Malkin's Hat Trick Leads Magnitogorsk to a Win

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(18-0-9-6)

@

Atlant

Moscow Oblast

(9-3-4-17)

Players You May Recognize

Anton Khudobin, Jonas Andersson, Fedor Tyutin, Viktor Stalberg, Nikolai Zherdev, Konstantin Koltsov, Sandis Ozolinsh, Maxim Mayorov

Recap

Here are a few notes and reminders coming off of the December break for Magnitogorsk:

Malkin has become an instant fan favorite in the KHL.

• Entering tonight's game, Sergei Mozyakin led the KHL with 48 points in 31 games.  Evgeni Malkin was second with 42 points in 29 games.
• Ryan O'Reilly was signed by Magnitogorsk just before the break and has joined the team officially.
• Fans voted on the All-Star starting lineups over the break.  Evgeni Malkin received the most votes of any player (40,569) and will start for Team East along with Sergei Kostitsyn, Evgeni Kuznetsov, Sergei Gonchar, Ilya Nikulin, and Michael Garnett in net.
• Team West is an NHL powerhouse, starting Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Zdeno Chara, and Alexander Ryazantsev with Semyon Varlamov in net.
• Journalists are currently voting for the second lines for each All-Star team.
• Finally, the lines have undergone some changes as Cal O'Reilly is injured and Yaroslav Kosov has joined the Russian team for the World Junior Championship.  Mozyakin is now on the 1st line (Lisin was scratched) and Ryan O'Reilly debuted on the 3rd line.

Now on to the actual recap!  After 10 days off, Metallurg kicked off a road trip with a visit to the Moscow Oblast region of Russia.  The team struggled following their November break and looked to avoid similar issues against a bottom feeder team like Atlant.  Things started poorly though when Mikhail Glukhov gave Atlant a 1-0 lead.  Defenseman Rafael Batyrshin took the puck deep into the offensive zone, drawing the eyes of all 5 Metallurg players on the ice.  Batyrshin threw the puck out in front of the net for Glukhov, who actually fanned on the shot, but still brushed it enough to score on Ari Ahonen who was off of his angle.

This looks fair, right?

Evgeni Malkin "scored" the tying goal just a few minutes later on a play that probably should have been called goalie interference.  Sergei Mozyakin fired a shot from a tough angle against the boards that hit goalie Anton Khudobin in the shoulder.  As the puck ricocheted off of Khudobin, Malkin crashed the crease with a defender and sent the puck into the net off of his arm/stick while laying on top of the goalie.  The teams each had one more quality chance (Malkin stopped after splitting the defense, Koltsov stopped on a semi-breakaway) before the period ended 1-1.

The second period started even worse than the first for Magnitogorsk.  Malkin was sent to the penalty box on the opening shift for "handling the puck with his hands" (quoted from the box score) and Glukhov scored his 2nd of the night to give Atlant a 2-1 lead on the powerplay.  Former NHL defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh sent the puck in deep to Maxim Semyonov, who had his pass deflect into the slot.  Magnitogorsk defenseman Georgi Misharin was within reach of clearing the puck, but Glukhov made a magnificent effort to dive and swat at the puck with his stick, causing it to deflect off of Misharin's stick and fly over Ahonen's shoulder into the net.

Leg kick FTW.

Yet again, Evgeni Malkin tied the game for Magnitogorsk minutes later.  With a 6 on 5 advantage due to a delayed penalty on Atlant, Metallurg worked the puck around the offensive zone as Justin Hodgman rushed to the ice in place of goaltender Ari Ahonen.  Hodgman promptly received the puck and passed it to the left point where Sergei Mozyakin stood wide open.  Instead of shooting, Mozyakin threaded a pass to Malkin on the right side of the crease where he was left 1 on 1 with Khudobin.  Khudobin tried to skate towards Malkin to cut off any angles but Malkin slid the puck around him to tie the game.

Atlant would regain the lead before the period ended after Mikhail Yakubov was called for holding.  On the ensuing powerplay, Atlant forward Andreas Engqvist received the puck by the goalpost and proceeded to jam the puck under Ahonen until it slid through.  Ahonen originally had his pads on the ice for the first stop, but he lifted them just enough for the puck to get jammed through after a few pokes by Engqvist.  With that, the second period ended with a 3-2 Atlant lead.

With 2 goals on the night already, Mikhail Glukhov played a major factor in how the game ended much to the dismay of his head coach.  Roughly 7 minutes into the 3rd period, with Atlant looking very comfortable with a one goal lead, Glukhov hit Evgeny Biryukov from behind, putting his face into the dashers and sending him to the dressing room.  Glukhov also went to the dressing room as he was given a 5 minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.

By the end of the 5 minute major, Magnitogorsk had a lead they would not relinquish.  Justin Hodgman tied the game with a backhander that handcuffed Khudobin as he tried to slide across the crease.  Sergei Mozyakin scored another powerplay goal less than a minute later as Khudobin slid post to post to cover a cross-crease pass by Kulemin.  Khudobin covered everything low, but Mozyakin stayed patient and shot the puck right over his shoulder.

Atlant had a couple solid chances to tie the game with back to back powerplays late in the 3rd period, but Magnitogorsk's penalty kill held strong after a dismal start.  Evgeni Malkin finished the game off by netting an empty netter to give him the hat trick and send Magnitogorsk to their 19th win of the season.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5  Atlant Moscow Oblast 3

Magnitogorsk improves to 19-0-9-6 and Atlant drops to 9-3-4-18.

