Metallurg Nk v Dynamo Moscow 1-4
Dynamo Moscow powered to a 4-1 win at Metallurg Novokuznetsk, despite conceding a first-period goal to Alexander Komaristy. Mat Robinson tied the scores in the second before Maxim Pestushko got what proved to be the game-winner. Andrei Alexeyev’s first ever KHL goal made it 3-1 and another youngster, Artyom Fyodorov, completed the scoring.
Avangard v Neftekhimik 1-4
Neftekhimik gained ground in the race to secure a play-off spot, claiming an impressive victory at Eastern Conference leader Avangard to close to within one point of eighth-placed Avtomobilist. Just two points separate three teams at the sharp end of the battle for a top-eight finish in the East. Avto dropped one point in an overtime win over Salavat Yulaev, while Barys remains one point further ahead thanks to a shoot-out success at home to Traktor. Neftekhimik took control of its game in Omsk early on. Igor Polygalov opened the scoring in the ninth minute and American forward Dan Sexton got just his second goal of the season to double the lead on a power play midway through the second period. Valentin Pyanov gave Avangard hope early in the third, but Kirill Lyamin made it 3-1 before Sexton assisted on Mikhail Zhukov’s 52nd-minute marker to complete a convincing win. Avangard, previously unbeaten in six, has now lost two on the spin.
Avtomobilist v Salavat Yulaev 3-2 OT
Avtomobilist is still hanging on to a play-off spot thanks to a hard-fought victory at home to Salavat Yulaev. Anatoly Golyshev’s 25th of the season finally separated the teams after a 2-2 tie. Roman Derlyuk and Igor Grigorenko scored for Salavat either side of goals from Avto’s Vitaly Popov and Alexei Mikhnov.
Barys Astana v Traktor 5-4 SO
Barys remains seventh, but weather a 52-second goal blitz before sinking Traktor in a shoot-out. The Kazakhs led 3-1 at the first intermission, but goals from Anton Glinkin (22:00), Martin Ruzicka (22:20) and Maxim Yakutsenya (22:52) turned the game upside down and saw Jan Laco chased to the bench. Dustin Boyd tied it at 4-4 midway through the third period and Mike Lundin got the winner while replacement goalie Pavel Poluektov made 30 saves.
Sibir v Vityaz 5-2
Sibir got back to winning ways after two defeats thanks to a 5-2 victory over Vityaz. The teams were tied in the opening session before Sergei Shumakov and Vladimir Butuzov gave the home team a 3-1 lead. Alexei Makeyev kept Vityaz interested but late goals from Shumakov and Oleg Gubin ensured the points stayed in Novosibirsk.
Ugra v Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4-2
Igor Bortnikov finished with 2+1 as Ugra won 4-2 at home to Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Sergei Mozyakin struck twice for the visitor, taking his goal tally to 31 for the season, but Bortnikov claimed the assist on Konstantin Panov’s equalizer for Ugra before scoring two of his own to lead his team to victory. Evgeny Lapenkov was the other scorer.
Lada v HC Sochi 1-3
HC Sochi recovered an early deficit to win 3-1 at Lada. Anton Shenfeld gave the host a fifth-minute lead, but second-period goals from Evgeny Skachkov and Denis Kazionov turned the game around. Igor Ignatushkin completed the scoring in the third.
Severstal v Jokerit 1-2
A power play goal from Peter Regin gave Jokerit a 2-1 win at Severstal with just 10 seconds left to play. Regin snapped a 1-1 tie that had lasted since the seventh minute, when Tim Kennedy cancelled out Vadim Berdnikov’s opener.
Ak Bars v Lokomotiv 2-3 SO
Ak Bars found the net at last but could not escape a third successive shoot-out defeat, this time at the hands of Lokomotiv. The Kazan team lost its two previous games after 0-0 stalemates over 65 minutes but when a long-awaited goal arrived in open play it went the way of the visitor. Denis Mosalyov put Loko in front in the eighth minute. Almost immediately, though, Loko got a penalty and Oscar Moller converted the power play to level the scores. Early in the second session Andrei Ivanov put Ak Bars ahead, only for Yegor Averin to tie it up at 2-2 in the 34th. Then it was back to solid goaltending of recent games as the rest of the game, plus overtime, went goalless. In the shoot-out Ivanov and Andrei Loktionov traded goals at the start before another extended display of the mastery of Stanislav Galimov and Alexei Murygin prolonged the deadlock. Finally Staffan Kronwall won it for Loko, which remains third in the West. Ak Bars stays in sixth in the East.
Dinamo Minsk v SKA 3-2
SKA suffered a third defeat in a row as Dinamo Minsk kept its play-off hopes alive with a narrow win. A rare start for young Petersburg goalie Igor Shestyorkin didn’t go entirely according to plan as Dinamo scored two in the first 10 minutes. Jonathan Cheechoo opened the scoring on the power play before veteran Alexei Kalyuzhny doubled the lead. Cheechoo made it 3-0 late in the second frame but Nikita Gusev got one back for SKA almost immediately. The final stanza was completely one-sided: SKA outshot the host 24-2 but found Jeff Glass in fantastic form. Vadim Shipachyov finally beat the Canadian in the 59th minute but it proved too little, too late.
Torpedo v Spartak 7-2
Torpedo unleashed a tornado on Spartak at the start of the teams’ meeting, firing home five unanswered goals in the first 12 minutes. Dmitry Semin got things going in the fifth minute, then two from Carter Ashton and one each for Linus Videll and Yury Sergiyenko left Spartak reeling. Semin added his second in the middle session and Kirill Koltsov completed Torpedo’s haul in a 7-2 win.
Dinamo Riga v CSKA 0-5
CSKA made it nine wins in a row with an emphatic victory in Latvia. Another powerful performance from the Army Men’s offense left Dinamo reeling, while rock solid defense delivered a fifth shut-out in those nine games. It took some time to break through the home team’s lines, however. The opening period was goalless and it wasn’t until the 28th minute that CSKA took the lead. The scorer was young Ivan Telegin, who picked up his seventh point of the season. A power play goal for Kirill Petrov doubled the lead in the 30th minute and from that point on there was no looking back. The third period saw Igor Makarov, Dmitry Kugryshev and Gennady Stolyarov find the net while Ilya Sorokin finished with 20 saves for his 10th shut-out of the season.
Thursday, 28 January 2016
KHL - Results - Monday, January 25, 2016
Metallurg Nk v Vityaz 2-3
Vityaz won 3-2 at Metallurg Novokuznetsk. Dmitry Shitikov, Alexei Mikheyev and Anton Korolyov got the visitor’s goals; Mikhail Plotnikov and Ignat Zemchenko replied for Metallurg.
Avangard v Traktor 1-2
Leader Avangard came into its home game against Traktor on the back of six wins and 15 goals in the last two games, but lost out against lowly opposition. Anton Glinkin gave Traktor the lead in the first period, but Anton Kuryanov tied it up for Avangard early in the second. That was to little avail, however, as Maxim Yakutsenya made it 2-1 in the 25th minute and it stayed that way until the end.
Barys Astana v Neftekhimik 1-2
Igor Polygalov’s late goal gave Neftekhimik a 2-1 win at Barys. Polygalov struck in the 59th minute, snapping a 1-1 tie in this important game in the race for the play-offs. Neftekhimik’s win lifts it to within three points of Barys and two points of eighth-placed Avtomobilist. Earlier in the game Nikita Shchitov gave the visitor the lead but Kevin Dallman tied it up for Barys in the 54th minute.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk v Avtomobilist 6-2
Danis Zaripov scored his 400th point in KHL regular season play during Metallurg’s win over Avtomobilist. Zaripov scored his team’s second goal on the night, adding to Jan Kovar’s first-period opener. He later claimed an assist on Alexander Semin’s second of the night in the 57th minute, taking his tally to 401 points and complete the scoring. Kovar also scored two, and Wojtek Wolski was the other Magnitka scorer. Avto struggled, with head coach Andrei Razin complaining about some of the refereeing after the game. But the visitor, still battling for a top-eight finish, did manage to claw the game back to 3-2 thanks to goals from Eero Elo and Dmitry Megalinsky on either side of the second intermission.
Sibir v Dynamo Moscow 2-3 SO
In Novosibirsk, Sibir played out a virtual repeat of its opening game of the season as it took the lead against Dynamo but succumbed post game. Alexei Kopeikin opened the scoring right on the 10-minute mark, but Maxim Karpov tied it up before the intermission. After a goalless middle session Maxim Pestushko made it 2-1 early in the third, only for Maxim Ignatovich to take the game to overtime. Finally young Dynamo forward Ilya Shipov claimed the winner in a shoot-out.
Ugra v Salavat Yulaev 5-3
Ugra and Salavat Yulaev also served up a high-scoring game with the home team winning 5-3 and snapping a five-game losing streak. Evgeny Lapenkov led the scoring with two goals for Ugra, including the game-winner.
Lada v Ak Bars 1-0 SO
For the second game running Ak Bars played out 65 minutes of goalless hockey before losing in a shoot-out. Following last week’s loss against Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s men fired blanks once again at Lada. The game was in complete contrast with the meeting between these two teams six days earlier, when Ak Bars won 5-3. Instead of goals aplenty, this was a good night for goalies. Ivan Kasutin made 26 stops for Lada and stopped five further attempts in the shoot-out. At the other end, Stanislav Galimov made 34 stops in the game but was beaten by Georgy Belousov in the shoot-out.Severstal v Spartak 3-0
Severstal beat Spartak 3-0. Ondrej Nemec got things going in the 11th minute when he converted a 5-on-3 power play. Nikolai Kazakovtsev made it 2-0 and Andrei Shefer completed the scoring in the second period. Stepan Goryachevskikh made 31 saves.
SKA v CSKA 2-3
Last season’s prize-winners clashed in Petersburg, and the team from the capital took the honors to stretch its winning run to eight games. CSKA also extended its lead at the top of the KHL table to four points over Lokomotiv and looks well placed to repeat last season’s regular season championship success. After a goalless first period the game roared into life when SKA’s Alexander Kadeikin was sin-binned in the 26th minute. Shrugging off the disadvantage, Steve Moses produced a shorthanded goal to give the home team the lead, only for Dmitry Kugryshev to tie the scores 31 seconds later. Roman Lyubimov made it 2-1 in the 37th minute and, after Dmitry Kalinin was removed from the game for a high hit, Jan Mursak made it 3-1 in the third. Nikita Gusev got a consolation goal, but with only seven seconds to play there was no way back for SKA.
Torpedo v Jokerit 5-6 SO
There was plenty of excitement in Nizhny Novgorod where Torpedo and Jokerit shared 10 goals before the Finns won in a shoot-out. The first period was tied at 2-2, but Jokerit forged ahead in the second thanks to goals from Juhamatti Aaltonen and Dane Todd. Torpedo came back with two goals from Vladimir Galuzin and Kaspars Daugavins’ second of the night to lead, but Ville Layunen tied it up at 5-5 and Jesse Joensuu added to his earlier marker with the shoot-out winner.
