Metallurg and Sibir Exchange Blows; Avtomobilist Comfortably Handles Ak Bars

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) action on September 29 began in the Ural region with two exciting matchups. In Magnitogorsk, Metallurg and Sibir combined for a total of seven goals in a thrilling contest. Meanwhile, in Yekaterinburg, Avtomobilist hosted Ak Bars and secured a confident victory.

Tolchinsky`s Inaugural Goal Propels Metallurg Past Sibir

Following a frustrating home loss to Ak Bars, Metallurg`s head coach Andrei Razin made anticipated roster changes. Alexander Smolin started in goal against Sibir. Robin Press, Danila Palivko, and Ruslan Iskhakov were scratched, replaced by Yegor Yakovlev, Nikita Korotkov, and Danil Gololobov, who was called up from the farm club. For Sibir, goaltender Anton Krasotkin was absent from the lineup for the second consecutive game, with Louis Domingue starting. Yegor Klimovich also made his first appearance since October 9 of last year.

The first period was a high-scoring affair. The hosts quickly opened the scoring when Domingue misjudged Roman Kantserov`s powerful shot. Sibir retaliated less than two minutes later, with Alexei Yakovlev persistently finding the puck in the crease to equalize. Towards the end of the period, Sibir caught Metallurg on a counter-attack. The swift Pavel Gogolev broke away from Alexei Maklyukov and confidently beat the goaltender. Soon after, the visitors netted a third goal as Scott Wilson scored against his former team following a face-off win, sending Smolin to the bench. With the score at 1-3, Razin brought in Ilya Nabokov.

Metallurg had an excellent opportunity to narrow the deficit at the end of the period when they earned a power play. While they couldn`t score during the man advantage, Sergei Tolchinsky masterfully converted a penalty shot, awarded after Domingue threw his stick.

Metallurg continued their comeback in the second period. The team`s second goal was orchestrated by Kantserov`s top line, with Dmitry Silantyev screening the Sibir goaltender during Artyom Minulin`s shot. Fans didn`t have to wait long for a potential third goal, which came from Makar Khabarov`s point shot deflected by Daniil Vovchenko. However, Sibir successfully challenged the goal, and the referees determined that Mikhail Fedorov had interfered with Domingue`s ability to make the save, nullifying the goal.

The disallowed goal did not diminish the `Steelworkers“ offensive momentum. Yegor Korobkin aggressively drove to the net, and after his shot, he relentlessly pursued the rebound, but the puck sailed over the crossbar. In the second period, Alexander Petunin did not play a single shift for Metallurg, and Gololobov saw action for only one shift. Sibir, on the other hand, largely played a defensive, counter-attacking style, not seeking to complicate the game.

The third period opened with a golden opportunity for Wilson. Nabokov misplayed the puck outside his net, gifting it to an opponent, but then made a phenomenal glove save, robbing the Sibir forward of a goal. The Metallurg goaltender`s heroics continued as he made several crucial saves while his team was shorthanded. Midway through the period, Gogolev evened the strength by taking a penalty in the offensive zone. However, Magnitogorsk`s power play also failed to convert.

Yegor Korobkin, who had been relentless, finally earned his goal, persistently battling in the crease and tapping the puck into the net. Sibir nearly responded with another counter-attack, but the hosts successfully defended. The visitors pulled their goaltender for the final minutes, but Metallurg held strong, securing a hard-fought victory.

Three Stars of the Game: Metallurg vs. Sibir

• Yegor Korobkin: Scored the decisive goal, four shots on target.
• Roman Kantserov: Scored a goal, provided an assist.
• Alexei Yakovlev: Scored a goal, won 50% of face-offs (7 of 14).

Avtomobilist Overcomes Roster Challenges to Confidently Defeat Ak Bars

Avtomobilist`s roster challenges intensified further. Stéphane Da Costa was added to the injured list, becoming the sixth player sidelined due to health issues. Including Anatoli Golyshev`s suspension and the lack of a replacement for Nick Ebert, the team was missing eight players from its initial summer roster.

Ilya Ovchinnikov was called up from the farm club, making his KHL season debut, while Alexander Sharov was moved to the center position. Daniil Karpovich replaced Yuri Zhuravlyov in the lineup. Ak Bars coach Anvar Gatiyatulin maintained the same lineup that finished the game against Metallurg, with Dmitry Yashkin moved to the third line and Artyom Galimov to the second, a strategy that helped the team come back from a 0-3 deficit in the previous match.

After a quiet opening few shifts, Avtomobilist scored on their very first shot. The Kazan club`s defense allowed Alexei Byvaltsev to skillfully outmaneuver opponents and deliver a pass to Jesse Blacker, who had joined the rush in the crease. This goal did little to ignite Ak Bars; while play occurred in Yevgeni Alikin`s zone, it rarely translated into even half-chances. Avtomobilist then had a power play but failed to generate anything significant in two minutes.

Towards the end of the period, Ak Bars managed a couple of good positional attacks with dangerous shots, earning their first power play of the game. Avtomobilist spent very little time in the offensive zone during the latter half of the period but remained solid defensively; despite Ak Bars` impressive shot advantage, dangerous opportunities were scarce. The visitors paid for this in the final moments: Avtomobilist launched a counter-attack, and after Yaroslav Busygin`s shot, Ak Bars` defense faltered in the crease, allowing Roman Gorbunov to tap in the rebound into an open net.

However, Kazan managed to sweeten the end of the period as Mikhail Fisenko buried a rebound from the crease after a point shot by Alexei Marchenko.

Despite the goal, Ak Bars replaced their starting goaltender during the intermission, with Mikhail Berdin entering the game. He was quickly beaten: the visitors suffered a breakdown on their power play, allowing Stepan Khripunov to skate almost the entire length of the ice, deking past several Ak Bars` key players before shooting. While Berdin stopped the initial shot, Khripunov retrieved the rebound and passed to Danil Romantsev, who found the back of the net. Ak Bars` frankly terrible power play soon deteriorated further, turning their 5-on-4 into 47 seconds of 3-on-5 play. The hosts also failed to capitalize, and Alikin made a crucial save when the visitors were back to four men.

In the latter half of the period, the game significantly calmed down. Avtomobilist was in no hurry, and Ak Bars seemed to lack the desire to mount a comeback. The hosts had much better chances for a fourth goal, but Avtomobilist players appeared to be aiming for highlight-reel plays, often missing straightforward opportunities.

In the third period, the Ural team played more like a squad that needed to make a comeback. Ak Bars` defensive play was inexplicable, and the hosts came close to scoring a fourth goal multiple times, but their accuracy failed them: Reid Boucher shot at an open net but hit Stepan Falkovsky. In other instances, Berdin rescued Ak Bars, while Alikin remained flawless at the other end.

The usually conservative Gatiyatulin took an unprecedented step, pulling his goaltender with 5:44 remaining in the game after a couple of successful shifts by his team. For most of this time, the `Snow Leopards` (Ak Bars) defended their empty net, but Nikita Shashkov eventually scored an empty-net goal. With just one second left on the clock, Vladimir Alistrov failed to convert a penalty shot. Avtomobilist secured their second victory of the season against Ak Bars, bringing the aggregate score between the two teams to a commanding 10-2.

Three Stars of the Game: Avtomobilist vs. Ak Bars

• Jesse Blacker: Scored a goal, provided two assists, three shots on target.
• Evgeny Alikin: Stopped 32 of 33 shots.
• Alexei Byvaltsev: Two assists, two hits.