Player Notes

4 point night = postgame interview

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin finished with 3 goals, 1 assist, 8 shots, 12/23 (52.2%) in faceoffs, and 2 PIM in 22:54 of ice time.  Clearly with the 4 point night, Malkin's offensive output was fantastic, but his overall play was average.  He took a bad penalty to start the 2nd period which led to an Atlant goal.  He also was very blind-pass happy for the first half of the game.  After Magnitogorsk fell behind 3-2, he stopped attempting blind passes and was much more efficient with his game.  If this was Malkin shaking off some rust, then good luck KHL.  He now has 16 goals and 30 assists (league leader) in 30 games.

Others (Metallurg) - Sergei Mozyakin had a goal and 2 assists to boost his league leading point total to 51 points in 32 games.  Malkin can't seem to catch up to him because they figure into each other's goals almost every time.  Ryan O'Reilly had 4 shots and played 18:31 in his Magnitogorsk debut but he wasn't very noticeable through the game.  I imagine it will take a couple weeks for him to get up to speed in the KHL.  Justin Hodgman and Mats Zuccarello both saw sharp decreases in ice time, down below 10 minutes.  Both played very well though as Hodgman registered a goal and an assist and Zuccarello had an assist.

Others (Atlant) - Konstantin Koltsov showed a great deal of speed as usual but shot directly into Ahonen's pads every time he had a decent chance.  Viktor Stalberg looked great with his physical game in the corners.  Sandis Ozolinsh (yes, he still plays) was given the assignment of covering Malkin's line to begin the game but as you can tell, it did not work out every well.

Next Game:  12/21, 10am EST @ Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Another Two Points for Malkin, Another Win for Magnitogorsk

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(8-0-4-3)

vs

Atlant

Moscow Oblast

(5-3-3-6)

Players You May Recognize

Anton Khudobin, Nikolai Zherdev, Konstantin Koltsov, Sandis Ozolinsh, Maxim Mayorov

Recap

Based on sheer records alone, this game looked like a complete mismatch as Atlant entered Magnitogorsk on a 3 game losing streak.  Goalie Anton Khudobin ensured it was a tight game in a losing effort though.

The first period was rather quiet despite an enormous shot advantage for Magnitogorsk (15-3).  Georgi Gelashvili started for the second straight game for Metallurg, but faced very little work early on.  Meanwhile, Magnitogorsk was kept to mostly perimeter shots and could not penetrate the slot or crease area whatsoever in the first period.  Of Khudobin's 15 first period saves, maybe 1 was really a challenge.

The game opened up quite a bit in the second period as both teams traded chances and rushed up and down the ice.  Atlant finally got some pressure on Magnitogorsk early, but an errant pass sent Metallurg going the other way.  Evgeni Malkin swooped in past a defender and put a low shot on Khudobin which was stopped.  Malkin fell to the ice though and slid into both Khudobin and the side of the net as the puck sat loose on the crease.  With no whistle to stop play, Enver Lisin crashed the crease and poked the loose puck into the net for a 1-0 lead.

As the game got more physical, Malkin and Kulemin
were quite ready to get involved.

At this point, the online stream died for a little bit, but when it returned Magnitogorsk was killing a penalty on Denis Platonov.  The penalty kill was successful, but Atlant scored shortly thereafter as Jonas Andersson shot a rebound from just outside of the crease to tie the score at 1.  As the second period came to a close, the game got notably physical.  Nikolai Kulemin had a great open ice hit on an Atlant defender which forced a turnover and a solid scoring chance, but Khudobin was ready for it.  Later in the shift, Malkin tried to go 1 on 3 into the slot and an Atlant defender hip checked him, nearly flipping him over on his head.  With that, the period would end 1-1.

The third period played out more like the first as Magnitogorsk returned to dominance, outshooting Atlant 12-4.  Enver Lisin would score his 2nd of the night, the game winner, halfway through the period as his line took advantage of a 3 on 2 break.  Justin Hodgman brought the puck into the zone and passed it off to Lisin in the high slot after both defenders had backed up towards the crease.  Lisin held the puck for a few seconds before sniping it past Khudobin.  The game would come to a close as Evgeni Malkin finished it off with an empty net goal.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3  Atlant Moscow Oblast 1

Magnitogorsk improves to 9-0-4-3 and Atlant drops to 5-3-3-7.

Player Notes

Malkin focused on a faceoff late in the 3rd.

Evgeni Malkin - Geno put up a goal and an assist for the second straight game.  He absolutely frightened me when he was flipped on his 1 on 3 effort, but showed no ill effects from the hit.  He finished the game with 6 shots in 19:32 of ice time and was 13 for 22 in the faceoff circle.  If the NHL does return soon, it will be interesting to see if Malkin starts off on fire as he looks to be in mid-season form right now.

Sergei Gonchar - Gonchar played a MUCH better game tonight than 2 days ago.  He was solid defensively, not getting caught out of position even once.  He also played a 2 on 1 perfectly as he pushed the puck carrier to the outside and cut off the passing lane at the same time.  He finished the game with 4 shots in 18:26 in a solid effort.

Others - Nikolai Kulemin looked fantastic in both his physical game and his defensive awareness.  His poke-checking on the PK and in the defensive zone was superb and he caused numerous Atlant turnovers.  Sandis Ozolinsh, who I assumed quit hockey long ago, looked great in playing over 24 minutes for Atlant.  He was smooth with the puck and a workhorse all night.  His game made me wonder why he's no longer in the NHL.  Enver Lisin was pretty much johnny on the spot for loose pucks and open passes in this game.  Finally, Atlant captain Konstantin Koltsov disappointed me in this game.  I was hoping his speed would be a game changer and entertaining, but it looked pedestrian compared to those around him.  

Next Game:  10/22, 12:30pm EST vs Dynamo Riga, on ESPN 3

Links:

Go to onhockey.ru for all of your streaming needs.

If you want highlights for the games, check out http://www.youtube.com/user/KHLofficialvideo.