Dinamo Riga v Dinamo Minsk 0-3
The battle of the Dinamos saw the visitors, Dinamo Minsk, triumph in Riga. All-Star record goalscorer Matt Ellison failed to score after his seven-goal haul on Saturday, but he had an assist on Ryan Gunderson’s opener. Oleg Goroshko and Charles Linglet completed the scoring, Jeff Glass made 26 saves.
Vityaz won 3-2 at Metallurg Novokuznetsk. Dmitry Shitikov, Alexei Mikheyev and Anton Korolyov got the visitor’s goals; Mikhail Plotnikov and Ignat Zemchenko replied for Metallurg.
Avangard v Traktor 1-2
Leader Avangard came into its home game against Traktor on the back of six wins and 15 goals in the last two games, but lost out against lowly opposition. Anton Glinkin gave Traktor the lead in the first period, but Anton Kuryanov tied it up for Avangard early in the second. That was to little avail, however, as Maxim Yakutsenya made it 2-1 in the 25th minute and it stayed that way until the end.
Barys Astana v Neftekhimik 1-2
Igor Polygalov’s late goal gave Neftekhimik a 2-1 win at Barys. Polygalov struck in the 59th minute, snapping a 1-1 tie in this important game in the race for the play-offs. Neftekhimik’s win lifts it to within three points of Barys and two points of eighth-placed Avtomobilist. Earlier in the game Nikita Shchitov gave the visitor the lead but Kevin Dallman tied it up for Barys in the 54th minute.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk v Avtomobilist 6-2
Danis Zaripov scored his 400th point in KHL regular season play during Metallurg’s win over Avtomobilist. Zaripov scored his team’s second goal on the night, adding to Jan Kovar’s first-period opener. He later claimed an assist on Alexander Semin’s second of the night in the 57th minute, taking his tally to 401 points and complete the scoring. Kovar also scored two, and Wojtek Wolski was the other Magnitka scorer. Avto struggled, with head coach Andrei Razin complaining about some of the refereeing after the game. But the visitor, still battling for a top-eight finish, did manage to claw the game back to 3-2 thanks to goals from Eero Elo and Dmitry Megalinsky on either side of the second intermission.
Sibir v Dynamo Moscow 2-3 SO
In Novosibirsk, Sibir played out a virtual repeat of its opening game of the season as it took the lead against Dynamo but succumbed post game. Alexei Kopeikin opened the scoring right on the 10-minute mark, but Maxim Karpov tied it up before the intermission. After a goalless middle session Maxim Pestushko made it 2-1 early in the third, only for Maxim Ignatovich to take the game to overtime. Finally young Dynamo forward Ilya Shipov claimed the winner in a shoot-out.
Ugra v Salavat Yulaev 5-3
Ugra and Salavat Yulaev also served up a high-scoring game with the home team winning 5-3 and snapping a five-game losing streak. Evgeny Lapenkov led the scoring with two goals for Ugra, including the game-winner.
Lada v Ak Bars 1-0 SO
For the second game running Ak Bars played out 65 minutes of goalless hockey before losing in a shoot-out. Following last week’s loss against Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s men fired blanks once again at Lada. The game was in complete contrast with the meeting between these two teams six days earlier, when Ak Bars won 5-3. Instead of goals aplenty, this was a good night for goalies. Ivan Kasutin made 26 stops for Lada and stopped five further attempts in the shoot-out. At the other end, Stanislav Galimov made 34 stops in the game but was beaten by Georgy Belousov in the shoot-out.Severstal v Spartak 3-0
Severstal beat Spartak 3-0. Ondrej Nemec got things going in the 11th minute when he converted a 5-on-3 power play. Nikolai Kazakovtsev made it 2-0 and Andrei Shefer completed the scoring in the second period. Stepan Goryachevskikh made 31 saves.
SKA v CSKA 2-3
Last season’s prize-winners clashed in Petersburg, and the team from the capital took the honors to stretch its winning run to eight games. CSKA also extended its lead at the top of the KHL table to four points over Lokomotiv and looks well placed to repeat last season’s regular season championship success. After a goalless first period the game roared into life when SKA’s Alexander Kadeikin was sin-binned in the 26th minute. Shrugging off the disadvantage, Steve Moses produced a shorthanded goal to give the home team the lead, only for Dmitry Kugryshev to tie the scores 31 seconds later. Roman Lyubimov made it 2-1 in the 37th minute and, after Dmitry Kalinin was removed from the game for a high hit, Jan Mursak made it 3-1 in the third. Nikita Gusev got a consolation goal, but with only seven seconds to play there was no way back for SKA.
Torpedo v Jokerit 5-6 SO
There was plenty of excitement in Nizhny Novgorod where Torpedo and Jokerit shared 10 goals before the Finns won in a shoot-out. The first period was tied at 2-2, but Jokerit forged ahead in the second thanks to goals from Juhamatti Aaltonen and Dane Todd. Torpedo came back with two goals from Vladimir Galuzin and Kaspars Daugavins’ second of the night to lead, but Ville Layunen tied it up at 5-5 and Jesse Joensuu added to his earlier marker with the shoot-out winner.
Dinamo Riga v Dinamo Minsk 0-3
The battle of the Dinamos saw the visitors, Dinamo Minsk, triumph in Riga. All-Star record goalscorer Matt Ellison failed to score after his seven-goal haul on Saturday, but he had an assist on Ryan Gunderson’s opener. Oleg Goroshko and Charles Linglet completed the scoring, Jeff Glass made 26 saves.
KHL - All Star Game - Saturday, January 23, 2016
Team West v Team East 28-23
In the short history of the All-Star Game and its accompanying festivities, the Master Show skills competition has earned a reputation for supplying many of the event’s most surprising, exciting and memorable moments, and this year it turned out to be one of the most intriguing of all, despite comprising a mere five contests. First blood went to the traditional winners, Team West, when Jokerit forward Brandon Kozun won the Fastest Player contest by completing a lap in just 13.54 seconds. It is an impressive achievement, undoubtedly, but Brandon was not quite quick enough to match Wojtek Wolski’s record of 13.178 seconds, set last year in Sochi. Team West then surged into a 2-0 lead with victory in the next event, Hardest Shot, thanks to Medvescak’s Milan Jurcina. The Slovak defenseman was selected by the KHL management, and he fully justified their faith by belting a shot which was clocked at 160.49 km/h. Having won the competition, he earned the right to a bonus shot, and he surpassed his previous effort with a 163.12 km/h strike, although Alexander Ryazantsev’s record of 183.67 km/h (114.13mph), set in Riga back in 2012, remains intact.
The third contest, entitled Awesome Attack – Solid Defense, is a welcome chance for the goaltenders, often given such a torrid time during the All-Star Game, to display their skill and frustrate the forwards. A three-man attacking line from each team has three attempts to score, and there are no defensemen to aid the goalie. This year, Team East emerged victorious and the overall score now read 1-2.
Next came the Shootout contest, in which the masters of offense must not only score, but do so in style. Full marks for originality must go to Avangard’s Vladimir Sobotka for using a lacrosse racket, and there were entertaining impressions from Avtomobilist’s Anatoly Golyshev (Robin Hood) and Lokomotiv’s Daniil Apalkov (Leonardo Di Caprio), but first place had to go to Salavat Yulaev’s Linus Omark. Fans may remember the Swedish forward marking his arrival in Russia by posing with a burning hockey stick in a photo session for the KHL, and today, six-and-a-half years later, he astounded the assembled spectators by setting his stick ablaze for his shootout attempt. Omark’s exploits meant the Master Show score was now 2-2, setting up a tense winner-takes-all finale.
The fifth and decisive event, Fastest Skater Team Relay, is an exciting race with six players (one goalie, two defensemen, three forwards) per team, each skating one lap of the rink before passing the baton (a hockey stick, of course) to his team-mate. The contest is particularly fiendish for the D-men, as they must complete their circuit while skating backwards. The stars from the Eastern Conference reached the finish line first, thus completing a heroic fightback from 0-2 to 3-2 and earning their place in the history books – it is the first time the men from the Orient have won the Master Show since it adopted the East-versus-West format.
The latest KHL All-Star game brought a host of records – and a blazing stick in the hands of Linus Omark.
Salavat Yulaev’s Swedish forward took to the ice with his flaming weapon during the shoot-out in the skills show, taking the honors for the most spectacular attempt despite failing to beat CSKA goalie Ilya Sorokin.
“It was Vladimir Denisov from Traktor who had the idea,” Omark said. “He gave me the stick and it was really hot. I’ve never seen so many flames on a stick before. It was always going to be hard to score with it; the main thing was that I tried. That’s the most important thing today – to enjoy ourselves.”
Goalie Sorokin admitted that the sight of Salavat’s Viking bearing down on him with a blazing stick was a touch unnerving: “It was right in front of my face and I even caught a whiff of the smoke,” he said after the contest.
Omark’s firework display helped Team East claim a 3-2 victory in the skills show. The West took the honors in the fastest lap (Jokerit’s Brandon Kozun) and hardest shot (Medvescak’s Milan Jurcina). But the East hit back to win the next three events: shoot-out, awesome offense and team relay.
The 2016 All-Star Game set a new record for scoring – both collectively and individually. When Dinamo Minsk’s Matt Ellison scored on Amur’s Juha Metsola late in the second period to make the score 18-17 to the East, he took the aggregate tally past the previous best of 34 goals, as seen on two previous occasions. The final verdict brought up the half century: 28-23 to Team West and a final tally of 51 goals.
Ellison continued to write his name into the record books: his 50th-minute goal was his seventh of the night, beating Sergei Mozyakin’s previous record of six. The popular Canadian also claimed an assist, finishing with eight points and beating the seven points previously set by Mozyakin and Alexander Radulov.
Those two greats were also involved here and served up another possibly unique moment midway through the second period. As Magnitogorsk captain Mozyakin broke through on goal, Radulov sought to protect his CSKA colleague Sorokin by first hooking his opponent, then wrestling him to the ice. Ref Rafael Kadyrov awarded two penalty shots; Mozyakin converted one of them. “This isn’t an easy game to control,” Kadyrov told journalists. “I can’t tell you exactly what Radulov said afterwards – it was in English and it sounded like he was swearing.”
The stress clearly told on the officials. With two minutes to play, and the East trailing by five, the bench hit on a new strategy. Pull the goalie, pull the linesman, and send out eight skaters. It worked well enough to earn Mozyakin another penalty shot, but Radulov quickly donned the goalie’s kit to deny the KHL’s record scorer a seventh goal on the night. The forward celebrated that with even more relish than his solitary goal, a lovely backhand flick through his own legs that was later repeated by Stephane da Costa.
