Four goals for Sharov, power play goals for Ak Bars.

Alexander Sharov produced the individual performance of the day, scoring four as Sibir edged Vityaz in overtime. Ak Bars finally got a power play goal – and followed it with another almost immediately to recover and beat Traktor. Avangard continued Neftekhimik’s miserable streak, winning 3-2 in Nizhnekamsk to make it 10 straight losses for the home team. Sochi, another struggling team, took Amur to overtime before losing to Vladislav Barulin’s second of the game.

Sharov shoots down Vityaz

Vityaz Moscow Region 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 5 OT (1-3, 2-0, 1-1, 0-1)

Alexander Sharov scored four goals to lead Sibir to an overtime verdict against Vityaz. In doing so, the 26-year-old became the first man to score four times for the Siberians in a KHL game. Sharov is one of the club’s longest-serving players, and recent celebrated his 300^th game since joining back in 2017.

Although Sunday’s game turned out to be all about Sharov, it started very differently. Vityaz, looking to bounce back following five straight losses, made a bright start and opened the scoring on the game’s first power play. Vladimir Galuzin found the net in the third minute. The penalties kept coming, though, and after the home team’s Ilya Arkalov completed a roughing minor, he found himself back in the box almost immediately. That helped Vladimir Butuzov tie the game in the seventh minute.

The next infringement saw Sibir on the power play again, and this time Sharov needed just six seconds to convert the opportunity and give his team the lead. His second came in the 17^th minute, Sibir seemingly in control.

However, the second period brought a home fightback. Jeremy Roy and Alexei Volgin put Vityaz back on level terms and set up an intriguing finale. The third frame saw Sharov and Galuzin trade markers to send the action into overtime. In the extras, inevitably, Sharov had the final say: on 63:22 he potted the winner to keep his team in the top four in the East.

Power play delivers at last for Ak Bars

Ak Bars Kazan 3 Traktor Chelyabinsk 2 (1-0, 0-2, 2-0)

Ak Bars scored its first power play goal of the season on the way to a hard-fought victory over Traktor. This was a game between two teams who entered the season with high expectations but who, for various reasons, had not lived up to their billing.

Traktor, a conference finalist last season, has been plagued by inconsistency and remains in 10^th in the East after today’s loss. Ak Bars is in a perfectly respectable third place but, so far, Oleg Znarok’s star-studded roster has yet to hit the heights expected of it in pre-season.

One of the issues for Kazan has been a weak power play. Prior to Sunday, Ak Bars had not scored when it had a man advantage in any of its eight KHL games to date. By the time Slava Voynov found the net in the 43^rd minute, 32 power plays had gone by without troubling the scoreboard. That all changed early in the third period today when Stanislav Galiyev fed the puck back to the blue line and Voynov’s slap shot broke the curse.

It was an important goal in the context of the game as well. Traktor took a 2-1 lead into the third period and showed signs a sending Ak Bars to a second successive home defeat. Instead, another power play goal – this time scored by Galiyev off assists from Alexander Radulov and Vadim Shipachyov – put Kazan in front and that 3-2 lead was enough to secure the win.

Earlier, Kirill Panyukov gave the home team an early lead. Ak Bars went on to dominate the first period but could not add to that third-minute marker. In the middle frame, Traktor turned the tables to lead 2-1. Artyom Blazhiyevsky tied it up midway through the session, then a power play goal from Sergei Telegin saw the visitor take a lead into the second intermission. But once the Ak Bars power play hit its stride, the game turned in the host’s favor.

Yakupov sends hometown team spinning to 10^th defeat

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Avangard Omsk 3 (1-2, 0-0, 1-1)

Neftekhimik fell to a tenth successive loss and remains rooted to the foot of the standings after Nail Yakupov’s goal separated the teams in Nizhnekamsk.

There’s a certain irony in Yakupov deciding this game. As a youngster, he learned the game at Neftekhimik, his hometown team, and made his KHL debut here during the 2012/13 NHL lockout. Today, though, he delivered the killer blow to his former club, restoring Avangard’s lead just 36 seconds after Pavel Poryadin tied the game at 2-2.

