Magnitogorsk Dismantles the "Other" Metallurg Team

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(21-0-9-7)

vs

Metallurg

Novokuznetsk

(11-3-4-18)

NHL/Former NHL Players You May Recognize

Randy Robitaille, Chris Simon, Brent Sopel

Pregame Notes

• The ceremony preceding Wednesday's game was for Sergei Mozyakin being named player of the month.
• Standings Update: Magnitogorsk sits in 3rd place in the West with 72 points.  Novokuznetsk is in 10th in the East with 43 points.
• KHL Scoring Race Update:  Mozyakin entered tonight's game with the lead (56), 5 points ahead of Malkin (51) and 10 points ahead of Alexander Radulov (46).
• Starting goalies: Yury Klyuchnikov for Novokuznetsk and Ari Ahonen for Magnitogorsk.
• Injury report remains the same: Cal O'Reilly, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Evgeny Biryukov out.
• Enver Lisin finally returned to the lineup, joining Justin Hodgman's line with Mats Zuccarello

Recap

Novokuznetsk was helped by a few key shot blocks
in the first period.

Coming off of a disappointing loss to Sibir Novosibirsk, Magnitogorsk made a tremendous effort to take control of this game early and they never let go.  A dominant performance began early as Magnitogorsk spent a majority of the first 6 minutes cycling in the Novokuznetsk zone.  Their efforts paid off with an offensive zone faceoff that led to the first goal of the game.  It started when Evgeni Malkin won a faceoff cleanly back to Sergei Gonchar at the point.  As Gonchar received the puck, Sergei Mozyakin skated back to the blueline across from Gonchar and opened up for a one-timer.  Gonchar's pass was perfectly timed and Mozyakin's shot hit the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.  The rest of the period was dominated by special teams play as each team took 3 penalties, but neither powerplay could manage a goal.  Novokuznetsk looked very strong on the penalty kill and played very aggressively and physically on defense.  Meanwhile, Magnitogorsk managed to control the puck on the penalty kill more than their opponent did.

Magnitogorsk then opened up the second period with a quick goal to double their lead as Alexei Bondarev found Mats Zuccarello streaking up the ice for a breakaway.  Zuccarello deked to his backhand and then forehand to get goalie Yury Klyuchnikov sprawling out of position as he slid the puck into the net.  Klyuchnikov steadied the ship for Novokuznetsk for a few minutes as Magnitogorsk continued an onslaught of shots (outshooting Novokuznetsk 12-3 in the period), but it was only a matter of time before the lead would increase.

It was a tough day for Klyuchnikov, who dealt with
traffic in his crease constantly.

Halfway through the period, Malkin carried the puck down the left side boards at full speed backing off both Novokuznetsk defenders.  As the defenders backed off, he dropped the puck off for Mozyakin, who skated through Malkin's wake directly to the crease.  As Klyuchnikov anticipated a shot, Mozyakin dished the puck to Kulemin, who was uncovered on the left side of the crease and had a wide open net to shoot at for a 3-0 lead.  Less than two minutes later, Ryan O'Reilly increased the lead to 4-0 as he streaked down the right side and simply fired a wrist shot that beat Klyuchnikov on his glove side.  Though Novokuznetsk's goalie looked angry and irritated after the 4th goal, he remained in the game.  Each team had another powerplay towards the end of the period, but both penalty kills were up to the task again.

Malkin was all smiles after 3 points in an easy win.

Magnitogorsk began the 3rd period on the powerplay after defender Brent Sopel knocked the net off of its moorings intentionally with 3 seconds left in the 2nd.  Though the final result was pretty much set, the penalty was still costly as Malkin added a goal of his own on a one-timer set up by Gonchar.  Facing a 5-0 deficit, Novokuznetsk gave up the fight as Magnitogorsk dominated in time of possession and looked like they were on a powerplay during 5 on 5 play.  Ryan O'Reilly capped off the scoring 5 minutes into the period by getting his 2nd of the night when he knocked a rebound past Klyuchnikov.  With a 6-0 score, the only excitement the rest of the way was a fight between Enver Lisin and Stanislav Romanov, for which both were given double minors for roughing.  Ari Ahonen was barely challenged as he recorded 22 saves to earn a shutout.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 6  Metallurg Novokuznetsk 0

Box Score: http://text.khl.ru/en/35104.html

Magnitogorsk drops to 22-0-9-7 and Novosibirsk improves to 11-3-4-19.

Player Notes

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin finished with 1 goal, 2 assists, 5 shots, and 13 for 22 (59.1%) in faceoffs in only 21:24 of ice time.  He had some dazzling moves against a weaker Novokuznetsk defense, once deking through 3 players and also almost completing a pylon drill around 4 players before drawing a slashing penalty.  He looked relaxed, confident, and happy in a complete game for him and his teammates.

