Metallurg claims second win over Avtomobilist. October 31 round-up

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 (0-0, 1-2, 2-2)

Metallurg bounced back from a heavy loss in Novosibirsk by edging past Avtomobilist in a seven-goal thriller. Saturday’s only game started slowly, but produced a nail-biting finish. But Avtomobilist was unable to extend its four-game hot streak as the KHL leader extended its advantage to six points over Lokomotiv and CSKA.

The first period was not destined to capture anyone’s attention. Both teams made a cautious start and the opening exchanges were dominated by physical battles rather than scoring chances. By the intermission the teams were tied on five shots apiece, with Evgeny Alikin and Alexander Smolin unbeaten in their respective nets.

Things began to improve in the second. First, Metallurg forced Alikin into a double save to deny Vladimir Tkachyov and Nikita Mikhailis. The teams continued to trade chances, now with rather more venom, and in the 29th minute Avtomobilist got in front thanks to Alexander Kadeikin. He converted an impressive counterattack led by Adam Ruzicka down the flank.

But it took Metallurg just a minute to tie the game. Defenseman Valery Orekhov, back in the team after he was rested for the loss at Sibir, potted his fourth goal of the season. Orekhov has contributed points in seven of his last eight games, for a total of 10 (4+6) in that run. And the visitor got in front before the intermission thanks to Andrei Kozlov’s 35th-minute redirect on Artyom Minulin’s effort.

At the start of the third, Magnitka increased its lead on a neat piece of play from Ruslan Iskhakov. He came into the Avtomobilist zone at pace, dazzled his way past Ilya Karpukhin, and fired to the top shelf.

That wasn’t the end of the story. As the game moved into the final 10 minutes, the action ramped up another notch. First, Maxim Denezhkin’s short-handed goal put Avtomobilist back in contention. Yaroslav Busygin twice shot at goal before the rebound fell for Denezhkin to score from close range.

The Motormen killed the remainder of that penalty, but got caught on the counter once back to full strength and Nathan Todd restored a two-goal advantage for the visitor. That goal proved vital when Alexander Sharov grabbed a late power play goal, opening the door for Alexei Kudashov’s men once again. But the clock ran down before the home team could find an equalizer, and Metallurg backed up a 4-2 home win over Avto earlier this month with another success on the road.