KHL - Baltic - Round Up December 19-29, 2016

SKA

23 Dec - Lada v SKA 2-3 OT
Vadim Shipachyov’s overtime strike saw SKA become the first team this season to reach three figures. The Russian international snapped a 2-2 tie two minutes into the extra, scoring a power play goal on his former team-mate Ilya Ezhov with a one-timer from the right-hand face-off spot to give SKA its 23^rd win in 24 games. But Oleg Znarok’s team didn’t have it easy against the Motormen as Lada battled hard to keep its playoff hopes on the road. Nikita Filatov gave the home team a 10^th-minute lead, but Shipachyov conjured two assists to help Evgeny Dadonov and Nikita Gusev turn the game around before the first intermission. The big play in the middle stanza saw SKA waste a chance to stretch that lead. Sergei Shirokov was hooked by Yefim Gurkin as he shaped to shoot, but the resultant penalty shot found Ezhov’s pads. Then Ilya Kovalchuk, who also missed a big chance in the second period, was ejected from the game early in the third for spearing, giving Lada a 5-on-3 advantage and a great chance to tie the game. Taylor Aronson duly obliged on 45 minutes and the game went into overtime.

25 Dec - Neftekhimik v SKA 0-4
A reinvigorated SKA roster made short work of overcoming a Neftekhimik team in the hands of former Petersburg head coach Andrei Nazarov and recording its ninth win in a row. The first period was competitive, with both teams having chances to open the scoring, but it ended on a high for SKA when Patrik Hersley produced a shot of imposing power and accuracy to open the scoring in the 20^th minute. The second goal, on 36 minutes, was also well executed: Evgeny Dadonov fed Vadim Shipachyov for a one-timer that beat Ivan Kasutin. At the start of the third period Pavel Zdunov’s high hit triggered a brawl that left SKA with a power play. Vyacheslav Voynov duly converted that chance for 3-0 and another power play goal from Nikita Gusev, assisted by Ilya Kovalchuk, wrapped up a convincing win for Oleg Znarok’s league leader.

27 Dec - Ak Bars v SKA 4-3 SO
Ak Bars handed SKA its first defeat in 10 games as Zinetula Bilyaletdinov won his coaching duel with the man who replaced him behind the bench for team Russia. It was the second time this season Ak Bars had picked up a shoot-out win over SKA. Oleg Znarok’s men have been in imperious form in the run-up to this game, winning nine games on the spin and losing just once in 24 outings prior to the trip to Kazan. For Ak Bars, chasing Metallurg Magnitogorsk for top spot in the Eastern Conference, recent form had been more patchy, alternating wins and losses in recent games. SKA was the first to show, with Evgeny Dadonov opening the scoring in the third minute. Such a quick start evoked memories of 2015 and the Army Men’s rampant first-period performance to lift the Gagarin Cup here, but this time Ak Bars rallied immediately. Two goals in two minutes for Fyodor Malykhin and Mikhail Glukhov put the home team in front. That lead was also short-lived as Vadim Shipachyov scored twice either side of the first intermission. The Russian international star maintained his hot streak, climbing to 49 points for the season after extending his productive to six games worth 6+5 points. But it wasn’t enough to secure victory. SKA held its lead until deep into the third period, but Jiri Sekac tied it up in the 54^th minute. The Czech forward received an unexpected gift – late for Christmas, or early for New Year, depending on whether you celebrate Russian or European style, was Artyom Zub’s pass to Dadonov went astray and presented a one-on-one rendezvous with Mikko Koskinen. Into the shoot-out, and it turned into a battle between Malykhin and Nikita Gusev. The SKA man scored with the first attempt; Malykhin responded in kind right away. Then four failures: Datsyuk and Kovalchuk for SKA, Tkachyov and Glinkin for Ak Bars. The opening pair returned, Malykhin scored again and the pressure was on Gusev. Emil Garipov made the save, and Ak Bars claimed the victory.
29 Dec - SKA v Lokomotiv 1-2
Goals from Brandon Kozun and Petri Kontiola, and 46 saves from Alexei Murygin, saw SKA slip to a second successive defeat as Lokomotiv followed up victory over Moscow’s Army Men with a win against their Petersburg counterparts. Kontiola opened the scoring in the third minute, collecting Staffan Kronwall’s pass in his own zone and embarking on a lazer-like solo rush to the other end of the ice and firing a shot past Igor Shestyorkin. Kozun doubled the lead late in the second period. Max Talbot was the architect, stripping #27 of the puck in the Loko zone and setting off on a 2-on-2 break with Kozun. An inch-perfect pass handed his team-mate a gift-wrapped finish into a wide open net to double the advantage. If the game had been fairly even in the opening stanzas, the third was a SKA procession. Ilya Kovalchuk made it 1-2 seconds after the restart and the home team threw everything at Murygin’s goal in search of an equalizer. But a shot count of 23-3 in SKA’s favor wasn’t good enough to tie the game and Oleg Znarok’s team tasted defeat in regulation for the first time since Avtomobilist won here by the same scoreline on November 17.

