Metallurg Magnitogorsk v Barys 3-1
Metallurg had to work hard to overcome a resolute Barys team that led for much of the game. The Kazakhs went in front through Nigel Dawes late in the first period and succeeded in stifling the home offense for much of the evening. But in the third period, Magnitka’s pressure finally told. Chris Lee fired home an equalizer in the 45th minute before Sergei Mozyakin got the go-ahead goal off a Jan Kovar assist. Lee added an empty-netter to wrap up the win as his team improved its record to nine wins from 10. Barys remains second from bottom of the Eastern Conference table.
Salavat Yulaev v Avtomobilist 5-1
It’s turning into a miserable season for Avtomobilist – and head coach Andrei Razin is looking for a wake-up call for his team.
“This Groundhog Day just goes on and one,” he said after the Motormen slumped to an eighth defeat in nine games in Ufa. “It’s time for someone to wake us up.”
The visitor certainly seemed to oversleep at the start of this game, falling 3-0 behind inside 12 minutes. Kirill Kaprizov got the first two before Denis Kulyash added a third. After that, things never really improved for the visitor. Anatoly Golyshev got a goal back, but it came in between two further Salavat strikes from Enver Lisin. Avtomobilist’s bright start to the season is now a distant memory: the team’s current slump has it third from the bottom of the conference.
Traktor v Ugra 0-2
Two goals in the first six minutes were enough for Ugra to take the points at Traktor. Denis Gorbunov opened the scoring after 88 seconds and Konstantin Mayorov added a second in the sixth minute. There was no further scoring; Alexander Sharychenkov made 21 saves for his shut-out. Spartak’s struggles continued with a home defeat against lowly Metallurg Novokuznetsk. Kirill Semyonov was the star, scoring twice as Kuznya wiped out Matthew Gilroy’s early goal for Spartak. Evgeny Solovyov also found the net for the visitor; Ryan Stoa’s late goal against his former club could not salvage anything from the game.
Lada v Amur 5-1
Lada has been one of the most improved teams in the Eastern Conference and a 5-1 win at home to Amur lifted the Togliatti team to sixth. The damage was done in the first period when Semyon Valuisky, Kristaps Sotnieks and Andrei Ivanov opened up a 3-0 lead. Tomas Zahorna pulled one back but Viktor Komarov and Maxim Rybin completed the rout.
Neftekhimik v Kunlun 4-3
In Nizhnekamsk, Kunlun faced a 0-4 deficit in the third but replied with three goals in five minutes as Linus Videll, Miika Lahti and Joonas Jarvinen ramped up the pressure on the host. But Neftekhimik held on and Pavel Kulikov’s 32nd-minute strike proved to be the decider.
Severstal v Jokerit 4-3 OT
Two third-period fightbacks fell short as Jokerit and Kunlun Red Star came close to recovering a losing situation at Severstal and Neftekhimik respectively. The Finns trailled 3-1 in the final stanza in Cherepovets before Ville Lajunen and Peter Regin tied the game at 3-3. It wasn’t enough, though; Dmitry Kagarlitsky’s overtime winner kept the home fans happy.
Ak Bars v Admiral 3-0
Ak Bars remains just one point behind its rival Metallurg in the race for top spot in the East. A comfortable victory at home to Admiral made it seven wins in a row for Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s men as the Kazan powerhouse banishes some early-season jitters. Stanislav Galimov backstopped the latest success, making 32 saves to preserve the 11th-minute lead that Fyodor Malykhin gave the home team. And as Admiral looked for an equalizer, Alexander Svitov and Justin Azevedo added two late goals to wrap up another win.
SKA v Dinamo Riga 4-1
SKA and Dinamo Riga are separated by the full extent of the KHL table, and there were no surprises when the two Baltic cities met in St. Petersburg. The teams were deadlocked in the first period, but once Jarno Koskiranta opened the scoring in the 26th minute the outcome was more or less clear. Vadim Shipachyov, Ilya Kovalchuk and Steve Moses added to SKA’s tally while Mikelis Redlihs hit Dinamo’s solitary reply.
Torpedo v Avangard 3-2
Torpedo managed to buck that trend, though, recovering a 0-2 deficit to win at home to Avangard. Alexander Perezhogin and Ivan Fishchenko put the visitor ahead by the midway mark but Nikolai Zherdev and Carter Ashton tied it up in the second period. Fredrick Pettersson grabbed the game-winner with three minutes to go.
Sochi v Sibir 6-2
HC Sochi hit Sibir for six beside the Black Sea. Eric O’Dell and Sergei Kuznetsov opened up a 2-0 first-period lead but Alexei Skabelka got one back early in the second. Hopes that Sibir might make a game of it soon evaporated, though, as Pavel Padakin and Igor Levitsky boosted the lead to 4-1. Ivan Zakharchuk and Renat Mamashev completed Sochi’s scoring; Yury Sergiyenko got a second for Sibir.
CSKA Moscow v Dinamo Minsk 7-2
CSKA snapped a three-game losing run in fine style, but the Army Men had an unlikely hero to mastermind this victory. Vladimir Zharkov had gone 17 games without a point before today, but produced two goals and an assist, including the game-winner, as Dinamo was swept aside. Vyacheslav Osnovin and Grigory Panin helped CSKA to a 2-1 lead in the first period before Zharkov got his first in the 24th minute. That sparked a goal flurry as Alexander Kutuzov and Stephane da Costa quickly stretched the lead to 5-1, the Frenchman getting a helper from Zharkov along the way. That man Zharkov struck again early in the third, deflecting Artyom Sergeyev’s effort into the Minsk net before Igor Ozhiganov added a seventh. Alexander Materukhin had the final word for Dinamo, but it was scant consolation at the end of the day’s heaviest defeat.
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