As well as the antics of established stars like Mozyakin, Radulov and Omark the big day also struck a blow for youth. Kirill Kaprizov, a bright attacking prospect from Metallurg Novokuznetsk, became the youngest ever scorer in a KHL All-Star game. He finished with two goals, adding further distinction to a season that also saw him collect a World Junior silver medal with Russia in Helsinki earlier this month.
The big event attracted 11,753 fans to the VTB Arena. In addition to the on-ice action there was also a youth masterclass directed by legendary captain of Russia and Ak Bars, Alexei Morozov. Legends Park, around the new Moscow rink, was transformed into a fanzone – giving a taste of the atmosphere organizers will be hoping to enjoy when Russia welcomes the IIHF World Championship in May.
KHL - Results - Thursday, January 21, 2016
Barys Astana v Avangard 2-7
A rampant performance from Avangard smashed the team through the 100 point barrier and ensured that it was the first from the East to confirm its play-off place this season. On arrival in Astana it didn’t Avangard long to settle in: Vladimir Sobotka opened the scoring after just 19 seconds and by the first intermission the scoreline was 4-0. Sobotka got his second of the night and Yury Alexandrov and Nikolai Lemtyugov were also on target. Lemtyugov made it 5-0 in the 22nd minute before Barys got on the scoreboard at last. Nigel Dawes and Roman Starchenko added a hint of respectability to the score but late goals from Alexandrov and Ivan Fishchenko completed the rout.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk v Ak Bars 1-0 SO
For the third time this season old foes Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Ak Bars could not be separated in 65 minutes. But for the first time in this campaign, neither team managed to find the net in regulation. Wojtek Wolski eventually settled it in Magnitka’s favor in the shoot-out, giving his team two wins from three meetings this season and extending its lead in the division to eight points. Both goalies made 32 saves: for Vasily Koshechkin it was his third shut-out of the season, while Stanislav Galimov chalked up his sixth, and his second since returning to Ak Bars from CSKA.
Salavat Yulaev v HC Sochi 0-3
Third-period goals from Andrei Kostitsyn, Ilya Krikunov and Renat Mamashev lifted HC Sochi to a 3-0 win in Ufa. Konstantin Barulin made 29 saves as Salavat Yulaev fired blanks for the second home game in a row.
Ugra v Lada 1-5
Two goals from Vasily Streltsov led the scoring as Lada won 5-1 at Ugra. Viktor Komarov, Yefim Gurkin’s first of the season and Anton Krysanov completed the scoring. Ugra replied with an unassisted goal from Ivan Yatsenko.
Vityaz v Severstal 3-2
Alexander Kucheryavenko struck 29 seconds into overtime to give Vityaz a 3-2 win over Severstal in the clash of the Western Conference strugglers.
Jokerit v Metallurg Nk 6-2
Shortly after Avangard emphatically clinched its play-off berth, Jokerit followed suit with a similarly decisive win over Metallurg. The teams were tied at 1-1 after the first period after Fyodor Polishchuk cancelled out Philip Larsen’s early power play goal, but two goals in the second saw Jere Sallinen and Brandon Kozun put Jokerit in control. Sallinen added a second in the 41st minute and Juhamatti Aaltonen pocketed a late brace of his own; Daniil Yerdakov was the other Kuznya scorer.
SKA v Admiral 3-4 SO
SKA suffered a shoot-out defeat after battling to a 3-3 tie with Admiral. The visitor led 2-0 after the first period on goals from Dmitry Sayustov and Alexander Gorshkov. In the middle session the teams traded goals through Maxim Chudinov and Artyom Podshendyalov before late strikes from Chudinov and Evgeny Dadonov spared SKA from regulation defeat. Jonathan Blum gave Admiral the post-game verdict, though.
Spartak v Amur 2-1
Goals from Konstantin Glazachev and Gleb Klimenko earned Spartak a 2-1 win over Amur. Nikolai Skladnichenko replied for the visitor.Dinamo Riga v Sibir 2-0
Two second-period goals from Vitalijs Pavlovs were enough for Dinamo Riga to beat Sibir 2-0. Jakub Sedlacek made 38 saves to backstop his team to victory.
A rampant performance from Avangard smashed the team through the 100 point barrier and ensured that it was the first from the East to confirm its play-off place this season. On arrival in Astana it didn’t Avangard long to settle in: Vladimir Sobotka opened the scoring after just 19 seconds and by the first intermission the scoreline was 4-0. Sobotka got his second of the night and Yury Alexandrov and Nikolai Lemtyugov were also on target. Lemtyugov made it 5-0 in the 22nd minute before Barys got on the scoreboard at last. Nigel Dawes and Roman Starchenko added a hint of respectability to the score but late goals from Alexandrov and Ivan Fishchenko completed the rout.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk v Ak Bars 1-0 SO
For the third time this season old foes Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Ak Bars could not be separated in 65 minutes. But for the first time in this campaign, neither team managed to find the net in regulation. Wojtek Wolski eventually settled it in Magnitka’s favor in the shoot-out, giving his team two wins from three meetings this season and extending its lead in the division to eight points. Both goalies made 32 saves: for Vasily Koshechkin it was his third shut-out of the season, while Stanislav Galimov chalked up his sixth, and his second since returning to Ak Bars from CSKA.
Salavat Yulaev v HC Sochi 0-3
Third-period goals from Andrei Kostitsyn, Ilya Krikunov and Renat Mamashev lifted HC Sochi to a 3-0 win in Ufa. Konstantin Barulin made 29 saves as Salavat Yulaev fired blanks for the second home game in a row.
Ugra v Lada 1-5
Two goals from Vasily Streltsov led the scoring as Lada won 5-1 at Ugra. Viktor Komarov, Yefim Gurkin’s first of the season and Anton Krysanov completed the scoring. Ugra replied with an unassisted goal from Ivan Yatsenko.
Vityaz v Severstal 3-2
Alexander Kucheryavenko struck 29 seconds into overtime to give Vityaz a 3-2 win over Severstal in the clash of the Western Conference strugglers.
Jokerit v Metallurg Nk 6-2
Shortly after Avangard emphatically clinched its play-off berth, Jokerit followed suit with a similarly decisive win over Metallurg. The teams were tied at 1-1 after the first period after Fyodor Polishchuk cancelled out Philip Larsen’s early power play goal, but two goals in the second saw Jere Sallinen and Brandon Kozun put Jokerit in control. Sallinen added a second in the 41st minute and Juhamatti Aaltonen pocketed a late brace of his own; Daniil Yerdakov was the other Kuznya scorer.
SKA v Admiral 3-4 SO
SKA suffered a shoot-out defeat after battling to a 3-3 tie with Admiral. The visitor led 2-0 after the first period on goals from Dmitry Sayustov and Alexander Gorshkov. In the middle session the teams traded goals through Maxim Chudinov and Artyom Podshendyalov before late strikes from Chudinov and Evgeny Dadonov spared SKA from regulation defeat. Jonathan Blum gave Admiral the post-game verdict, though.
Spartak v Amur 2-1
Goals from Konstantin Glazachev and Gleb Klimenko earned Spartak a 2-1 win over Amur. Nikolai Skladnichenko replied for the visitor.Dinamo Riga v Sibir 2-0
Two second-period goals from Vitalijs Pavlovs were enough for Dinamo Riga to beat Sibir 2-0. Jakub Sedlacek made 38 saves to backstop his team to victory.
KHL - Results - Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Avtomobilist v Neftekhimik 1-0
Igor Ustinsky pulled off one of the finest goaltending performances of the season to earn Avtomobilist a 1-0 win at home to Neftekhimik. Ustinsky, who usually plays second fiddle to Jakub Kovar in Yeterinburg, made an incredible 41 saves. That was enough to preserve the lead Alexander Torchenyuk gave Avto in the 18th minute and leave Neftekhimik’s forwards scratching their heads after a one-sided third period which saw the visitor outshoot its opponent 17-1.
Dynamo Moscow v CSKA 2-3 SO
CSKA forward Stephane da Costa scored one of the goals of the season to help his team to a derby win at Dynamo. The Frenchman produced a sublime piece of skill to open the scoring in the third minute. Unconcerned by the imminent end of a power play, he collected the puck on the blue line, spun his way past one defenseman, left a second sprawling in his wake and tucked a wrist shot upstairs to leave Dynamo undone. The Army Men went on to dominant the opening stanza, leading the shot count 10-3 but failing to find another past Alexander Yeryomenko. And that came back to haunt the league leader: Denis Barantsev’s shot from the blue line tied it up in the middle session before Alexei Tereshchenko made it 2-1 midway through the third. That wasn’t the end of the drama, though. With just 39 seconds left Ivan Telegin snatched an equalizer for CSKA and Dmitry Kugryshev went on to settle the shoot-out in the Army Men’s favor, reversing the result from the teams’ previous meeting here in December.
Slovan v Medvescak 3-2
The race for eighth place in the Western Conference sees Slovan and Medvescak battling it out for the final play-off spot. Going into the game just two points kept Slovan above the dotted line while back in tenth place Dinamo Minsk had six points to make up on Medvescak, but with two games in hand. Tight on the table, and tight on the ice. Little separated the league’s westernmost teams. The first period was tied: Tomas Kundratek put Slovan in front but Gilbert Brule levelled for Medvescak. The middle stanza was goalless, with Danny Taylor having a busy time in the away goal. Early in the third Radek Smolenak gave Medvescak the lead, only for Rok Ticar to make it 2-2 with eight minutes left.
With overtime looming, Slovan grabbed the winner. Vaclav Nedorost struck with 58 seconds remaining to claim three vital points and give the Slovaks a five-point cushion.Torpedo v Lokomotiv 1-2 SO
It took a shoot-out to separate these Volga rivals as well, with Lokomotiv remaining one point behind CSKA thanks to its win here. Going into the game Loko goalie Alexei Murygin knew he could equal the Russian all-time record for shut-outs in a single season. He currently has 13; the all-time best was Mike Fountain’s 14 for Lada in Russian Super League action back in 2000-01. However, his hopes of claiming a share of that mark were ended in the 16th minute here when Dmitry Semin scored on the power play to give Torpedo the lead. That advantaged lasted right through a quiet middle stanza before Yegor Gorshkov tied it up midway through the third. Overtime offered just two shots on goal, one at each end, and the game was finally settled by Andrei Loktionov in the shoot-out.
Igor Ustinsky pulled off one of the finest goaltending performances of the season to earn Avtomobilist a 1-0 win at home to Neftekhimik. Ustinsky, who usually plays second fiddle to Jakub Kovar in Yeterinburg, made an incredible 41 saves. That was enough to preserve the lead Alexander Torchenyuk gave Avto in the 18th minute and leave Neftekhimik’s forwards scratching their heads after a one-sided third period which saw the visitor outshoot its opponent 17-1.