This defeat feels like another near miss for Neftekhimik. In recent games, Oleg Leontyev’s men have often come close to victory, only to slip up at vital moments. Sunday was similar. Mikhail Nazarov’s third-minute goal gave the home team a great start, but midway through the first period everything went wrong. Ivan Telegin tied the scores with a power play goal, but the Neftekhimik bench was adamant that goalie Andrei Tikhomirov was fouled as Telegin attempted to screen Alexei Bereglazov’s shot. A bench challenge failed to overturn the on-ice verdict, though, and the subsequent minor penalty saw Telegin score again to put Avangard in front.

Poryadin managed to tie the game in the 50^th minute, but just as home fans began to hope for a late revival, Yakupov’s goal gave the Hawks the win.

Barulin’s double defeats Sochi

HC Sochi 1 Amur Khabarovsk 2 OT (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Sochi remains stuck at the foot of the Western Conference but at least had the consolation of taking a point from this game for only the second time this season.

The Leopards have found life tough so far, with goals at a premium except for a 6-3 win over Barys. That game is starting to feel like a happy exception for Andrei Nazarov’s team, however as it risks dropping out of playoff contention in the early months of the season.

Today, Sochi got off to a good start. Nikita Popugayev converted the first power play of the game and the home team led 1-0 after five minutes. That advantage endured through the first two periods, although the warning signs were visible. Amur enjoyed more puck possession throughout the game, and gradually found it was getting more shooting chances.

Early in the third, that turned into a tying goal from Vladislav Barulin and the visitor went on to dominate the closing stages of the game. The third period saw home goalie Alexei Melnichuk make 14 saves, with a further 13 shots blocked as Sochi held on to force overtime. In the extras, though, Barulin struck again to win the game.

Source: en.khl.ru

Dynamo ends SKA’s winning start.

After nine consecutive victories, SKA suffered its first loss of the season. Roman Rotenberg’s men went down in a shoot-out against Dynamo Moscow, which defeated this opponent at the third attempt this season. Elsewhere, Metallurg resumed the lead in the East following a 4-0 win over Kunlun, Salavat Yulaev edged Dinamo Minsk in a shoot-out and there were wins for Lokomotiv and Severstal.

Penalty trouble hurts Dragons

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Kunlun Red Star 0 (0-0, 3-0, 1-0)

Metallurg’s power play ended Kunlun’s resistance as Magnitka returned to the top of the Eastern Conference. The Steelmen needed some patience to solve Jeremy Smith, and the visitor caused a few alarms early in the game, but Ilya Vorobyov’s men finished with a convincing victory.

Magnitka had a slight edge in the first period, but the best chance fell to Red Star’s Ryan Sproul. He got to the rebound from a Zac Leslie point shot and forced Eddie Pasquale into a leaping save. Early in the second, Pasquale was relieved to see a Doyle Somerby shot hit the post and bounce to safety, but soon after that Metallurg got on top.

The Dragons killed their first penalty of the day, but five seconds after returning to full strength they allowed Nikita Korostelyov to open the scoring. Two more penalties in the middle frame brought two more goals, both scored by Andrei Chibisov.

In the third period, Metallurg dominated. The home team saved the best goal of the day until the end, producing a scintillating passing move around the Red Star zone before Yegor Yakovlev finished it off.

Ufa maintains Minsk winning streak

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 Dinamo Minsk 2 SO (0-0, 1-0, 1-2, 0-0, 1-0)

Salavat Yulaev loves a game against Dinamo. Today was the 13^th time in a row that Ufa defeated the Belarusians. However, this was one of the closest in that series as Craig Woodcroft’s team was good value for a tie in regulation.

The visitor, perhaps mindful of that long losing streak, began the game at a high tempo and put the early pressure on Salavat Yulaev. Woodcroft’s men pressed hard and had two power play chances but failed to open the scoring.

In the second period, some sloppy defensive work almost presented Dinamo’s Roman Gorbunov with the opening goal, but Ilya Ezhov bailed out his teammates. Yet, despite all that Minsk pressure, Ufa got ahead with a buzzer beater at the end of the session when Alexander Chmelevski broke the deadlock.

It took a little over two minutes of the third for Dinamo to tie the scores. Nikita Pyshkailo pounced on a rebound to score from close range. However, Salavat Yulaev responded fast and Sergei Shmelyov’s 100^th KHL goal restored the home lead. But a penalty for Evgeny Timkin opened the door for Dinamo once again and Vitaly Pinchuk’s effort took the game to overtime.

