Category: Khl Daily Report

KHL Game Day Round-Up | September 20, 2022

On By CanucksBanterIn Khl Daily ReportLeave a comment

Dragons shock CSKA

Kunlun Red Star pulled off the biggest shock of the season to date, defeating defending champion CSKA in overtime. Zac Leslie’s goal makes it back-to-back victories for the Chinese franchise in its latest home stand. Elsewhere, Neftekhimik wasted a great chance to record its first victory, blowing a 2-0 lead to lose at Sibir. Barys blanked Eastern Conference leader Avtomobilist and Dinamo Minsk edged Severstal by the odd goal in five.

Neftekhimik sees victory slip away

Sibir Novosibirsk 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (0-2, 0-0, 3-0)

Neftekhimik was close to recording its first victory of the season, but ultimately blew a two-goal lead in the third period to slump to an eighth successive loss.

The latest change to the visitor’s roster saw Andrei Chivilyov called up for the first time this season. He responded with two assists. The first of those came on Anthony Camara’s opener, which was created in part by a mistake from Sibir’s Denis Alexandrov. The 28-year-old defenseman was returning to the KHL almost three years after the last of his 57 appearances for Sochi.

That opening goal may have come from a defensive error, but it was a just reward for an enterprising start from Oleg Leontyev’s strugglers. Sibir was not allowed to settle into its game and, up until the moment that Mikhail Sidorov’s penalty gave the home team a chance to regroup, Neftekhimik led the shot count 9-2. Later in the opening frame, a power play for the visitor helped Mikhail Nazarov double the lead. Both scoreline and balance of play suggested the long wait for a win might be coming to an end.

In the second period, Sibir was unable to reduce the deficit. Taylor Beck’s shot against the post was the closest the home team came, despite enjoying four minutes of almost uninterrupted power play at one stage.

However, when Ilya Morozov scored at the start of the third period, the alarm bells began to ring for Neftekhimik. An in-form team might have shrugged off that setback; a team on a losing streak often suffers a loss of confidence after allowing a goal. Sibir gradually assumed control of the game and Vladimir Butuzov’s solo effort tied it up midway through the final frame. The same player then got the winner with a couple of minutes left on the clock.

Debut shut-out for Hudacek

Barys Astana 2 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0 (2-0, 0-0, 0-0)

Avtomobilist’s rise to the top of the Eastern Conference is built on its home form: in Yekaterinburg, the Motormen have won six from six and have yet to be taken to overtime. On the road, though, things are different. Trips to Chelyabinsk and Nizhny Novgorod yielded just one point, and the second tour of the season began with defeat in Nur-Sultan.

Barys, like Avtomobilist, has yet to win on the road. However, today’s success makes it four from five on home ice, helping the Kazakhs into the top eight in the East. It also makes it back-to-back shut-outs: on Sunday, Nikita Boyarkin blanked Sibir, today Julius Hudacek enjoyed an impressive debut to produce a repeat 2-0 scoreline.

The game started on a sour note when Avto’s Nick Ebert injured Alikhan Asetov. After a video review, the visiting defenseman was ejected from the game and the major penalty saw Anthony Louis open the scoring with a deft touch in front of the net. Jesse Graham’s assist extends his scoring run to four games. Late in the opening stanza, Graham was involved again as Arkady Shestakov doubled the home lead.

For the remainder of the game, Avtomobilist tried to force the pace. Hudacek was the busier of the goalies, finishing with 36 saves, but the visitor struggled to get really dangerous looks at his net. Barys was able to close out the game fairly calmly to post a victory that lifts Andrei Skabelka’s team to fifth in the East.

Dragons stun defending champ

Kunlun Red Star 2 CSKA Moscow 1 OT (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 1-0)

An overtime goal from defenseman Zac Leslie gave Kunlun Red Star a shock win at home to CSKA. Greg Ireland’s team absorbed intense pressure from the visitor, goalie Jeremy Smith made 44 saves and his defense blocked 32 shots in total. Yet an intense, hard-working display delivered only a second win for the Chinese franchise against one of the most famous names in the game.

The Dragons weathered a storm of CSKA pressure in the first period, with Jeremy Smith making 16 saves in the opening frame. However, it was the home team that broke the deadlock thanks to a freakish goal from Ryan Sproul. The KRS defenseman, playing his second game since rejoining the team last week, thumped in a point shot that went well wide of the goal. However, it rebounded off the boards, hit goalie Adam Reideborn in the back, and squirmed over the line into the net.

It would be hard to say this was a deserved lead. Red Star defended doggedly, but CSKA had enjoyed much the better of the game up to that point. However, in the second period the game was more evenly contested. Greg Ireland’s team thrives on hard work – 21 blocked shots in the first two periods alone underline the defensive effort – but there were also chances to extend the lead as Kunlun began to generate more offense. Although CSKA still had the lion’s share of possession, the home team was getting more pucks to the net.