Jokerit

19 Dec - Avangard v Jokerit 2-1 OT
It took a long time to separate the day’s biggest hitters as this clash in Omsk was deadlocked until deep into the third period. Avangard was looking for a win to tighten its grip on second place in the East, while Jokerit desperately needed points to support its playoff push in the West, but for 56 minutes the two teams cancelled each other out. And that left Avangard head coach Fyodor Kanareikin frustrated with some individual performances. After the game, he told reporters that Jokerit could have got ahead in the middle stanza and complained that too many experienced players were worrying about their reputations rather than the team’s results. “If the players can’t reach the right conclusions, I’ll scratch them from the team,” he warned during the post-game press conference. It wasn’t until Valentin Pyanov solved visiting goalie Ryan Zapolski on 56:25 that the scoreboard finally flickered into life. Given what had gone before, it seemed reasonable to assume that this would be the winner – but Jokerit had other ideas and Ville Lajunen salvaged a point with his goal on 59:12. Overtime – in the new 3-on-3 format – also went almost the full distance before Avangard snatched it thanks to Mikhail Yunkov’s goal five seconds before the hooter. Avangard extended its winning run to five games; all three of Yunkov’s goals this season have come in that sequence.

21 Dec - Metallurg Nk v Jokerit 3-4
After two successive defeats dropped the Finns to seventh in the West, victory at lowly Novokuznetsk was essential to boost the team’s playoff prospects. But Jokerit made hard work of securing the points as Metallurg powered into a 3-0 lead before fading alarmingly in the final stanza. Evgeny Solovyov’s power play goal put the home team ahead in the first period and after the intermission things got even better for Kuznya. Alexander Titov struck in the 32^nd minute and Alexei Vasilchenko added another power play market in the 34^th to leave Jokerit with serious work to do. Much of that work was accomplished in the 44^th minute when the visitor scored twice in 12 seconds to make it a one-goal game. Tommi Huhtala’s unassisted effort was followed by a Jesse Joensuu goal to set nerves jangling among the home players. Even so, it seemed that Metallurg was going to hang on until penalty trouble late in the game. Andrei Taratukhin and Artyom Mikheyev were sin-binned in quick succession and Ville Lajunen converted that five-on-three advantage. Finally Derek O’Neill got the game-winner with just 40 seconds left to play.
23 Dec - Sibir v Jokerit 3-0
Danny Taylor’s fourth shut-out of the season boosted Sibir’s playoff prospects, lifting the Novosibirsk team to within two points of the top eight. Taylor made 37 saves to frustrate the Finns in a game that remained scoreless for the first two periods. In the third, though, Sibir found the way past Ryan Zapolski, opening the scoring in the 41^st minute with a power play goal from Vladislav Naumov. A high hit from Joey Hishon gave the host another power play soon after and Adam Polasek took advantage to double the lead before Vladimir Pervushin wrapped up the win. Sibir climbs to ninth in the East, but Jokerit missed the chance to improve on its six-point cushion in the West.