Dynamo Moscow v CSKA 2-3 SO
CSKA forward Stephane da Costa scored one of the goals of the season to help his team to a derby win at Dynamo. The Frenchman produced a sublime piece of skill to open the scoring in the third minute. Unconcerned by the imminent end of a power play, he collected the puck on the blue line, spun his way past one defenseman, left a second sprawling in his wake and tucked a wrist shot upstairs to leave Dynamo undone. The Army Men went on to dominant the opening stanza, leading the shot count 10-3 but failing to find another past Alexander Yeryomenko. And that came back to haunt the league leader: Denis Barantsev’s shot from the blue line tied it up in the middle session before Alexei Tereshchenko made it 2-1 midway through the third. That wasn’t the end of the drama, though. With just 39 seconds left Ivan Telegin snatched an equalizer for CSKA and Dmitry Kugryshev went on to settle the shoot-out in the Army Men’s favor, reversing the result from the teams’ previous meeting here in December.
Slovan v Medvescak 3-2
The race for eighth place in the Western Conference sees Slovan and Medvescak battling it out for the final play-off spot. Going into the game just two points kept Slovan above the dotted line while back in tenth place Dinamo Minsk had six points to make up on Medvescak, but with two games in hand. Tight on the table, and tight on the ice. Little separated the league’s westernmost teams. The first period was tied: Tomas Kundratek put Slovan in front but Gilbert Brule levelled for Medvescak. The middle stanza was goalless, with Danny Taylor having a busy time in the away goal. Early in the third Radek Smolenak gave Medvescak the lead, only for Rok Ticar to make it 2-2 with eight minutes left.
With overtime looming, Slovan grabbed the winner. Vaclav Nedorost struck with 58 seconds remaining to claim three vital points and give the Slovaks a five-point cushion.Torpedo v Lokomotiv 1-2 SO
It took a shoot-out to separate these Volga rivals as well, with Lokomotiv remaining one point behind CSKA thanks to its win here. Going into the game Loko goalie Alexei Murygin knew he could equal the Russian all-time record for shut-outs in a single season. He currently has 13; the all-time best was Mike Fountain’s 14 for Lada in Russian Super League action back in 2000-01. However, his hopes of claiming a share of that mark were ended in the 16th minute here when Dmitry Semin scored on the power play to give Torpedo the lead. That advantaged lasted right through a quiet middle stanza before Yegor Gorshkov tied it up midway through the third. Overtime offered just two shots on goal, one at each end, and the game was finally settled by Andrei Loktionov in the shoot-out.
KHL - Results - Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Barys Astana v Dinamo Minsk 4-2
Barys enjoyed a 4-2 win at home to Dinamo Minsk. Kevin Dallman, Maxim Khudyakov, Dustin Boyd and Brandon Bochenski got the goals; Nigel Dawes and Mike Lundin both had two assists. Paul Szczechura and Ryan Vesce scored for Dinamo.
Salavat Yulaev v Traktor 0-1
Vasily Demchenko made 31 saves as Traktor edged a 1-0 win at Salavat Yulaev. Alexei Kruchinin got the only goal in the 51st minute. That was the youngster’s second in successive games.
Ak Bars v Lada 5-3
Justin Azevedo hit a hat-trick as Ak Bars beat Lada 5-3. Azevedo got the first, third and fifth goals for his team a Fyodor Malykhin and Mikhail Varnakov helped him open up a 4-0 lead by the 35th minute. Lada rallied with goals either side of the second intermission from Viktor Komarov and Vasily Streltsov before Azevedo snuffed out the recovery. Alexander Bumagin got a late consolation goal on the power play.
Vityaz v HC Sochi 4-3
Vityaz tasted victory for the first time since December 24 when it’s 4-3 win over HC Sochi snapped an eight-game losing streak. Mario Kempe’s goal in the 57th minute separated the teams, but only after Sochi had clawed back a 1-3 deficit with goals from Ilya Krikunov and Mikhail Anisin.
Jokerit v Admiral 3-2
Jokerit made it three wins from three against Admiral as the Vladivostok team suffered its third loss in a row. The home team got rolling midway through the first period with a power play goal from Juhamatti Aaltonen and doubled the lead when Tomi Maki scored only his second goal in two KHL seasons. A defensive error from Atte Ohtamaa gave Maxim Mamin the chance to halve the deficit but Jere Sallinen quickly reinstated the two-goal cushion. Jokerit pushed for more goals but was left with an anxious finish after Mamin scored his second of the night for Admiral.
SKA v Metallurg Nk 4-0
Ilya Kovalchuk, Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeny Dadonov were the architects of a powerful offense as SKA overwhelmed Metallurg Novokuznetsk. The 4-0 scoreline barely did justice to the opportunities the home team created, and only the excellence of Metallurg goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky prevented an even more lopsided result. Podyapolsky made 39 saves on a busy night; his opposite number Mikko Koskinen faced just 20 shots for his shut-out. But the game was decided by the brilliance of SKA’s top line. The first period brought the trio one goal apiece, as well as two assists each for Shipachyov and Dadonov. Kovi scored his second of the night in the middle session, with a third assist from Shipachyov, before the final stanza was goalless.Spartak v Sibir 3-4 SO
Sibir ended a three-game losing streak, but had to work hard to see off Spartak.
Arriving in Moscow on the back of losses to Magnitka and Jokerit, the Siberians were 2-0 down early in the third period as Igor Radulov scored a short-handed goal and Pavel Valentenko converted a power play to put Spartak in charge.
But penalty trouble for the home team allowed Sibir to respond with quick goals from Stepan Sannikov and Maxim Shalunov. The middle session was goalless, but there was more drama to come in the third. Vyacheslav Butuzov’s 57th-minute marker looked to have won it for Sibir, only for Casey Wellman to tie the scores with just seven seconds left. That didn’t save Spartak, though: Shalunov settled the shoot-out in the visitor’s favor.Dinamo Riga v Amur
Evgeny Grachyov’s 54th-minute goal made the difference in Amur’s 2-1 win at Dinamo Riga. Earlier Kaspars Saulietis gave Dinamo a first-period lead but Alexei Byvaltsev tied it up in the second.
Barys enjoyed a 4-2 win at home to Dinamo Minsk. Kevin Dallman, Maxim Khudyakov, Dustin Boyd and Brandon Bochenski got the goals; Nigel Dawes and Mike Lundin both had two assists. Paul Szczechura and Ryan Vesce scored for Dinamo.
Salavat Yulaev v Traktor 0-1
Vasily Demchenko made 31 saves as Traktor edged a 1-0 win at Salavat Yulaev. Alexei Kruchinin got the only goal in the 51st minute. That was the youngster’s second in successive games.
Ak Bars v Lada 5-3
Justin Azevedo hit a hat-trick as Ak Bars beat Lada 5-3. Azevedo got the first, third and fifth goals for his team a Fyodor Malykhin and Mikhail Varnakov helped him open up a 4-0 lead by the 35th minute. Lada rallied with goals either side of the second intermission from Viktor Komarov and Vasily Streltsov before Azevedo snuffed out the recovery. Alexander Bumagin got a late consolation goal on the power play.
Vityaz v HC Sochi 4-3
Vityaz tasted victory for the first time since December 24 when it’s 4-3 win over HC Sochi snapped an eight-game losing streak. Mario Kempe’s goal in the 57th minute separated the teams, but only after Sochi had clawed back a 1-3 deficit with goals from Ilya Krikunov and Mikhail Anisin.
Jokerit v Admiral 3-2
Jokerit made it three wins from three against Admiral as the Vladivostok team suffered its third loss in a row. The home team got rolling midway through the first period with a power play goal from Juhamatti Aaltonen and doubled the lead when Tomi Maki scored only his second goal in two KHL seasons. A defensive error from Atte Ohtamaa gave Maxim Mamin the chance to halve the deficit but Jere Sallinen quickly reinstated the two-goal cushion. Jokerit pushed for more goals but was left with an anxious finish after Mamin scored his second of the night for Admiral.
SKA v Metallurg Nk 4-0
Ilya Kovalchuk, Vadim Shipachyov and Evgeny Dadonov were the architects of a powerful offense as SKA overwhelmed Metallurg Novokuznetsk. The 4-0 scoreline barely did justice to the opportunities the home team created, and only the excellence of Metallurg goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky prevented an even more lopsided result. Podyapolsky made 39 saves on a busy night; his opposite number Mikko Koskinen faced just 20 shots for his shut-out. But the game was decided by the brilliance of SKA’s top line. The first period brought the trio one goal apiece, as well as two assists each for Shipachyov and Dadonov. Kovi scored his second of the night in the middle session, with a third assist from Shipachyov, before the final stanza was goalless.Spartak v Sibir 3-4 SO
Sibir ended a three-game losing streak, but had to work hard to see off Spartak.
Arriving in Moscow on the back of losses to Magnitka and Jokerit, the Siberians were 2-0 down early in the third period as Igor Radulov scored a short-handed goal and Pavel Valentenko converted a power play to put Spartak in charge.
But penalty trouble for the home team allowed Sibir to respond with quick goals from Stepan Sannikov and Maxim Shalunov. The middle session was goalless, but there was more drama to come in the third. Vyacheslav Butuzov’s 57th-minute marker looked to have won it for Sibir, only for Casey Wellman to tie the scores with just seven seconds left. That didn’t save Spartak, though: Shalunov settled the shoot-out in the visitor’s favor.Dinamo Riga v Amur
Evgeny Grachyov’s 54th-minute goal made the difference in Amur’s 2-1 win at Dinamo Riga. Earlier Kaspars Saulietis gave Dinamo a first-period lead but Alexei Byvaltsev tied it up in the second.
KHL - Results - Monday, January 18, 2016
Avtomobilist v Metallurg Magnitogorsk 6-3
Anatoly Golyshev was the star as Avtomobilist picked up a valuable win over Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The visitor, still missing captain Sergei Mozyakin through injury, scored first through Viktor Antipin in the eighth minute, but Golyshev set up the equalizer for Petr Koukal right at the start of the second period. Eero Elo put the home side in front, but goals from Tomas Filippi and another for Antipin gave Magnitka the lead once again before Golyshev and Koukal combined to tie it up going into the third. Two quickfire goals from Golyshev early in the final stanza proved decisive: Metallurg could find no response and Artyom Gareyev wrapped it up late on. Golyshev moves on to 24 goals for the season; Avto are back in the play-off spots.
Severstal v Lokomotiv 0-1
Yet another shut-out for Alexei Murygin, his 13th of the season, helped Lokomotiv to a 1-0 victory at Severstal. Murygin made 18 saves while his opposite number Roman Smiryagin was rather busier against the second-placed team. But it took a power play goal in the 53rd minute to give Loko the points. Daniil Apalkov broke the deadlock and kept the Railwaymen one point behind CSKA at the top of the table.
Slovan v Dynamo Moscow 3-4
A dramatic third-period revival, spearheaded by Dynamo’s crop of young players, saw the Blue-and-Whites turn a 0-2 deficit into victory in Slovakia.