Others (Metallurg) - Ryan O'Reilly continues to make the KHL look easy as he scored his 3rd and 4th goals in 6 games and added an assist.  The most impressive part is O'Reilly isn't getting much time on the powerplay or in the offensive zone but he is being very productive with his chances.  Mats Zuccarello and Enver Lisin had instant chemistry with each other while Justin Hodgman had a quiet game on that line.  Zuccarello and Lisin had multiple 2 on 1 chances and timed their attacks very well together.  Sergei Mozyakin "only" had 2 points to allow Malkin to gain some ground on him.  Nikolai Kulemin showed some very aggressive play to go along with his goal, racking up 8 PIM in this game.

Next Game:  12/30, 6am EST vs Amur Khabarovsk

**I might miss this one but will at least post highlights and stats if I do miss it**

Links:

Thank you to onhockey.ru (@onhockey on Twitter).  Not only have they been dependable for KHL streams, but they even named my blog on the stream for this game (as you can see in the screencaps).

Keep track of Malkin and the KHL scoring race here:  http://en.khl.ru/stat/leaders/222/.

Secondary Scoring Leads Metallurg to Victory

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(20-0-9-6)

@

Lokomotiv

Yaroslavl

(18-8-0-9)

Players You May Recognize

Dmitri Kulikov, Niklas Hagman, Sami Lepisto, Semyon Varlamov, Curtis Sanford, Artem Anisimov

Pregame Notes

Will Dan Potash do these interviews again?

• Back in the NHL world, Penguins fans were buzzing yesterday as rumors floated around that Ray Shero may be interested in reacquiring Sergei Gonchar.
• Evgeni Malkin is slowly but surely catching up to teammate Sergei Mozyakin in the KHL scoring race.  Malkin entered the game with 48 points, Mozyakin with 52.  For comparison's sake, third on the team is Nikolai Kulemin with 27 points.
• Metallurg spent yesterday visiting the Lokomotiv memorial in honor of the players who lost their lives in last year's plane crash.
• This is the final stop of a 3 game road trip for Magnitogorsk before they return home for 4 games.
• Starting goalies: Curtis Sanford for Lokomotiv and Ari Ahonen for Metallurg.  Magnitogorsk catches a break not having to face All-Star starter Semyon Varlamov.
• Injury report remains the same: Cal O'Reilly, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Evgeny Biryukov out.

Recap

Fans first cheered for a tribute to players lost in the crash,
and then had a goal celebration just seconds later.

After a terrible start and a come from behind victory in Friday's game, it was easy to assume that Magnitogorsk would come out focused and strong against a top tier Lokomotiv team.  Assumptions don't usually pan out though - it took just 21 seconds for Lokomotiv to take a 1-0 lead.  Forward Sergei Plotnikov had the puck behind Metallurg's net and was looking for an open pass.  Instead of a passing lane, he found Ari Ahonen cheating off the right post and banked the puck in off of Ahonen's leg.  The early goal inspired both teams to continually look for similar plays originating from behind the net.

Luckily for Ahonen and Magnitogorsk, the goalie on the other side of the ice would also make a poor play on his post later in the period.  Justin Hodgman skated the puck deep into the offensive zone and made an abrupt decision to circle behind the net after taking a path towards the crease.  Curtis Sanford went out to challenge Hodgman and was caught completely out of position as Hodgman looped behind the net and passed the puck in front to Mats Zuccarello.  Sanford had no chance to get back in position as Zuccarello tied the game easily.

The PK also looks better when abandoned sticks
help out.

Magnitogorsk had a chance to take the lead late in the first, but was unable to capitalize on a 5 on 3 powerplay opportunity.  When the second period began, the team quickly realized that they were better off at even strength.  Just like with the first 2 goals, this time Dmitry Kazionov took the puck behind the net and found Denis Platonov in front for an easy tap-in to make it 2-1 Magnitogorsk.  A few minutes later, they found themselves on another 5 on 3 which they could not score on.  Lokomotiv played exceptionally well on the penalty kill, keeping 3 men in the slot at all times and forcing all shots and passes to the outside.  Their PK style looked very similar to the New York Rangers.