In the end, it took a power play goal to bring the scores level. CSKA had failed to punish two earlier Kunlun penalties but it proved to be third time lucky for the defending champion when Maxim Mamin stuffed home the rebound from a Darren Dietz shot.

However, Red Star refused to buckle. That phenomenal workrate continued – another 11 blocked shots in the third period – and the game went to overtime.

The extras lasted just 10 seconds. Kunlun won the opening faceoff, defenseman Zac Leslie set off into enemy territory and fired past Reideborn to seal a famous victory for his team. Red Star improves to seven points, just two out of the playoff spots.

Revenge win for Bison

Dinamo Minsk 3 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (1-0, 2-2, 0-0)

Dinamo Minsk moved back into the top eight with a narrow win over Severstal in Belarus. The Bison bounced back after two losses and avenged last week’s 5-2 defeat in Cherepovets.

Dinamo found itself in penalty trouble early on. Vitaly Pinchuk visited the box 36 seconds into the game, and Alexei Emelin took a penalty in the fifth minute. Once over those hurdles, though, the home team opened the scoring thanks to Pavel Varfolomeyev eighth-minute marker.

For a long time, that was the sole difference between the teams. However, midway through the second period, the game burst into life and we saw four goals in four minutes. Igor Geraskin drew Severstal level, only for Sergei Sapego to reinstate Minsk’s lead 30 seconds later.

A power play goal from Robin Press tied the game at 2-2, but once again Dinamo had a rapid response. This time, Pinchuk found the net to make it 3-2 on 35:01.

After that sudden flurry of goals, it all went quiet again. There was no further scoring in the final frame as Craig Woodcroft’s team closed out the win.

Source: en.khl.ru

KHL Game Day Round-Up | September 19, 2022

On By CanucksBanterIn Khl Daily ReportLeave a comment

Avangard continues to improve, Bocharov wins goalie battle.

The week’s action began in the Far East, where Salavat Yulaev and Metallurg enjoyed 2-0 road wins. Avangard got its second successive victory, defeating Traktor 3-1. Lokomotiv came out on top at Dynamo in a game where both goalies faced their former team-mates, and Torpedo edged Vityaz in a shoot-out.

Tigers blunted for second time in three games

Amur Khabarovsk 0 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (0-2, 0-0, 0-0)

Both teams were looking for an improvement after suffering recent defeats. Amur lost back-to-back home games against Metallurg, while Salavat was on a three-game skid that included two losses at Admiral.

The visitor’s big problem in recent games was failing to take its scoring chances. In response, head coach Viktor Kozlov reshuffled his roster. Alexander Chmelevski’s line was promoted, while Artyom Pimenov, Danil Bashkirov and Evgeny Timkin were recalled to the forward line. Timkin, a hugely experienced center, finally got to make his Ufa debut after joining the club in the summer.

For the Tigers, Michal Jordan was absent with Canadian newcomer Cam Lee stepping into his place. Janis Kalnins returned in goal.

In the early stages, there were good chances for Evgeny Oksentyuk and Andrew Calof to put the home side ahead, with Ufa scrambling to kill a penalty. However, the opening goal came at the other end when Ivan Drozdov got his first of the season. A few minutes later, Nikolai Kulemin’s strength in front of the net helped him force a rebound past Kalnins for 2-0.

Buoyed by that lead, Salavat Yulaev looked rather fresher than its host, particularly in the second period. Amur struggled to generate offense – a common problem for the Tigers this season, and failed to score for the second time in three games.

Fourth straight win for Metallurg

Admiral Vladivostok 0 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (0-2, 0-0, 0-0)

In contrast with Monday’s other early game, this one pitted two opponents lifted by victories in each of their last three games.

That form did not discourage Admiral’s head coach Leonids Tambijevs’ from shuffling his roster for this game. Only the starting five remained unaffected for the home team. Metallurg also made changes, bringing in defensemen Yaroslav Khabarov and Vladislav Yeryomenko in place of Valery Orekhov and Ilya Nikolayev.

Metallurg was given a head start by the Sailors’ poor discipline in the opening minutes. Three penalties for the home team led to two goals inside the first 15 minutes, with Yegor Yakovlev and Denis Zernov on target. Technically, Yakovlev’s opener came with the teams at equal strength; the Magnitka captain’s shot hit the net just as Alexander Shevchenko was emerging from the box.

In the second period, Admiral improved. The home team skated better, looked sharper and generated more scoring chances. However, a goal was not forthcoming and, indeed, Josh Currie had the puck in the home net only to have his effort whistled off for a high stick.