Artyom Fyodorov, 22, had two assists as Alexei Tsvetkov and Alexander Osipov scored on either side of the second intermission to tie the scores after Ziga Jeglic and Lukas Kaspar gave Slovan the lead in the first period. Then Ilya Shipov scored for the second game in a row to put Dynamo in front before 20-year-old Ivan Igumnov got the game-winner, scoring for the second time in his debut season at this level. Slovan got one back through Michal Sersen but could not force overtime.
Anatoly Golyshev was the star as Avtomobilist picked up a valuable win over Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The visitor, still missing captain Sergei Mozyakin through injury, scored first through Viktor Antipin in the eighth minute, but Golyshev set up the equalizer for Petr Koukal right at the start of the second period. Eero Elo put the home side in front, but goals from Tomas Filippi and another for Antipin gave Magnitka the lead once again before Golyshev and Koukal combined to tie it up going into the third. Two quickfire goals from Golyshev early in the final stanza proved decisive: Metallurg could find no response and Artyom Gareyev wrapped it up late on. Golyshev moves on to 24 goals for the season; Avto are back in the play-off spots.
Severstal v Lokomotiv 0-1
Yet another shut-out for Alexei Murygin, his 13th of the season, helped Lokomotiv to a 1-0 victory at Severstal. Murygin made 18 saves while his opposite number Roman Smiryagin was rather busier against the second-placed team. But it took a power play goal in the 53rd minute to give Loko the points. Daniil Apalkov broke the deadlock and kept the Railwaymen one point behind CSKA at the top of the table.
Slovan v Dynamo Moscow 3-4
A dramatic third-period revival, spearheaded by Dynamo’s crop of young players, saw the Blue-and-Whites turn a 0-2 deficit into victory in Slovakia.
Artyom Fyodorov, 22, had two assists as Alexei Tsvetkov and Alexander Osipov scored on either side of the second intermission to tie the scores after Ziga Jeglic and Lukas Kaspar gave Slovan the lead in the first period. Then Ilya Shipov scored for the second game in a row to put Dynamo in front before 20-year-old Ivan Igumnov got the game-winner, scoring for the second time in his debut season at this level. Slovan got one back through Michal Sersen but could not force overtime.
KHL - Results - Sunday, January 17, 2016
Avangard v Dinamo Minsk 8-1
Four goals in five minutes set Avangard on the way to a crushing victory over Dinamo Minsk. Vladimir Sobotka opened the floodgates on 12:05; Ivan Fishchenko, Michal Kempny and Nikolai Lemtyugov cashed in to make it 4-0 by 16:56. Starting goalie Kevin Lalande was pulled midway through that onslaught, but his replacement Jeff Glass also proved to be fragile in the face of some scintillating attacking play from the host. Sobotka and Lemtyugov were on target again in the middle session before Dinamo finally found the net at the start of the third through Konstantin Koltsov. That didn’t have a big impact on the final outcome though as Alexei Glukhov got his first of the season, in his 31st appearance, and Ilya Mikheyev completed the rout.
Barys Astana v Torpedo 5-2
Dustin Boyd’s double led Barys to victory over Torpedo, but the Kazakh team ended up having to win the game twice. It looked easy enough at first: power play goals from Boyd and Mike Lundin, plus an equal-strength effort from Konstantin Romanov, made it 3-0 after 26 minutes. But Torpedo hit back through Artyom Alyayev and Maxim Osipov to keep the outcome in doubt going into the final stanza. Konstantin Pushkaryov scored early in the third to ease Barys’ nerves and as Torpedo gambled on an empty net, Boyd took advantage on 57:47.
Ugra v CSKA Moscow 0-5
The game officials were kept busy here as the teams clocked up 163 PIMs against the backdrop of CSKA’s emphatic win. The sin-bin was open for business after just 13 seconds and did a roaring trade all night with three players, Ugra’s Vitaly Sitnikov and Evgeny Lapenkov, plus CSKA’s Gennady Stolyarov, picking up match expulsions in separate third-period incidents. But penalties were the only area where Ugra could compete with the visitor. Alexander Radulov’s 20th of the season gave the Army Men a first-period lead before Stolyarov’s short-handed marker doubled the advantage in the second. Jan Mursak added two more in the third, both assisted by Radulov, before Stephane da Costa wrapped it up late on. Radulov finished 1+4; Viktor Fasth had 22 saves for his shut-out.
Neftekhimik v Traktor 1-2
The day’s lowest scoring game was in Nizhnekamsk where Traktor defeated host Neftekhimik 2-1. Yegor Milovzorov put the home team ahead but Alexei Kruchinin and Andrei Popov won it for Traktor.
Jokerit v Amur 3-2 SO
Amur snatched a dramatic equalizer with just three seconds to play at Jokerit, but ended up losing in a shoot-out to Brandon Kozun’s decider for the Finns. Dmitry Tarasov tied the game at 2-2 with a last-gasp goal, cancelling out Ville Lajunen’s third-period strike. Earlier Pekka Jurmakka and Vladimir Pervushin traded goals either side of the first intermission.
SKA v Sibir 6-2
SKA was another big scorer in this high-profile clash with Sibir, but unlike its goal-getting colleagues the Petersburg team faced some competition before powering to a big win. The first period saw the teams deadlocked at 2-2: Evgeny Dadonov and Jarno Koskiranta put SKA in control early on, but Maxim Shalunov and Oleg Gubin tied it up before the first intermission. The second period proved decisive: two goals from Nikita Gusev sandwiched a marker by Andrei Kuteikin to take the score to 5-2. Vadim Shipachyov had four assists and Ilya Kovalchuk three. Yegor Yakovlev added a sixth in the final session as Sibir suffered a third loss on the spin.
Spartak v Metallurg Nk 2-3
Metallurg Novokuznetsk recovered a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 at Spartak. Alexander Mereskin and Artyom Voronin gave the Red-and-Whites the edge in the first period but Kirill Kaprizov and Mikhail Plotnikov tied it up in the second. Former Spartak man Alexander Komaristy got Kuznya’s winner in the third.
Dinamo Riga v Admiral 4-2
Two goals each for Lauris Darzins and Filipp Toluzakov gave Dinamo Riga a 4-2 win over Admiral. Jonathan Blum and Mikhail Fisenko found the net as the visitor tied the game twice, but two goals in the last eight minutes took the game away from Admiral.
Four goals in five minutes set Avangard on the way to a crushing victory over Dinamo Minsk. Vladimir Sobotka opened the floodgates on 12:05; Ivan Fishchenko, Michal Kempny and Nikolai Lemtyugov cashed in to make it 4-0 by 16:56. Starting goalie Kevin Lalande was pulled midway through that onslaught, but his replacement Jeff Glass also proved to be fragile in the face of some scintillating attacking play from the host. Sobotka and Lemtyugov were on target again in the middle session before Dinamo finally found the net at the start of the third through Konstantin Koltsov. That didn’t have a big impact on the final outcome though as Alexei Glukhov got his first of the season, in his 31st appearance, and Ilya Mikheyev completed the rout.
Barys Astana v Torpedo 5-2
Dustin Boyd’s double led Barys to victory over Torpedo, but the Kazakh team ended up having to win the game twice. It looked easy enough at first: power play goals from Boyd and Mike Lundin, plus an equal-strength effort from Konstantin Romanov, made it 3-0 after 26 minutes. But Torpedo hit back through Artyom Alyayev and Maxim Osipov to keep the outcome in doubt going into the final stanza. Konstantin Pushkaryov scored early in the third to ease Barys’ nerves and as Torpedo gambled on an empty net, Boyd took advantage on 57:47.
Ugra v CSKA Moscow 0-5
The game officials were kept busy here as the teams clocked up 163 PIMs against the backdrop of CSKA’s emphatic win. The sin-bin was open for business after just 13 seconds and did a roaring trade all night with three players, Ugra’s Vitaly Sitnikov and Evgeny Lapenkov, plus CSKA’s Gennady Stolyarov, picking up match expulsions in separate third-period incidents. But penalties were the only area where Ugra could compete with the visitor. Alexander Radulov’s 20th of the season gave the Army Men a first-period lead before Stolyarov’s short-handed marker doubled the advantage in the second. Jan Mursak added two more in the third, both assisted by Radulov, before Stephane da Costa wrapped it up late on. Radulov finished 1+4; Viktor Fasth had 22 saves for his shut-out.
Neftekhimik v Traktor 1-2
The day’s lowest scoring game was in Nizhnekamsk where Traktor defeated host Neftekhimik 2-1. Yegor Milovzorov put the home team ahead but Alexei Kruchinin and Andrei Popov won it for Traktor.
Jokerit v Amur 3-2 SO
Amur snatched a dramatic equalizer with just three seconds to play at Jokerit, but ended up losing in a shoot-out to Brandon Kozun’s decider for the Finns. Dmitry Tarasov tied the game at 2-2 with a last-gasp goal, cancelling out Ville Lajunen’s third-period strike. Earlier Pekka Jurmakka and Vladimir Pervushin traded goals either side of the first intermission.
SKA v Sibir 6-2
SKA was another big scorer in this high-profile clash with Sibir, but unlike its goal-getting colleagues the Petersburg team faced some competition before powering to a big win. The first period saw the teams deadlocked at 2-2: Evgeny Dadonov and Jarno Koskiranta put SKA in control early on, but Maxim Shalunov and Oleg Gubin tied it up before the first intermission. The second period proved decisive: two goals from Nikita Gusev sandwiched a marker by Andrei Kuteikin to take the score to 5-2. Vadim Shipachyov had four assists and Ilya Kovalchuk three. Yegor Yakovlev added a sixth in the final session as Sibir suffered a third loss on the spin.
Spartak v Metallurg Nk 2-3
Metallurg Novokuznetsk recovered a two-goal deficit to win 3-2 at Spartak. Alexander Mereskin and Artyom Voronin gave the Red-and-Whites the edge in the first period but Kirill Kaprizov and Mikhail Plotnikov tied it up in the second. Former Spartak man Alexander Komaristy got Kuznya’s winner in the third.
Dinamo Riga v Admiral 4-2
Two goals each for Lauris Darzins and Filipp Toluzakov gave Dinamo Riga a 4-2 win over Admiral. Jonathan Blum and Mikhail Fisenko found the net as the visitor tied the game twice, but two goals in the last eight minutes took the game away from Admiral.
KHL - Results - Saturday, January 16, 2016
Slovan v Vityaz 4-2
There’s just one point separating Slovan and Medvescak in the race for the play-offs, and both teams picked up wins. Slovan stayed in the play-off places thanks to a 4-2 win over Vityaz. Goals from Michal Miklik, Cam Barker, Ziga Jeglic and Lukas Kaspar set the Slovaks on the road to victory. Dmitry Kostromitin and Alexander Kucheryavenko got the replies for Vityaz.