After the second 5 on 3 was over for Metallurg, Lokomotiv had back to back powerplay chances but failed to score due to some very aggressive penalty kill work at the points.  Once play returned to 5 on 5, Magnitogorsk finished the second period with 2 daggers that would take all of the fight out of Lokomotiv.  With 2:24 left in the second period, Sanford made a sprawling save on Zuccarello.  The puck bounced to Ryan O'Reilly in front and Sanford was still laying on the ice as O'Reilly chipped it over him for a 3-1 lead.  Then with just 19 seconds left in the period, Viktor Antipin threw a puck into the slot towards Zuccarello and Malkin.  Though neither player got a clean shot off, the puck ended up glancing off of Zuccarello's stick and sliding past Sanford.

After the back-breaking 4th goal at the end of the second period, both Lokomotiv and Metallurg looked disinterested throughout the third.  Magnitogorsk upped the score to 5-1 roughly 5 minutes into the period as Sergei Bernatsky one-timed a shot past Sanford and both teams essentially just traded penalties for the rest of the game.  Semyon Varlamov came in for Lokomotiv after the 5th goal and allowed no goals in his short stint of play.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5  Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1

Magnitogorsk improves to 21-0-9-6 and Yaroslavl drops to 18-8-0-10.

Player Notes

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin had a very subpar game and simply looked sluggish and tired all night.  He finished with 1 assist, 9 shots, and 11 for 20 (55%) in faceoffs in 22:17 of ice time.  The high shot total is very misleading since most of it came during the 5 on 3 opportunities that Metallurg had.  None of the 9 were extremely challenging by any means.  Perhaps Geno was just sick (or hungover?) or just out of it for this game, but his speed, skating, and stickhandling were pretty much absent all game.

It will be interesting to see if Zuccarello gets
another NHL shot eventually.

Others (Metallurg) - Yet again, Justin Hodgman and Mats Zuccarello shined on the second line.  Their ice time has risen significantly towards the 15 minute mark as they continue to add secondary scoring for Magnitogorsk.  Sergei Mozyakin was held to 1 assist and still maintains a 4 point lead over Malkin in the KHL scoring race.  Ryan O'Reilly had his 2nd goal in as many games and looks more and more comfortable with each shift.

Others (Lokomotiv) - Dmitri Kulikov was the standout for Lokomotiv, neutralizing the first line on defense and playing a significant role on the penalty kill.  Niklas Hagman had a below average game, recording 0 shots and getting caught up in physical play frequently instead of paying attention to the puck.  Artem Anisimov had 4 shots but was rather quiet throughout the night.  Finally, goalie Curtis Sanford played much better than his 5 goals allowed might suggest, stopping 32 of 37 shots.  Sanford really fell victim to bad bounces and defensive lapses in front of him.

Next Game:  12/26, 8am EST vs Sibir Novosibirsk

Links:

Thank you to onhockey.ru (@onhockey on Twitter).  Not only have they been dependable for KHL streams, but they even named my blog on the stream for this game (as you can see in the screencaps).

Keep track of Malkin and the KHL scoring race here:  http://en.khl.ru/stat/leaders/222/.

Malkin's Penalty in Overtime Leads to a Loss

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(16-0-7-5)

@

HC Vityaz
Chekhov

(4-6-6-12)

Players You May Recognize

Alexei Zhamnov (General Manager), Trevor Gillies, Alexander Korolyuk, Daniil Markov, Brian Fahey, Andrei Markov

Recap

Oh, KHL streams...

A quick note on some changes over the past couple games.  Denis Platonov is no longer wearing the C, it was given to Evgeni Malkin when Platonov missed a game and Malkin kept it today with Platonov in the lineup.  Also, the new first line is Mozyakin-Malkin-Kulemin.  Now onto the game!

HC Vityaz Chekhov has had a miserable November so far, going winless for the month.  Their last win was October 31st in a shootout and they only have 4 regulation wins all season.  Despite that, I guess a team has to win eventually...

The first period started quite slow with a lot of neutral zone play and a few turnovers.  The game livened up significantly around the 10 minute mark when Metallurg's Justin Hodgman slashed goaltender Ivan Lisutin while trying to chip at a rebound.  Vityaz defenseman Daniil Markov took exception to this and flat out attacked Hodgman, jumping him from behind and repeatedly punching him with his gloves off.  Markov was given a double minor for roughing, a 10 minute misconduct, and ejected with a game misconduct.

A look at the scoreboard in Chekhov with no jumbotron.

Magnitogorsk did not score on the ensuing powerplay, but scoring chances increased for both teams as the pace picked up.  Mats Zuccarello opened up the scoring for Metallurg when he took a pass from Hodgman and skated across the crease to backhand a shot under a diving Lisutin.  Chekhov would tie the game less than 2 minutes later while Oleg Tverdovsky was in the penalty box for slashing.  Evgeni Malkin tried to pass the puck back to Georgi Misharin in his own end, but Misharin was not ready and the puck bounced off of his skate.  Alexander Korolyuk took the puck for a wide open chance in the slot and put a slapshot past goalie Ari Ahonen.

