaround seemed complete when Rodewald made it 4-3 with barely two minutes to play, but Metallurg found time to salvage the game. Alexander Smolin made way for a sixth skater and Luke Johnson grabbed a tying goal on 58:57, assisted by Vovchenko and Todd.

Neither team could win it in overtime, and the shoot-out saw Rempal deliver the finishing blow to secure a long-awaited win for Salavat Yulaev in Magnitogorsk.

Torpedo defeats Ak Bars again

Ak Bars Kazan 1 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 SO (0-0, 1-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Daniil Seroukh’s shoot-out decider gave Torpedo its second win of the season over Ak Bars.

The visitor made the brighter start in what would turn out to be a low-scoring affair. Maxim Arefyev was the main reason why Torpedo could not find an early lead, making a couple of big saves in the opening exchanges. The home team struggled, with even its power play continuing to stutter. At equal strength, the play was mostly around Arefyev’s net and Mikhail Vorobyov should have opened the scoring when he got a chance on the rebound. Vladimir Tkachyov also spurned a great opportunity as the opening frame finished goalless; at the other end Grigory Denisenko rattled the crossbar for Ak Bars.

Denisenko played his part in opening the scoring at the start of the second period. He and Semyon Terekhov battled on the slot, and the latter forced the puck beyond Dmitry Shugayev. But Torpedo tied it up 47 seconds before the intermission on Anton Sizov’s goal.

That gave Torpedo momentum at the start of the third, and for 10 minutes or so little was seen of the home offense. It took a supersave from Arefyev to deny Vorobyov a seemingly certain goal. Ak Bars managed to absorb the pressure, and even had a chance to win it on a late breakaway. However, the game was destined to go the full distance before Seroukh’s shoot-out winner secured the verdict for Torpedo.

Dragons end Severstal’s winning run

Severstal Cherepovets 1 Shanghai Dragons 5 (0-2, 0-2, 1-1)

The Dragons roasted Severstal, bringing the home team’s seven-game hot streak to an abrupt end. Andrei Kozyrev’s men started the day in third place, but ended up overpowered on home ice.

Shanghai is often at its best when it can make a fast start. Today, the visitor was up 2-0 after eight minutes. Brett Murray scored for the third game in a row to open the scoring in the fifth minute then, on 8:01, David Chen scored his fifth goal in as many games.

Severstal steadied matters, helped by a couple of power plays. The home team finished with a 16-9 shot count lead for the first period, and 7:51 of offensive possession against just 1:47, but trailed at the intermission.

The middle frame brought more pressure on Pavel Khomchenko’s net, with Shanghai icing the puck four times in quick succession. But Severstal could not parley that into a goal, and at the other end Takhir Mingachyov increased the visitor’s lead. Just before the intermission, Murray’s second of the game put the result beyond reasonable doubt.

Vsevolod Skotnikov replaced Alexander Samoilov in the home net for the third period. He was beaten midway through the session by Vladislav Barulin, who claimed his first of the season. That made it back-to-back five-goal performances from the visitor, but there was slight disappointment right at the end when Ilya Ivantsov robbed Khomchenko of a shut-out in the 59th minute. That goal also brought Adam Liska his first point of the season: the Slovak international was playing only his third game, having returned from injury on Monday against Torpedo.

Fedotov denies, CSKA’s hot streak goes cold

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

Ivan Fedotov produced 30 saves to deny his former club and backstop a derby win for Spartak over CSKA.

The Red-and-Whites halted their visitor’s 12-game winning streak, and extended their own run to five games in the process.

Yet this was something of a smash-and-grab. CSKA topped the shot count 30-19, and had more than 16 minutes of offensive possession compared with nine. Spartak also had to block twice as many shots – 26 to 13 – in a resolute defensive display.

But the only stat that matters is goals scored. No matter that Spartak was held to just two shots in the first period. The start of the second saw the home team get in front. Max Comtois took up a position on the blue line – an improbable spot for a forward, perhaps – and produced a mighty slap shot off Daniil Orlov’s pass to rip the puck past Dmitry Gamzin.

CSKA continued to enjoy more of the play in the middle frame but was still unable to solve Fedotov. And in the final stanza, Spartak managed to make the game more even as it defended its lead. As the clock ticked down, Gamzin made way for a sixth skater. But that gambit misfired and Christian Jaros scored into an empty net to seal the win for the home team.