HC Sochi v Lokomotiv 2-5
Lokomotiv remains hard on the heels of CSKA following a 5-2 victory away to Sochi. The Railwaymen made a bright start with Andrei Loktionov and Denis Mosalyov scoring in the first 10 minutes before Ben Maxwell got one back for the home team. There were no goals in the second period and at the start of the third the teams traded goals through Pavel Koledov and Andrei Kostitsyn. However, Loko wrapped up the win in the last 10 minutes thanks to markers from Daniil Apalkov and Andrei Sigaryov’s first of the season. The win leaves Loko one point behind CSKA on 106 points.
Medvescak v Dynamo Moscow 2-1
Medvescak boosted its own play-off hopes with a narrow win at home to Dynamo Moscow, remaining one point behind Slovan. The first period was goalless but Dynamo finally broke the deadlock when Ilya Shipov got his first ever KHL goal in the 38th minute. Tuukka Mantyla tied it up in the 40th on a power play and the Croats won it on another power play effort from Gilbert Brule in the 58th.
There’s just one point separating Slovan and Medvescak in the race for the play-offs, and both teams picked up wins. Slovan stayed in the play-off places thanks to a 4-2 win over Vityaz. Goals from Michal Miklik, Cam Barker, Ziga Jeglic and Lukas Kaspar set the Slovaks on the road to victory. Dmitry Kostromitin and Alexander Kucheryavenko got the replies for Vityaz.
HC Sochi v Lokomotiv 2-5
Lokomotiv remains hard on the heels of CSKA following a 5-2 victory away to Sochi. The Railwaymen made a bright start with Andrei Loktionov and Denis Mosalyov scoring in the first 10 minutes before Ben Maxwell got one back for the home team. There were no goals in the second period and at the start of the third the teams traded goals through Pavel Koledov and Andrei Kostitsyn. However, Loko wrapped up the win in the last 10 minutes thanks to markers from Daniil Apalkov and Andrei Sigaryov’s first of the season. The win leaves Loko one point behind CSKA on 106 points.
Medvescak v Dynamo Moscow 2-1
Medvescak boosted its own play-off hopes with a narrow win at home to Dynamo Moscow, remaining one point behind Slovan. The first period was goalless but Dynamo finally broke the deadlock when Ilya Shipov got his first ever KHL goal in the 38th minute. Tuukka Mantyla tied it up in the 40th on a power play and the Croats won it on another power play effort from Gilbert Brule in the 58th.
KHL - Results - Friday, January 15, 2016
Metallurg Magnitogorsk v Torpedo 2-1 SO
Magnitka also won but needed a shoot-out to overcome Torpedo. Alexei Bereglazov cancelled out Sergei Kostitsyn’s opener before Chris Lee won the shoot-out.
Salavat Yulaev v Dinamo Minsk 4-3
The race for the top four in the Eastern Conference is heating up with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Salavat Yulaev, Sibir and Admiral all jockeying for position behind Avangard. Just two points separates the quartet after a day of mixed fortunes. Salavat was the big winner, getting a regulation 4-3 verdict over Dinamo Minsk thanks to Teemu Hartikainen’s goal in the 56th minute.
Traktor v Severstal 2-1
First-period goals from Danil Gubarev and Andrei Popov set Traktor on the way to a 2-1 win at home to Severstal. Nikolai Kazakovtsev pulled one back for the host in the second stanza. Lada v Avtomobilist 0-2
Avtomobilist made it two wins in a row with a 2-0 success at Lada. The club’s top scorer, Anatoly Golyshev, opened the scoring with his 22nd of the season before Kirill Knyazev made it 2-0 in the last minute. Igor Ustinsky made 13 saves.
Neftekhimik v CSKA 0-2
It didn’t take long for CSKA Moscow to seize control of its game at Neftekhimik. Two goals in the first four minutes saw Geoff Platt and Kirill Petrov chase the home team’s starting goalie Alexander Sunitsin from the net. But Neftekhimik has play-off aspirations of its own and refused to crumble under the Army Men’s onslaught. The anticipated rout never materialized as both goalies produced strong performance to keep the scoresheet blank for the remaining 56 minutes.
Ak Bars v Ugra 4-1
Ak Bars ended a three-game losing streak in emphatic style with a 4-1 victory over Ugra. Oscar Moller, Igor Mirnov, Yakov Rylov and and Denis Golubev got the home goals; Yakov Seleznyov managed a late consolation for Ugra.
Jokerit v Sibir 2-1
The day’s big West vs East battle went the way of Jokerit after a hard-fought win over Sibir. The first period was often a scrappy affair with neither side carving out many shooting opportunities until Peter Regin opened the scoring 10 seconds before the hooter. In the middle session the play was similar, with chances once again at a premium and a solitary Jokerit goal going to Pekka Jurmakka. Sibir began to put more pressure on Jokerit’s net in the third, but only had a solitary strike from Andrej Meszaros to show for its efforts.
SKA v Amur 1-2 OT
SKA’s suffered a surprise defeat at home to Amur, losing out to a penalty shot in overtime that Vladislav Ushenin converted. The decisive incident came on 62:25 when Maxim Chudinov was penalized for holding Ushenin’s stick as he advanced on goal in a lightning break. Ushenin went on to convert the penalty shot and give Amur the win. Earlier Tomas Zohorna gave Amur the lead midway through the second period only for Dmitry Kalinin to tie it up in the 52nd minute.
Spartak v Admiral 5-4 SO
Admiral suffered a shoot-out loss after a 4-4 tie at Spartak: third-period goals from Mikhail Fisenko and Viktor Alexandrov clawed the Sailors into overtime but Gleb Klimenko got the decider.
Dinamo Riga v Metallurg Nk 3-2 OT
A hat-trick from Tim Sestito helped Dinamo Riga to an overtime win over Metallurg Novokuznetsk. The American forward struck twice in the third period to wipe out Kuznya’s advantage, tying the scores with 36 seconds left to play, before Andris Dzerins won it in the extras. Ilya Musin, Robert Kousal and Kirill Shchukin found the net for Metallurg in the first period.
Magnitka also won but needed a shoot-out to overcome Torpedo. Alexei Bereglazov cancelled out Sergei Kostitsyn’s opener before Chris Lee won the shoot-out.
Salavat Yulaev v Dinamo Minsk 4-3
The race for the top four in the Eastern Conference is heating up with Metallurg Magnitogorsk, Salavat Yulaev, Sibir and Admiral all jockeying for position behind Avangard. Just two points separates the quartet after a day of mixed fortunes. Salavat was the big winner, getting a regulation 4-3 verdict over Dinamo Minsk thanks to Teemu Hartikainen’s goal in the 56th minute.
Traktor v Severstal 2-1
First-period goals from Danil Gubarev and Andrei Popov set Traktor on the way to a 2-1 win at home to Severstal. Nikolai Kazakovtsev pulled one back for the host in the second stanza. Lada v Avtomobilist 0-2
Avtomobilist made it two wins in a row with a 2-0 success at Lada. The club’s top scorer, Anatoly Golyshev, opened the scoring with his 22nd of the season before Kirill Knyazev made it 2-0 in the last minute. Igor Ustinsky made 13 saves.
Neftekhimik v CSKA 0-2
It didn’t take long for CSKA Moscow to seize control of its game at Neftekhimik. Two goals in the first four minutes saw Geoff Platt and Kirill Petrov chase the home team’s starting goalie Alexander Sunitsin from the net. But Neftekhimik has play-off aspirations of its own and refused to crumble under the Army Men’s onslaught. The anticipated rout never materialized as both goalies produced strong performance to keep the scoresheet blank for the remaining 56 minutes.
That left Ilya Sorokin with 24 saves and a shut-out. Neftekhimik’s defensive resilience came too late, though; CSKA strengthens its position atop the KHL table.
Ak Bars v Ugra 4-1
Ak Bars ended a three-game losing streak in emphatic style with a 4-1 victory over Ugra. Oscar Moller, Igor Mirnov, Yakov Rylov and and Denis Golubev got the home goals; Yakov Seleznyov managed a late consolation for Ugra.
Jokerit v Sibir 2-1
The day’s big West vs East battle went the way of Jokerit after a hard-fought win over Sibir. The first period was often a scrappy affair with neither side carving out many shooting opportunities until Peter Regin opened the scoring 10 seconds before the hooter. In the middle session the play was similar, with chances once again at a premium and a solitary Jokerit goal going to Pekka Jurmakka. Sibir began to put more pressure on Jokerit’s net in the third, but only had a solitary strike from Andrej Meszaros to show for its efforts.
SKA v Amur 1-2 OT
SKA’s suffered a surprise defeat at home to Amur, losing out to a penalty shot in overtime that Vladislav Ushenin converted. The decisive incident came on 62:25 when Maxim Chudinov was penalized for holding Ushenin’s stick as he advanced on goal in a lightning break. Ushenin went on to convert the penalty shot and give Amur the win. Earlier Tomas Zohorna gave Amur the lead midway through the second period only for Dmitry Kalinin to tie it up in the 52nd minute.
Spartak v Admiral 5-4 SO
Admiral suffered a shoot-out loss after a 4-4 tie at Spartak: third-period goals from Mikhail Fisenko and Viktor Alexandrov clawed the Sailors into overtime but Gleb Klimenko got the decider.
Dinamo Riga v Metallurg Nk 3-2 OT
A hat-trick from Tim Sestito helped Dinamo Riga to an overtime win over Metallurg Novokuznetsk. The American forward struck twice in the third period to wipe out Kuznya’s advantage, tying the scores with 36 seconds left to play, before Andris Dzerins won it in the extras. Ilya Musin, Robert Kousal and Kirill Shchukin found the net for Metallurg in the first period.
NHL - Central - Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Nashville Predators @ Calgary Flames 2-1
The Predators will take their first four-game winning streak of the season into the All-Star break. Shea Weber scored the game-winner, and Carter Hutton made 26 saves to help Nashville to a 2-1 victory against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. The Predators were 2-5-1 to begin January. Mike Ribeiro scored for Nashville, which will host the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday after sweeping its four-game Canadian road trip. Weber, Roman Josi and Pekka Rinne will represent the Predators on the Central Division All-Star Team. Mark Giordano scored for the Flames, who lost the first of a three-game homestand split around the break after going 1-3-1 on a five-game road trip. Giordano and Johnny Gaudreau will represent Calgary on the Pacific Division All-Star Team. Ribeiro opened the scoring in the first period. After gaining the zone off the rush, Craig Smith passed off to Ribeiro in the slot, and he beat Flames goaltender Karri Ramo with a shot under the arm at 6:21.
The goal came on Nashville's fifth shot of the game and before Calgary's first shot on Hutton, a chance in tight from Lance Bouma at 8:35. The Predators doubled their lead on a power play with 2:23 remaining in the second period. Weber one-timed a pass from the top of the circle following a set-up from Josi and Ryan Johansen to put the Predators up 2-0. Giordano cut the Predators lead to one at 5:48 of the third period. Weber blocked his initial shot, but Giordano corralled the puck and circled back to the high slot before beating Hutton with a slap shot. The goal ended Hutton's shutout streak at 106:02. Sam Bennett hit the post with a backhand shot at 11:20, and Ryan Ellis dove to swat away a backdoor pass from Gaudreau to Sean Monahan with a little more than five minutes remaining. With Johansen in the penalty box and Ramo on the bench for the extra attacker, Hutton made saves on Bennett's redirect of Giordano's point shot and Jiri Hudler's rebound attempt with 42.6 seconds remaining. He also made saves against Bennett in a crease scramble with 10.2 seconds left and on Dougie Hamilton's one-timer with 2.1 seconds remaining to preserve the win.