Dinamo might have won it in the extras: Joseph Duszak’s interception sent him away for a duel with Ezhov, but the goalie came out on top. Thus, the game went to a shoot-out where Nikolai Kulemin delivered the decisive blow.

Nikulin sinks Admiral

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Admiral Vladivostok 1 (0-0, 1-1, 1-0)

Stepan Nikulin’s goal early in the third period lifted Lokomotiv over Admiral and extended the home team’s winning run to four games.

Exactly one week ago, Nikulin scored in a shoot-out to finally break a 0-0 tie against Vityaz and kickstart Lokomotiv’s season. Today, the 21-year-old got on the end of a delicate passing move to slot Denis Alexeyev’s feed into an open net and restore his team’s lead in the 45^th minute.

That goal proved decisive, even though Admiral played almost four full minutes with an extra skater. Goalie Nikita Serebryakov went to the bench shortly after Maxim Osipov took a minor penalty on 55:46. Serebryakov never returned, but Loko repelled that late onslaught.

Earlier, the teams were deadlocked until late in the second period. Then Alexeyev’s feed from behind the net set up Georgy Ivanov for the opening goal. However, Admiral responded before the intermission when Anton Berlyov picked out a great diagonal pass and Michal Kristof’s one-timer did the rest.

Shoot-out hands SKA its first loss

SKA St. Petersburg 1 Dynamo Moscow 2 SO (1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)

SKA’s nine-game winning streak this season already included two successes against Dynamo. Could the Blue-and-Whites make it third time lucky on Saturday? The Muscovite defense was reinforced with 25-year-old American Brennan Menell. Previously, he played 52 games for Dinamo Minsk, scoring 45 (6+39) points in the 2020-2021 season. Today he added to that tally with a helper on Eric O’Dell’s power play marker.

The first period was an intense battle, with few clear-cut chances at either end. It wasn’t until the closing moments that SKA managed to ask serious questions of Ilya Konovalov in the Dynamo net. First, the visiting goalie did well to thwart Marat Khusnutdinov on the counterattack but, in the final minute of the frame, Damir Zhafyarov put the home team in front.

In the second period, Dynamo enjoyed rather more puck possession and eventually managed to turn that into a tying goal. The pressure ultimately saw Andrei Pedan pick up SKA’s first penalty of the game and, on the same power play, Menell sent O’Dell down the left flank to deliver a shot that clipped Dmitry Nikolayev’s helmet on its way into the net.

The third period was a cautious affair, with both teams concerned not to throw away at least one point in search of a second. In the extras, both teams were more committed to offense. Dmitrij Jaskin set up Alexander Nikishin early in the session, but the young defenseman’s effort was saved by Konovalov at the second attempt. At the other end, O’Dell forced Nikolayev into a smart glove save seconds before the hooter.

It all went to a shoot-out and the two teams shared nine unsuccessful attempts before Dmitry Rashevsky found a way past Nikolayev to give Dynamo the verdict. Victory over SKA at the third attempt, and a first defeat for the home team, helped move the Blue-and-Whites up to second in the West, albeit level on points with Spartak and Torpedo.

Moiseyev scores twice in Severstal success

Severstal Cherepovets 5 Barys Nur-Sultan 2 (1-1, 3-1, 1-0)

Severstal snapped a three-game losing streak and returned to the top eight in the West thanks to victory at home to Barys.

Andrei Razin’s team got off to a great start when Dmitry Moiseyev opened the scoring in the third minute. However, against a Barys side looking to build on its own run of four wins from five, the Steelmen struggled to control the game. Late in the opening frame, Anton Sagadeyev tied it up.

Early in the second, Barys ran into penalty trouble. A ‘too many men’ call was punished by Kirill Pilipenko, then Ruslan Abrosimov extended the lead while Ansar Shaikhmeddenov sat for holding. When Alexander Petunin made it 4-1 in the 29^th minute, starting goalie Julius Hudacek was replaced by Nikita Boyarkin. It was an unhappy return to Severstal for the Slovak, who played his first full KHL season in Cherepovets in 2017-2018.

Barys tried to make a game of it. Jeremy Bracco scored on the power play late in the second period to keep things interesting going into the final stanza. However, when Moiseyev potted his second of the game, there was no way back for the visitor.

Source: en.khl.ru