Metallurg Mg v Kunlun 4-2
The first meeting between the defending champion and the KHL newcomer ended in an emphatic victory for Metallurg in Shanghai. Since then, though, the Chinese team has toughened up its act and is proving a far more challenging opponent. After being blown away by a Mozyakin masterclass, Vladimir Yurzinov’s men sought to show their recent progress on one of the biggest stages in Russian hockey. And the visitor gave Magnitka a real scare before finally submitting in the closing stages. Sean Collins capitalized after a wayward clearance from Jan Kovar, finishing off a swift and impressive counter attack to give Kunlun a 10th-minute lead. Metallurg hit back with two goals in 90 seconds as Denis Platonov tied the game before Alexander Semin made it 2-1 on the power play. Kunlun still wasn’t done, though: Alexei Ponikarovsky tied it up early in the second and the scores remained level until the intermission. Then, in the third, Metallurg got the job done. Semin got his second of the night, putting away Tomas Filippi’s pass from behind the net. Danis Zaripov added another powerplay goal, assisted by a cunning Sergei Mozyakin pass, and that completed the scoring.
Ufa v Amur 4-3 OT
Linus Omark, who is about to join up with team Sweden for next weekend’s Channel 1 Cup in Moscow, was Salavat Yulaev’s key man as it recovered to beat struggling Amur. After losing to Kunlun last time out, Ufa feared the worst when Amur went 3-1 up with goals from Vitaly Popov, Vladislav Ushenin and Vyacheslav Litovchenko. But the final stages were all about the host. Omark got it back to 2-3 on 48 minutes and Denis Kulyash tied it up with seven to play. There was no winner in regulation, but it needed just 23 seconds of overtime for Omark’s shot to give Igor Grigorenko the chance to win it for Salavat.
Traktor v Admiral 4-1
Traktor had little difficulty in overcoming Admiral, winning 4-1 at home. Vladimir Denisov set the host on its way in the first period and Alexei Kruchinin doubled the advantage early in the second. Dmitry Lugin got one back as Admiral threatened a revival but Artyom Borodkin snuffed that out four minutes later. Kirill Koltsov completed the scoring late in the game.
Severstal v Vityaz 3-4 OT
Vityaz missed the chance to overtake HC Sochi and move back into the top eight in the West after needing overtime to win at Severstal. The visitor led three times in regulation, but was pegged back each time, with Ruslan Karlin’s 50th-minute equalizer denying Vityaz all three points. Alexander Nikulin struck in overtime to secure the win, but his team remains ninth, level with Sochi on 60 points.
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