Shea Weber: "We battled hard. It's been a tough month for us. We're battling our way back into the playoff picture here. The last four games have really helped."
"We talked about finishing off a tough West swing. It's not easy to come out here to beat these teams in their own buildings. Trying to keep our mind on the games, too, is a big thing with the All-Star break. Minds might tend to wander, but I think everybody in here did a good job of staying focused. The games speak for themselves."
"It's going to be pretty special, obviously. I'm very honored to go to another All-Star Game, but to have it in Nashville, to have it in front of our fans and with a couple teammates as well. It's going to be very special. A great play by Johansen there getting it behind the back to [Josi], and [Josi] just set it right where I needed to hit it. I made a good shot."
Carter Hutton: "We knew they were going to come. They're too good not to. I thought we did a great job. At the end, we had a couple key blocks and we eliminated second chances. From there, we were able to hang on. It wasn't the prettiest finish, but it was back-to-back and the end of a road trip. It was a huge two points any way we look at it."
Colorado Avalanche @ Los Angeles Kings 4-3
The bass-heavy music pumping from the Avalanche dressing room was the soundtrack of a team going into the All-Star break happy. Playing the second of back-to-back games and facing a third-period deficit against the normally tight Los Angeles Kings, Gabriel Landeskog scored his second goal of the game and Nathan MacKinnon got the go-ahead goal with 9:25 remaining to rally Colorado to a 4-3 win at Staples Center. MacKinnon one-timed a pass from Mikhail Grigorenko past Jonathan Quick five seconds after a Colorado power play expired, to complete a comeback from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits. Landeskog's second goal was an easy conversion from Tyson Barrie on the power play at 7:38 that tied the game 3-3. The two-goal flurry gave the Avalanche a win one night after a 6-1 loss at the San Jose Sharks. The Kings, who outshot Colorado 38-19, lost for the fourth time this season when leading after two periods (18-4-0). King salvaged a forgettable second-period start for the Kings with a tap-in goal off a playmaker's pass from Jordan Nolan at 15:13, putting Los Angeles ahead 3-2. It came after the Avalanche erased a 2-0 deficit on goals by Duchene and Landeskog. Duchene beat Quick with a shot from the right circle 42 seconds into the second for his 23rd goal, and Landeskog converted a huge rebound left by Quick on Blake Comeau's shot at 7:10. The Kings outshot Colorado 18-5 in the first period and Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard kept damage to a minimum with 16 saves despite playing on the second straight night. Vincent Lecavalier gave the Kings a 2-0 lead when he stickhandled between his legs, went around Barrie and drove to the net to set up Trevor Lewis at 18:40. Lecavalier has four goals and two assists in nine games with Los Angeles. Drew Doughty made a similar play when he took Anze Kopitar's pass, burst past Nick Holden and lifted a backhand over Pickard at 9:31, with Milan Lucic in the penalty box. Doughty's 10th goal of the season was the first shorthanded goal of his career. But the Kings couldn't finish. Alex Tanguay was a healthy scratch.
Gabriel Landeskog: "This was an emotional one for us. We wanted to bounce back, and every time you go into a break like this the last game you play is also fresh in everyone's minds, and you want to build off of that and feel good about yourself during the break. We wanted to make sure that we played as good as we could."
Matt Duchene: "Good teams throw those away [the loss to the Sharks]. You can't dwell on it. You can't bring it into the rink. You learn the lessons and you go from there."
Patrick Roy: "He was phenomenal in the first period. Thank God he played that well."
NHL - Results - Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Toronto @ Tampa Bay 0-1
Steven Stamkos scored a power-play goal 4:38 into the game and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 30 saves for his second NHL shutout to lift the Lightning to a 1-0 win. Stamkos scored his 21st goal of the season and 297th of his career with Roman Polak in the penalty box for delay of game. Anton Stralman made a pass from the point to the left circle, where Stamkos beat Bernier with a one-timer. The Maple Leafs dominated the second period, outshooting Tampa Bay 11-5. Their best chance came during a power play when PA Parenteau was alone in front, but Vasilevskiy made a glove save from point-blank range. Toronto continued putting pressure on Vasilevskiy in the third period, outshooting the Lightning 13-7, but he made saves on two one-timers in the slot from Dion Phaneuf and stopped a breakaway by Rielly.
Philadelphia @ Washington 4-3 OT
Jakub Voracek scored his second goal of the game in overtime to lift the Flyers to a 4-3 victory against the Capitals at Verizon Center, ending their three-game losing streak in each team's final game before the All-Star break. Voracek maintained possession against Evgeny Kuznetsov below the goal line, came out in front on the left side of the net and roofed a shot over goalie Braden Holtby's left shoulder 38 seconds into overtime for his eighth goal. The Capitals had not played since a 6-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 19, the result of two games being postponed by the winter storm that hit the East Coast last week. Schenn scored on the power play at 4:54 of the first period to give the Flyers a 1-0- lead. He buried a pass from Wayne Simmonds from the slot for his 12th goal. White scored at 11:11 of the first to put the Flyers ahead 2-0. Kuznetsov attempted to send a backhand pass across the ice, but White intercepted it and scored on Holtby from the high slot for his fifth goal. Burakovsky scored at 7:39 of the second period to make it 2-1. Nate Schmidt stole the puck from Sam Gagner and sent it to Burakovsky in the high slot for a wrist shot past Neuvirth's glove. Backstrom tied the game 55 seconds later. T.J. Oshie skated the puck into the Flyers zone and waited in the corner for a lane to open. Backstrom was on the receiving end and beat Neuvirth from the slot for his 16th of the season. Voracek restored the Flyers lead with 2:21 left in the second. Moments after Holtby made a desperate save without his stick, Giroux won the faceoff in the Capitals zone, and Voracek scored on a set play. Burakovsky scored his second goal of the game to tie it 3-3 at 3:55 of the third period. On the rush, Kuznetsov sent a pass across the goal mouth, and Burakovsky buried it. Marcus Johansson left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. After the game, the Capitals announced Alex Ovechkin will miss the 2016 Honda NHL All-Star Game in Nashville on Sunday because of a lower-body injury. He had six shots and five hits in 19:58 of ice time.
KHL - London Expansion?
There have been strong rumors over the past week, that the KHL could be coming to the UK. News of further expansion for the league, with the possibility of clubs from Estonia, China and Sweden have already been mentioned over the last twelve months, but now a fresh bid has arrived from Great Britain.
KHL President Dmitry Chernyshenko confirmed receipt of applications from all four nations during the KHL All Star Game last weekend, Tass.ru. He went on to hint a decision could be made as early as April.
“At the moment we have a request from Estonia, Sweden, the UK and other countries, certainty will come in April.” said Chernyshenko
The league looks set to expand in Beijing and with teams already located in Belarus, Croatia, Kazakhstan Latvia, Slovakia and Finland, the announcement of teams in Estonia, Sweden and Great Britain would certainly fall in line with the league’s initial plans to become a pan-European entity. Expansion in the UK has been rumored before, but financial problems have delayed those plans until now. It seems that there is still interest in forming a club based in Great Britain however, but with no clear details of where the team could be based at this stage, it is very much ‘your guess is as good as mine’.
The most likely location would be in London with a new team being created, or possibly one of the Elite League teams breaking away to join the KHL. However that brings its own problems. If the KHL were to choose London, they will face the same problems the Super League had when they placed the Knights in the Docklands Arena, and then the Elite League when the Racers folded.
There has been talks of the Elite League expanding with a London-based side being a part of that along with either the Aberdeen Lynx or Blackburn Hawks taking up the ‘Northern’ spot. Neil Black the owner of the Nottingham Panthers and Braehead Clan was rumored to be involved with the London Emperors project but that seems to have quietened down of late.
Any KHL side in London will face the same problems those others teams have had down the years, namely the lack of an obvious facility to play out of as well as the financial backing to make the team successful in the capital. Wembley Arena would make most sense. It’s the spiritual home of British hockey, and was the venue for the Play-off championship weekends during the Heineken-era in that country. As far as I’m aware it is also empty and would be an ideal location. Depending on how much financial backing came from the KHL a team could possibly play at the former Millennium Dome in Greenwich, now known as the O2 Arena, which has hosted hockey before in the shape of the NHL overseas games between Anaheim and Los Angeles in 2007. Major concerts are scheduled there though and that could cause a sticking point.
Outside of a ‘new’ London team, if you were looking for an existing Elite League side to make the step up there could be various options. Manchester has the MEN Arena which is as close to NHL quality as you can get in the UK although no side currently plays out of there. Nottingham’s National Ice Center is another option, as is the Odyssey Arena in Belfast. Both the Sheffield Steelers and the Glasgow-based Braehead Clan have appeared in this seasons Champions Hockey League and that might have been with a view to getting a foot in the KHL door.
Sheffield Arena could host KHL hockey tomorrow if required while the Steelers have probably been the biggest name in UK hockey over the past two decades. Braehead’s Arena is built into a shopping mall, and is to be flattened and re-built next-door in the not too distant future, so that may cause them some issues if they hoped to join the KHL.
While the MEN would be available to use, the previous incumbents, the Storm had all sorts of issues playing there, with ever-increasing costs forcing them to fold and start back up again 15 years later. The present Storm side, who are playing in the Elite league currently reside in Altrincham alongside the Aces, while Tony Hand’s Manchester Phoenix, who were the City’s premier side while the Storm had folded were forced out to Deeside, with a view to moving to Blackburn next year, or building their very own city Centre venue. With so many options in the area, could they support another one in Manchester?
Another problem to overcome would be the UK player quota. KHL rules state that each side must have 90% Of their playing staff from the country they are based in. That could prove difficult to recruit the best GB players and then expect them to be competitive against teams stacked with former and future NHL stars.
There have been suggestions that a UK team could train at another rink in the country and just travel into London for games. That could provide a solution to the extra running costs playing out of a major arena would pose, not to mention if the ice time was unavailable due to a concert taking place. There are plenty of Rinks available both within the M25 and just outside of it that could be utilized. Bracknell, Basingstoke, Slough and Guildford instantly spring to mind.
London is a major multi-cultural city and is home to a number of wealthy Russian businessmen, with others owning second homes in the capital, so there are potential ties to the league’s existing ownership groups as well as the Russian government and the KHL’s current administration, which may play a part in the application being submitted, either in terms of an ownership role or a financial support capacity. Workforce bank which is based in London and provides financial support to Russian’s living and working within the UK has announced a partnership deal with the KHL. The deal involves plans to expand business operations between themselves and the KHL, with the possibility of bringing in training and exhibition games to the United Kingdom.
