CSKA too strong for SKA, Amur wins Far East derby. October 25 round-up

On a day of big rivalries, CSKA got an important 3-1 win at Andrei Razin’s SKA. The Muscovites bounced back from two losses, while Razin suffered a second defeat in three as he starts his new role. There was derby delight for Ak Bars, 2-1 winners at Salavat Yulaev, and Amur, who beat Admiral 3-0. Lokomotiv also had a shut-out to edge past Severstal, while Shanghai Dragons rallied from 1-3 to win a shoot-out at Spartak.

Derby win puts Tigers in top four

Amur Khabarovsk 3 Admiral Vladivostok 0 (3-0, 0-0, 0-0)

A shut-out win in the first Far East derby of the season returned Amur to the top four in the Eastern Conference. For Admiral, sunk in the first period in Khabarovsk, the loss halted a run of three wins from four.

The Tigers recalled Vasily Machulin and Grigory Kuzmin to the team, with Alexander Trushkov in goal. Ilya Morozov was back on defense for Admiral after missing the previous game.

Although the first period ended with Amur up 3-0, the Sailors made the brighter start. However, that promise was short-lived and the Tigers steadily took control of the play, helped by a power play. That four-on-three advantage brought the opening goal for Vitaly Abramov in the 15th minute. Barely a minute later, Abramov struck again, seconds after Morozov left the box.

Admiral’s penalty trouble continued and just before the intermission Kirill Pilipenko added another goal on the PP. Amur’s scoring lead Oleg Li got his second assist of the game, moving to 11 (2+9) this season.

In deep trouble after that opening frame, Admiral responded in the second. Borna Rendulic forced a breath-taking save from Trushkov and the visitor outshot Amur 16-8 in the second period but could not score. At the other end, a dangerous Tigers counter-attack brought a penalty shot, but Dmitry Kostenko could not convert the chance.

The final frame saw Trushkov again at his best as he finished with 33 saves for his third shut-out in four games.

Sochi out of the basement

Lada Togliatti 3 HC Sochi 4 (1-2, 1-1, 1-1)

Sochi recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season, and moved off the foot of the table with victory in Togliatti. Lada, suffering a third successive loss, drop to last place.

The home team opened the scoring in the 16th minute through Nikita Setdikov. He moved to 11 (3+8) points this season and goes one point clear of the now-departed Riley Sawchuk and Andrei Chivilyov in the team’s scoring race.

But it took just 50 seconds for Sochi to respond. Nikita Gusev stretched his productive streak to four games with an assist on Denis Vengryzhanovsky’s power play goal. Then, a couple of minutes later, Ilya Nikolayev scored at equal strength to give the Leopards the lead.

The visitor would never relinquish that advantage. Late in the middle frame, Artur Gizdatullin made it 3-1 for Sochi, although Alexei Rykmanov pulled a goal back for the host seconds before the intermission.

Then, in the third, the teams again traded goals. Gusev set up Sochi’s leading scorer Matvei Guskov to make it 4-2, and Andrei Altybarmakyan’s first goal of the season on the power play was nothing more than a consolation for Lada.

Komkov claims derby winner

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 Ak Bars Kazan 2 (0-0, 1-1, 0-1)

Denis Komkov was the Green Derby hero, scoring his first goal of the season to separate the teams early in the third period. The 25-year-old, who has been on the fringes of the Ak Bars team since making his debut in 2020/2021, has never been a first-team regular. But his third career goal was surely his biggest to date.

It came after two minutes of the final frame, snapping a 1-1 tie. Nikita Dynyak set off on a swift counterattack and played the puck to back door for Komkov to bang it in from close range. After that, despite Ufa’s efforts to save the game, Ak Bars defended well to protect its advantage until the last.

Both teams came into the game struggling for consistency. Salavat Yulaev has alternated wins and losses in recent games, while Ak Bars suffered back-to-back losses after a couple of wins.

The visitor, perhaps eager to restore its form, made the livelier start. Ak Bars dominated the first period and outshot Salavat 15-6. However, neither team could force a breakthrough

In the second period, the home team had to absorb some early pressure from Ak Bars before getting back into the game. And on 36:06 Salavat Yulaev got in front on a well-worked play. Matthew Maggio brought play into the Kazan zone, spun away from the boards and dished off the puck for Alexander Zharovsky in the center. He waited for the defenseman to commit himself, sat Maxim Arefyev down on the ice and shot into the open side of the net.

But Ufa’s delight did not last long. Just 10 seconds after Zharovsky’s marker, Ak Bars tied the game. Adding insult to injury, the goal came from Alexander Chmelevski, once a Salavat Yulaev favorite. Right from the face-off, the American forward advanced into the home zone, took up a central position and ripped a wrister beyond Semyon Vzyazovoi.

And at the start of the third, Komkov potted the deciding goal.