Gradually Metallurg regained its earlier control of the play and Admiral struggled to create offense in the final frame. Even when playing with six skaters in the closing moments, the home team rarely troubled Vasily Koshechkin in the Magnitka net. The Sailors will look for more firepower when the teams meet again here on Wednesday.

Avangard wins again

Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 Avangard Omsk 3 (0-0, 0-2, 1-1)

Two points apiece for Reid Boucher, Sergei Tolchinsky and Corban Knight helped Avangard record a second successive victory. After a slow start to the season, it’s too early to say that the Hawks finally have lift-off, but back-to-back road wins make life look a lot better for the Omsk team.

Traktor, meanwhile, remains inconsistent. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team continues to alternate wins and losses and this was seventh game of a LWLW sequence for the host. Today brought a debut for Adam Almquist, a Swedish defender with extensive KHL experience. He slotted straight into Traktor’s first pair.

The game got off to a relatively slow start and Traktor managed just four shots on goal in the first period. Avangard was livelier, testing Ilya Proskuryakov eight times, but this was hardly a feast of goalmouth action.

Early in the second, though, the visitor upped the tempo. Traktor ran into penalty trouble and Avangard scored two power play goals in 76 seconds. Tolchinsky got the first, Knight the second as the Hawks’ top line did its job. Early in the third, a defensive error presented Avangard with a third goal. Alexei Bereglazov, celebrating his 500th KHL game, was the scorer; the defenseman’s productive streak now extends to 6 (3+3) points in six games.

Traktor kept battling until the end, but only a consolation goal from Vladimir Tkachyov offered any kind of lift for the home fans.

Shoot-out success keeps Torpedo on song

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Vityaz Moscow Region 1 SO (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 1-0)

Both of these teams went to overtime in their previous outings, and sure enough they went beyond the 60-minute mark again here. A 1-1 tie in regulation was not broken until the shoot-out, when Torpedo proved clinical at one end while goalie Ivan Kulbakov was unbeatable at the other. Torpedo improves to five wins from six while Vityaz suffered a fourth straight loss.

It took some time for the first goal to arrive, but late in the second period Torpedo unlocked Vityaz on the power play. The visitor boldly attempted to change on the fly during that penalty kill, only to be caught out as Igor Larionov Jr exchanged passes with Denis Yan before shooting home his third of the season. With 6 (3+3) points so far, the head coach’s son is proving that he has his place in the team on merit.

Torpedo’s opener also ended Maxim Dorozhko’s long run without allowing a goal. The 24-year-old netminder survived a full 65 minutes of his first start in Yaroslavl, and also had just over six minutes of game time as an understudy against CSKA. In total, he managed 109:26 before allowing his first goal in the KHL.

However, the home team is not set up to simply defend a lead. Torpedo continued to look for scoring chances in the third, and was hit on a counter attack in the 44th minute. Jeremy Roy finished off a swift break that saw Scott Wilson and Tyler Graovac move play from one end to the other.

That goal took the game to overtime. In its previous game, Torpedo edged a 2-1 verdict at Spartak in the extras, while Vityaz went down in a shoot-out at Lokomotiv. Today, it went to a shoot-out and, once again, Vityaz struggled to convert its attempts. Kulbakov got the better of four opponents, while success for Alexei Kruchinin and Vasily Atanasov secured the win for the home team.

Bocharov denies former colleagues

Dynamo Moscow 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 (1-1, 0-2, 0-0)

This game was an intriguing clash of two goalies up against their former clubs. Ilya Konovalov broke into the senior game at Lokomotiv but after a spell in North America he returned to the KHL with Dynamo this summer. At the other end, Ivan Bocharov swapped Moscow for Yaroslavl in the close season. For both, it would be their first game against their old colleagues.

Lokomotiv also came into this one in an unusual position. With seven points from seven games, Igor Nikitin’s team found itself outside the playoff places in the early standings. True, the Western Conference is tight, with second-placed Dynamo just three points better off. However, the prospect of Loko outside the top eight prompted some nervous headlines in the Russian sports media prior to today’s action.

The Railwaymen produced some answers in Moscow. Denis Alexeyev laid the foundations for this win, scoring on either side of the first intermission. Both of his goals were assisted by Georgy Ivanov and Stepan Nikulin, the youngster whose penalty shot finally separated Lokomotiv and Vityaz at the weekend. However, if the first was a combined effort, the second was a fine solo affair with Alexeyev collecting the puck on the blue line, dancing around Andrei Mironov and winning his duel with Konovalov. In between, Dynamo tied the game on a power play goal from Andrei Nikonov, a 19-year-old scoring his first in the KHL.

Midway through the second period, Loko extended its lead with a power play goal from Ivan Chekhovich. That was a third of the season for the summer arrival from Torpedo and it complete the scoring as Lokomotiv recorded a second successive win.

Source: en.khl.ru