If this does actually come into fruition, having top class hockey in the UK is a huge deal with the opportunity for fans to watch sides such as CSKA Moscow and SKA St Petersburg in action. However with the April deadline looming I can’t realistically see how a team in this country will be ready in time for the 2016-17 season. The Chinese team looks to be in place, while the Estonian one isn’t too far behind and it is most likely these will join the league next for next season. Any team in Sweden and Britain would need more time to be ready and if they are to join the league it is more likely to happen for the 2017-18 season, if at all.
Expanding a league with four new teams is a huge task, and although there isn’t the intricacies of expansion drafts like they have in the NHL, admitting that many new teams could be spreading other resources a bit thin. That being said it would allow all four Divisions in the KHL to have Eight teams, giving some semblance of balance. All things considered I believe if this does go ahead two teams will join this year and the other two the year after.
What remains for the other teams who have expressed an interest in joining the KHL is interesting too. The Proposed Chinese bid is believed to be based in Beijing, while a second side playing out of Shanghai is meant to be following suit not long after. Add in the fact former-KHL teams such as Atlant and Krylyla Sovetov are interested on a return and suddenly we have plenty of competition for a limited number of places available.
Some time ago, Patrick Conway [writer of the brilliant blog Conway’s Russian Hockey https://conwaysrussianhockey.wordpress.com/category/khl/ ] had this to say about the possible locations of expansion teams:
‘The big KHL news this past week comes from the “Expansion” file. There has been much talk this year about the possibilities of a Chinese team for next season, and now we have similarly exciting news from the geographical other end of the KHL, namely that an Estonian group is interested as well. The proposed new team is Ilves (“Lynx”) Tallinn, a newly-founded outfit based in Estonia’s capital city. According to one of the organizers, former Estonian basketball star Heino Enden, the purpose of KHL membership would be to raise the profile, and calibre, of Estonian hockey (the country’s men’s national team currently competes in IIHF Division IB, the third tier of international hockey). If approved Ilves will play at the Tondiraba Jäähall (capacity 5840). We are obviously miles from anything official on this, but it most certainly bears watching. Estonia had a team — Dinamo Tallinn — in the early years of Soviet hockey, before fading from the hockey scene somewhat. There had been some talk, a couple of years ago, about the possibility of that country putting a junior team in the MHL, although that came to nothing in the end. Also on the topic of expansion, note the last sentence of the article linked above. China we knew about, but I’m very interested in the suggestion that Italy is once again a possible KHL destination. Milano Rossoblu made a spirited attempt to join the league a few years ago, before arena concerns torpedoed the project, but it sounds like talks are still going on…’
Wednesday, 27 January 2016
NHL - Colorado Avalanche @ San Jose Sharks 1-6 - Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Joe Thornton celebrated another career milestone, and the Sharks rolled to a 6-1 victory against the Avalanche at SAP Center. Thornton had two assists, giving him 1,300 points in his NHL career. He is the 33rd player in League history to reach that milestone.
Melker Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, Joe Pavelski, Joel Ward, Paul Martin and Dylan DeMelo scored for the Sharks, who played their final game before the NHL All-Star Game break. DeMelo's goal was his first in the NHL. Martin Jones made 21 saves for the Sharks, who are 8-0-2 in their past 10 games. Nathan MacKinnon scored his 17th goal of the season for Colorado.
Colorado backup goaltender Calvin Pickard, who missed the morning skate because of an illness, gave up four goals on 20 shots for the Avalanche, whose four-game winning streak ended. He was pulled after two periods for rookie Roman Will, who made his NHL debut after being recalled from San Antonio of the American Hockey League.
Avalanche starter Semyon Varlamov was not available to play. He remained in Denver to attend to a legal matter relating to a domestic abuse charge in 2013 that was dropped. He'll also miss Colorado's game Wednesday against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center. Pickard, Erik Johnson and third-line center Mikhail Grigorenko missed the morning skate because of illness. Pickard and Johnson were in the lineup, but Grigorenko was scratched, with Chris Wagner replacing him in the lineup.
Thornton extended his point streak to 10 games, the third-longest in the NHL this season. It's the 36-year-old's longest since a 10-game streak from Nov. 14-Dec. 3, 2009 and is four off his career record, set from Nov. 19-Dec. 20, 2005.
The Sharks built a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Karlsson and Hertl.
Karlsson scored his sixth goal of the season and first in nine games at 6:19. Brent Burns ripped a shot from that point that ricocheted off Karlsson in the slot and went past Pickard. Just over two minutes after ringing a shot off the crossbar, Hertl made it 2-0 at 10:13 with his 10th goal of the season as the Sharks capitalized on a turnover by Johnson. Marc-Edouard Vlasic's shot from above the left circle hit the left post, but Hertl was there to knock the rebound past Pickard from close range.
Thornton, who has points in 18 of his past 19 games, got the secondary assist.
Colorado went 4-for-6 on the power play in a 6-3 victory at San Jose on Dec. 28, ending a 13-game winless streak at SAP Center. This time, the Sharks scored two power-play goals in a span of 50 seconds in the second period.
Pavelski took a cross-ice pass from Thornton and beat Pickard from the left circle at 15:28 during a 5-on-3 advantage. The assist was Thornton's 1,300th point.
Ward made it 4-0 at 16:18 with a 5-on-4 power-play goal, tracking down a loose puck in the crease and scoring after Pickard stopped Vlasic's point shot but the Avalanche couldn't clear. The goal was Ward's 15th of the season.
Martin increased San Jose's lead to 5-0 at 8:21 of the third period with an empty-net goal, shortly after coach Patrick Roy pulled Will for an extra skater for the second time. MacKinnon scored a power-play goal at 11:35, and DeMelo scored on the power play at 19:03.
Colorado went 1-for-5 on the power play; the Sharks went 3-for-5. Cody McLeod played his 600th career NHL game.
Sharks Bites
Joe Thornton: "I've played with a lot of good players. It's a lot. I've played with a lot of good goal scorers in my career and a lot of good players. That's how that happens. It's just one of those things where you keep playing. You kind of get on a streak and you feel good and your line is feeling good. All of a sudden, it happens. The guys have been telling me how close I've been. You just go out and play and usually good things happen."
"When you're playing this good you don't want a break. You just want to play every other day like we've been doing because you feel so good. We've been playing a lot of minutes. If the guys use the rest the right way we'll be fine coming out of the break."
Sharks assistant coach Bob Boughner: "[Thornton's continued strong play is] amazing. I played against Joe for a lot of years and he just doesn't seem to get any older or slower or any worse. It's almost he gets better with age. I think the guys feed off that. When Joe is on, he's making plays like he's making out there and playing as hard as he does away from the puck, that's what impresses me the most is how hard he works. Enjoys the game every day. I think it's very infectious for the whole team, especially the young guys."
Joe Pavelski: "[Thornton's milestone point] was a good one, right? It was a great pass. Just trying to get open and he put it right there and I had all the time in the world."
Avs Quotes
Patrick Roy: "We didn't have a good start. Offensively we didn't generate much. I don't want to use the word distraction, but we had three guys sick this morning. It's hard enough to play when you're 100 percent."Calvin Pickard: "They got a couple of good bounces there in the first and then a couple goals at the end of the second and suddenly it's 4-0. They got the bounces and we didn't get the bounces."
Gabriel Landeskog: "That's him trying to win a hockey game and that's us trying to get the upper hand [Roy pulling the goalie early]. And we did a good job of creating momentum in the third period."
NHL - New Jersey Devils @ Pittsburgh Penguins 0-2 - Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves and the Penguins shut out the New Jersey Devils 2-0 at Consol Energy Center. The shutout was Fleury's fourth of the season and 42nd in his career. He has two shutouts in his past four starts; Fleury made 22 saves in a 5-0 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 17.
Pittsburgh won their final three games entering the All-Star break and tied New Jersey for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
With Kyle Palmieri in the penalty box for tripping, Sidney Crosby opened the scoring with his 17th goal of the season. Kris Letang took a slap shot that ricocheted off Patric Hornqvist in front of the net and to Crosby on the right side. Crosby sent a wrist shot past Andy Greene and a diving Cory Schneider for a 1-0 Pittsburgh lead with 4:33 remaining in the first period. Crosby, who is on a seven-game point streak (five goals, five assists), has scored at least one goal in seven consecutive home games. He has scored 32 points in his past 29 games. The goal ended Schneider's shutout streak against the Penguins at 135:27. He had two straight shutouts against them and last allowed a goal against Pittsburgh on Jan. 30, 2015, when Simon Despres scored 2:21 into overtime for a 2-1 Penguins win. Schneider was disappointed with the team's effort following a four-game winning streak, saying the loss left a sour taste in his mouth entering the break.
The Devils had two power plays in the first, but failed to get a shot on either. They controlled the majority of the period, holding a 10-2 shot advantage at one point, but couldn't solve Fleury. New Jersey coach John Hynes said the Devils cannot afford to play incomplete games if they are to remain in the Stanley Cup Playoffs race.
New Jersey's best chance came 8:31 into the first when Joseph Blandisi and Palmieri went on a 2-on-1 facing Brian Dumoulin. Blandisi passed over a sliding Dumoulin to Palmieri, who tipped a shot on net, but Fleury slid across to make a split-pad save before stopping Blandisi's rebound chance.
Phil Kessel extended the lead to 2-0 with his third goal in three games. Carl Hagelin carried the puck into the offensive zone and deked Eric Gelinas before slipping a pass that Kessel shot past an outstretched Schneider with 4:39 remaining in the second period. Hagelin has an assist in four of his five games since being traded to the Penguins from the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 16. He has at least one point in six of his past seven games and in seven of his past nine.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, who lost his first four games, is now 9-7-4 since replacing Mike Johnston on Dec. 12.
Pens Quotes
Marc-Andre Fleury: "I was a lot busier at the start of the game. After that, I thought we dominated the play a lot, so it was definitely a lot quieter. … Some [shots] I could see. Some [hit] a couple posts. That was big. I thought the guys helped me out too. It always helps when you can see a puck leave a guy's stick. You have a good idea where it's going."Sidney Crosby: "They're really strong defensively. They're disciplined. When they get a lead, they play a pretty comfortable game that way. So, their goalie keeps them in it and he did again tonight, but it was definitely good to get a lead and give ourselves some breathing room there. They still believe in the way they play [when the Devils allow the first goal]. Especially with an early lead, you're not going to get them out of their comfort zone too much, but I think you notice a difference in the third period when they have to start pinching a little bit more."
Mike Sullivan: "I think we're making progress. I've said that since day one. We didn't get the results early. We're starting to get some results. … The points we get before this break are critically important to putting us in a position coming out of this break. One of our games got postponed, so we ended up playing seven games. We had 14 potential points. We ended up getting 10 out of 14 points, which is a pretty good body of work."
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