Dragons rally for shoot-out win

Spartak Moscow 3 Shanghai Dragons 4 SO (0-1, 2-1, 1-2, 0-0, 0-1)

Spartak became the latest team to see its winning run halted, blowing a 3-1 lead to lose to Dragons in a shoot-out. As a result, after CSKA (12 games), Severstal (7), Spartak (6) and Metallurg (5) all saw hot streaks end this week, Mitch Love’s men currently have the best form in the KHL with four straight successes.

The visitor completed a perfect road trip, which has also brought wins at Sochi, Severstal and Lada

Spartak made a good start and German Rubtsov might have opened the scoring early on, but Pavel Khomchenko made a big save. Gradually, Shanghai got into the game. After killing a penalty, the visitor took the lead on its first power play: David Chen scored his sixth goal in seven games, Calen Addison extended his productive streak to 7 (2+5) points from seven games.

There was much to discuss in the home locker room during the intermission, and Alexei Zhamnov’s words had the desired effect. Spartak was much improved at the start of the second and turned the game around with a couple of quick goals. Khomchenko was beaten by a fairly tame looking shot from Andrei Mironov, then a swift interchange from defense to offense saw Danil Pivchulin put the home team ahead.

Spartak continued to monopolize the scoring chances. The home team outshot its guest 17-3 in the middle frame, with Daniil Gutik and Pavel Poryadin both denied by Khomchenko.

Turner Ottenbreit’s issues with the officials didn’t help the Dragons’ cause. He took three penalties in total, and the third of them was punished early in the third period when Gutik made it 3-1. However, after a power play gave the Red-and-Whites some breathing space, Shanghai responded with a PP goal of its own to get back in the game thanks to Nate Sucese. That gave the visitor belief and just 28 seconds later Dmitrij Jaskin tied the game at 3-3.

That was the end of the scoring in regulation. Overtime was action-packed but inconclusive and the shoot-out went to the visitor thanks to Jaskin’s winner.

CSKA recovers after back-to-back losses

SKA St. Petersburg 1 CSKA Moscow 3 (0-0, 0-2, 1-1)

Andrei Razin’s first week in the SKA hotseat ended a second loss from three games as CSKA rediscovered its winning touch. The Muscovites had lost two in row after that 12-game hot streak but today’s result keeps them level on points with Lokomotiv at the top of the Western Conference.

In a goalless first period, SKA had more possession and CSKA tried to cause trouble on the counter. The best chance came late on when the visitor’s Nazar Privalov dinked his way to the slot but could not beat Sergei Ivanov from close range.

The breakthrough had to wait until midway through the second period, when CSKA converted its second power play of the night. The visitor set up in SKA’s zone, Nikita Nesterov fed Dmitry Buchelnikov in the circle and his shot whistled into the net in the 33rd minute.

It wasn’t long before CSKA had a second. This time Ivan Drozdov’s shot deflected off Privalov and into the net. It might not have been his prettiest goal, but for the 17-year-old it will be a memorable one – his first in the KHL.

The Muscovites were good value for that lead after outshooting SKA 11-4 in the middle frame. But the game wasn’t done. Razin’s team came out strong at the start of the third and Sergei Sapego’s 42nd-minute market put the game back in the balance. He fired home a point shot after a face-off win to give the home team the perfect start to its prospective fightback.

There were chances to tie the game, not least when SKA got a couple of power plays in the third period. But Dmitry Gamzin kept the home offense at bay, and Andrei Pedan’s untimely trip on Pavel Karnaukhov left the host shorthanded with four to play. CSKA could not convert the power play, but shortly after Pedan left the box, Maxim Sorkin pounced on a rebound to make it 3-1. That was too much for SKA to recover and, despite Razin’s late time-out, the verdict went to the visitor.

Isayev blanks Severstal

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 Severstal Cherepovets 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)

A solitary goal from Alexander Yelesin was enough for Lokomotiv to edge past Severstal and claim a second successive win. The visitor fell to a third straight loss.

Severstal started better, enjoying more possession and attacking more frequently but without finding the accuracy to trouble Daniil Isayev in the home net. Lokomotiv began to assert itself after the first commercial break with good chances for Matvei Kotkov and Maxim Shalunov. Severstal’s power play problems – currently its special teams are the weakest in the league – continued with another unimpressive session of five-on-four play. And Lokomotiv punished that wastefulness when Yelesin’s point shot found the net for his second goal of the season on 14:57.

The second period saw Lokomotiv’s first power play, but this too was ineffective. Only a shot from Giovanni Fiore threatened to raise the temperature. So far this season, the defending champion has yet to win a second period. Today that record continued, but a 0-0 scoreline through 20 minutes at least preserved the home lead. Yanni Kaldis and Denis Alexeyev came closest to tying the game, but neither could convert his chance.

Lokomotiv started the third determined to build a more comfortable lead. However, the best chance of the session came at the other end when Ilya Kvochko found a great shooting lane, only for Isayev to make the save. A spell of four-on-four brought opportunities at both ends but there would be no more scoring as Loko held on and Dmitry Kvartalnov secured his 650th win as a KHL head coach.