Riga

19 Dec - Sibir v Riga 2-1
Sibir stayed in touch with the playoff chasers in the East thanks to a 2-1 win at home to Dinamo Riga. The club’s leading scorer, Sergei Shumakov, made it 16 for the season when he opened the scoring in the fourth minute. Stepan Sannikov doubled the lead early in the second with a power play effort. Roberts Lipsbergs got Dinamo’s consolation goal midway through the third period.
21 Dec - Avangard v Riga 9-3
Dinamo’s unhappy season continues as Avangard went goal crazy at Arena Omsk, finding the net three times in each period to romp to a convincing win.
The tone was set in the first eight minutes when Anton Burdasov, Yegor Martynov and Ilya Mikheyev all scored on Jakub Sedlacek. The unfortunate Czech was chased from the game to bring Janis Kalnins to the ice, and initially that seemed to have changed things. Dinamo rallied and goals from Maris Bicevskis and Gints Meija brought it back to 3-2 by the end of the first period.
Hopes of a recovery were ended emphatically by an even sharper start to the middle stanza. Again, Burdasov scored an early goal; again, Avangard quickly added two more. This time Valentin Pyanov and Ivan Fishchenko found the net, and the treble took less than four minutes. Dinamo had no answer and trailed 2-6 at the second intermission. Nikolai Lemtyugov, who had assisted on Burdasov’s goals, decided it was time to get on the scoresheet himself in the third period. He grabbed two in three minutes, both with helpers from Alexander Kucheryavenko, before combining with Burdasov to set up Kucheryavenko for the ninth of the game. Pyotr Schastlivy had the final word, grabbing a 51^st-minute consolation goal for Dinamo, but the day clearly belonged to the home team.

23 Dec - Metallurg Nk v Riga 0-6
The race for the playoffs is the main talking point at this time of the year, but for these two teams the battle to escape the ignominy of finishing rock bottom of the table is the principle issue. On today’s evidence, though, Dinamo looks to be the team with greater fighting spirit after powering to a comprehensive victory over a Metallurg side marooned at the foot of the Eastern Conference.
The damage was done in the second period when the Latvians added five unanswered goals to Mikelis Redlihs’ sixth-minute opener. The forward’s brother, Krisjanis, added a second in the 25^th minute before penalty trouble at the midway mark left Kuznya flattened. Gints Meija and Miks Indrasis took the lead out to 4-0, chasing starting goalie Andrei Kareyev in the process. The incoming Vladislav Podyapolsky also found things tough as Mikelis Redlihs got his second of the night and Edgars Kulda rewarded Dinamo’s dominance with a sixth before the second intermission. The final stanza was goalless as Janis Kalnins claimed a shut-out with 24 saves. Dinamo wrapped up a second big win over Metallurg, having won 5-1 in the previous meeting in Riga, and is now seven points clear of the Siberian team in the overall KHL table.

December 26 - Jokerit v Riga 3-0
For the third time this season, Jokerit defeated Dinamo Riga in the battle of the Baltic. After two victories in Latvia, the Finns continued their streak on home ice, opening up a six-point gap over ninth-placed HC Sochi. Goalie Ryan Zapolski, with 17 saves, frustrated Dinamo, most notably with two late stops to deny Mikelis Redlihs late in the game, but the damage was done in the first period when Jokerit scored twice without reply. Sakari Salminen opened the scoring in the eighth minute and Brian O’Neill got the second in the 19th as the home team dominated the opening stanza, although things might have been different had Lauris Darzins’ shot on a breakaway not rebounded off the post to safety. Jokerit added a third goal in the 37th minute when the puck bounced off Tommi Huhtala’s skate and into Janis Kalnins’ net. The video showed no kicking motion, so the goal was good.


December 27 - Jokerit v Riga 2-3 OT
Tim Sestito’s goal seconds before the end of overtime saw Dinamo Riga avenge yesterday’s 3-0 defeat in Finland and snatch victory over Jokerit. Initially the home team picked up where it left off, with Pekka Jormakka opening the scoring on a third-minute power play, but after failing to solve Ryan Zapolski 24 hours earler, Maris Bicevskis came up with the answers. The Latvian scored two goals in three minutes to turn the game upside down. Jokerit responded with a Jesse Joensuu goal midway through the game but neither team could find a winner in regulation. In overtime, the home team killed a penalty, but had no answer in the closing seconds when Sestito got the winner on the rebound from a Ralfs Freiburgs shot against the boards.