CSKA v Spartak 5-2
The first Moscow derby of the season went the way the formbook demanded: CSKA proved too strong for reformed Spartak and coasted to a second win of the season. The foundations for this success were laid by Stephane da Costa. The Frenchman missed the Opening Cup triumph at SKA but wasted no time in getting on the scoresheet here. He put CSKA 1-0 up in the third minute and added a second goal off an Alexander Radulov assist in the 17th. In between times Charles Genoway got an equalizer for Spartak, but that was the highlight for the visitor. Ex-Sibir duo Igor Ozhiganov and Dmitry Kugryshev combined to make it 3-1 early in the third and Geoff Platt made it two goals in two games to give the Army Men complete control. Casey Wellman, Spartak’s over time hero on Tuesday, got a late consolation goal but Radulov’s empty-netter completed the scoring.
Avangard v Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3-4 SO
Normal service was resumed for Magnitka as Jan Kovar, Sergei Mozyakin and Danis Zaripov all found the net in a hard-fought win in Omsk. Zaripov made the decisive contribution to settle the shoot-out after Metallurg led for much of the 3-3 tie in regulation Kovar and Mozyakin got their first goals of the season in the first period to give the visitor the lead, but Ilya Zubov and Vladimir Sobotka hit back to tie it up early in the second. Chris Lee scored off a Zaripov assist midway through the third to put Magnitka back in front, but Avangard levelled the scores on the power play thanks to Alexander Chernikov.
Jokerit v Torpedo 5-1
A masterful goal from Juhamatti Aaltonen set Jokerit on the way to a convincing victory in its second game of the season. Aaltonen opened the scoring in style in the 12th minute with a superb unassisted marker. He swooped in on the left flank, roamed behind the net and looped around the face-off circle, evading two defensemen before capitalizing on space in the center to fire past Ivan Lisutin.
Torpedo delivered a well-worked power play goal to tie the scores early in the second, with Evgeny Mozer wrapping up a nice spot of tic-tac-toe, but that was as good as it got for the visitor. Brandon Kozun scored two goals either side of the second intermission, both on assists from Peter Regin, before Tommi Huhtala stretched the lead to a comfortable 4-1. There was still time for Regin to complete a good evening’s work with another fine goal, beating replacement goalie Ilya Proskuryakov inside his near post on the power play. Two wins in two for Jokerit, and the first game of the season to be settled by a margin greater than two goals, finishing an hour before CSKA’s win over Spartak.
SKA v Dinamo Minsk 2-1
SKA had to be patient to solve Dinamo goalie Dmitry Milchakov, the St Petersburg team fired in 40 shots on his net but only hit the target twice. The game-winner came from Maxim Chudinov right at the start of the third period, but a combination of obdurate goal-tending and a worrying slump for the host in the second stanza made this a tense evening for Gagarin Cup holder.
It started out well: Alexei Ponikarovsky put SKA 1-0 up in the ninth minute and SKA was dominating the game. But the middle session saw Dinamo step up its game, out-shooting the host’s powerful offense 17-10 and tying the scores thanks to Ryan Vesce. That likely prompted some tough talking in the locker room, and whatever was said had a clear impact. Chudinov made it 2-1 within 45 seconds of the restart and SKA went on to dominate with 14 shots to four. However, Milchakov was hard to beat and there was never the cushion of a two-goal advantage as head coach Andrei Nazarov claimed his first victory with his new club.
Ak Bars rallied after a surprise defeat in Latvia, edging HC Sochi 1-0 on the Black Sea. Albert Yarullin got the vital goal early in the second period, beating former Kazan goalie Konstantin Barulin. But it was Barulin’s opposite number, Jussi Rynnas, who took the plaudits with a 33-save shut-out.
Dinamo Riga v Severstal 2-3 OT
Dinamo Riga could not maintain its winning start, losing out in overtime against Severstal. Evgeny Mons’ second of the night settled the outcome with 20 seconds left to play; earlier Dinamo salvaged a 2-2 tie thanks to Tim Sestito’s power play goal on 59:39.
Lokomotiv v Lada 2-0
Lokomotiv bounced back from a defeat in its opening game to beat Lada 2-0 in Yaroslavl. Vladislav Kartayev and Alexander Polunin got the goals; Vitaly Kolesnik made 16 saves.
Barys v Salavat Yulaev 5-3
Dustin Boyd became the first player to score a hat-trick this season as Barys won 5-3 at home to Salavat Yulaev. Boyd opened the scoring in the first period, made it 3-1 with a penalty shot in the 27th minute and got the 4-2 goal early in the third. Salavat once again showed some flair on offense but found its defense to be its downfall in a second successive defeat.
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