KHL Results - January 29-31, 2017

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Severstal v Ufa 3-2 OT

Salavat Yulaev may not be in serious danger of missing out on the playoffs, but a run of seven straight defeats and just two wins from 11 games in 2017 gives cause for concern in Ufa. Today’s loss, in overtime at Severstal, came despite the boost of an early lead thanks to Linus Omark’s sixth-minute opener on the power play. The home team recovered in the second period, scoring successive power play goals midway through the game to make it 2-1. Maxim Trunyov and Pavel Chernov found the net, and Salavat had that all too familiar losing feeling once again. Yet another PP led to Dmitry Makarov’s equalizer early in the third, but once the game went to overtime Severstal had far more of the play. The host had already fired in five shots on Andrei Gavrilov’s net before Vojtech Polak found the net for the only equal-strength goal of the game.

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Sibir v Kunlun 1-0

Defeat for Sibir in this game would have left it 10 points adrift of Kunlun and facing a huge task to make up ground on its playoff rival. Instead, another fine goaltending display from Danny Taylor, who has now allowed just two goals in four games, backstopped the Siberians to a vital victory. Taylor finished with 27 saves, the best of them to deny Linus Videll early in the second period, as his team edged a priceless three points courtesy of Stepan Sannikov’s power play goal in the 29^th minute. Maxim Shalunov’s rush created the opening, Joonas Kemppainen’s shot was saved by Tomi Karhunen’s outstretched leg and Sannikov squeezed the rebound inside the post to break the deadlock. Kunlun, which was hoping to all but wrap up a playoff place in its debut season, tried to pressure Sibir but lost momentum after a brawl in the closing stages saw the penalty box fill up while the home net remained empty.
Metallurg Novokuznetsk v Admiral 3-2 SO

Admiral dropped valuable points in its playoff push after giving up an equalizer six seconds from the end of this game. Ivan Yemets got the vital goal for bottom-of-the-table Kuznya, potting his second of the season to make it 2-2. The 19-year-old was assisted by Ignat Zemchenko, who finished the game with two helpers and went on to claim the decider in the shoot-out. Earlier, Admiral led twice. Dmitry Sayustov got the opening goal on a seventh-minute power play and Denis Alexeyev, another 19-year-old, got his first career KHL goal to make it 2-1 in the 34^th minute. In between, Evgeny Solovyov found the net for Metallurg.
Avangard v Amur 2-4

After a generally disappointing season for Amur, the final stages have seen an upswing in form, albeit too late to make the playoffs. By contrast, Avangard is limping towards the playoffs after a fourth straight loss. Maxim Kondratyev led Amur to victory here with two goals, while the Ushenin twins, Vladislav and Vyacheslav, made a big contribution with a goal and four assists between them. Kondratyev got the second and third goals, adding to Oleg Li’s early opener as Amur took control in the first period then making it 3-0 in the 45^th minute with both Ushenins assisting. Belatedly, Avangard came to life, cheered on by suspended forward Nikolai Lemtyugov, who joined the club’s fans for the evening. Erik Gustafsson and Anton Burdasov made it 2-3 with three minutes left, but Vladislav Ushenin found the empty net off a Vyacheslav assist to settle the outcome for the visitor.
Slovan v Lokomotiv 3-2 SO
For playoff chasing Slovan, every point is vital. So, claiming a shoot-out victory and moving to within two points of the top eight gives Milos Riha’s team a boost, but giving up a 2-0 lead in the last 10 minutes inevitably prompts thoughts of what might have been. Brandon Kozun was Slovan’s tormentor. He halved the deficit with a power play goal in the 54^th minute before tying the game two minutes later. The expectation of overtaking HC Sochi and moving up to ninth place was abruptly replaced with fear of coming away with nothing and remaining adrift in 10^th as the end of the season drew ever closer. Into the shootout, and goalie Barry Brust finally found an answer to Kozun, denying his attempt. Igor Musatov and Ziga Jeglic found the net for Slovan to secure the victory. That also ensured that Jonathan Cheechoo finished on the winning team. He assisted on Michal Hlinka’s opener in the first period before scoring the 2-0 goal on a power play in the second.