The second period was dominated by tight play and obstruction penalties as each team had two powerplay chances.  Neither team scored on their powerplays though and it looked like the period would pass along quietly until Aleksey Badyukov wristed a puck past Ahonen to give Chekhov a 2-1 lead.  With the period winding down and Magnitogorsk facing a 1 goal deficit, Sergei Mozyakin threw a slapshot at the net from the blue line with less than 10 seconds left.  The rebound came out perfectly to Nikolai Kulemin, who quickly shot the puck past Lisutin to tie the game with 5 seconds left in the 2nd period.

Maurice knew OT was trouble.

HC Vityaz Chekhov took the lead just over a minute into the 3rd period when Yakov Seleznyov shot a backhander from the slot past Ahonen, who did not look ready for the shot.  The period continued on quietly as Magnitogorsk could not mount much of an attack with Chekhov keeping 3 players back at all times.  Metallurg finally earned a break though when Korolyuk was called for slashing with less than 4 minutes left.  The powerplay succeeded and Victor Antipin tied the game as he backhanded a bouncing puck in the slot past Lisutin.

As the game went to overtime, not many could expect a Magnitogorsk win based on their 0-7 overtime record this season.  True to form, Evgeni Malkin was called for kneeing with 1:34 left in overtime and Brian Fahey scored on the first shot of the powerplay to give Chekhov the overtime win.  Malkin vehemently argued with the refs after the game about the call and received an additional 10 minute misconduct for abuse of officials after the fact.  Make that 0-8 in overtime.

Final Score:  HC Vityaz Chekhov 4  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (OT)

Magnitogorsk drops to 16-0-8-5 despite outshooting Vityaz 49-20 and Chekhov improves to 4-7-6-12.

Player Notes

Not your best night, Captain Geno.

Evgeni Malkin - Geno registered 11 shots with no points, was 11 for 28 in faceoffs, and was given 12 PIM in 23:22 of ice time.  Many of those shots were bad angle shots on the powerplay and he was simply not his creative self today.  He was seen arguing with the refs over icing calls early in the 3rd and then again after his penalty at the end of the game, which absolutely was a penalty regardless of his argument.  This was not a great day as Captain for Geno and I'm sure Paul Maurice isn't happy with it.

Others - Sergei Mozyakin added 2 assists to boost his league leading point total to 41 and move him back into the assists lead with 25.  His stickhandling was beautiful today as he played keep away from Chekhov players multiple times in the offensive zone.  Nikolai Kulemin and Mats Zuccarello also put together strong performances with a goal each.  Both players spent a significant amount of time causing havoc around the Vityaz net.  Sergei Gonchar had a quiet game, recording just 3 shots, and he had an easy night in the defensive end.  

Next Game:  11/30, 11am EST @ Dynamo Minsk

If you haven't looked at it yet, check out my previous post to see an interview with Paul Maurice, who talks about Malkin's spin-around backhand goal against Cam Ward in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009.

Links:

ESPN has added a schedule and standings page for the KHL: http://espn.go.com/nhl/khl

Magnitogorsk has a twitter page: https://twitter.com/MetallurgMgn

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.

Magnitogorsk Dominates in Consecutive 7-2 Wins

I apologize for the lack of updates, but I was out of town and well...the KHL is rather difficult to see without ideal circumstances!  Evgeni Malkin was named the Forward of the week in the KHL!

Here's what we missed:

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 7   HC Spartak Moscow 2

Nikolai Kulemin - 1g, 3 shots, 0 for 2 faceoffs, 17:33 ice time

Evgeni Malkin - 1g, 1a, 7 shots, 2 PIM, 14 for 26 faceoffs, 20:52 ice time

Sergei Gonchar - 2a, 1 shot, 22:41 ice time

Mats Zuccarello - 1g, 1a, 3 shots, 2 PIM, 14:00 ice time

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 7   HC Dinamo Minsk 2

Cal O'Reilly - 1a, 1 shot, 6 for 13 faceoffs, 15:37 ice time

Mats Zuccarello - 1g, 1a, 1 shot, 14:00 ice time

Sergei Gonchar - 1a, 3 shots, 19:32 ice time

Evgeni Malkin - 1a, 3 shots, 6 for 15 faceoffs, 10 PIM (apparently abuse of the officials misconduct), 16:35 ice time

Evander Kane (Minsk) - 1g, 6 shots, 2 PIM, 13:41 ice time

Joe Pavelski (Minsk) - 1 shot, 8 for 14 faceoffs, 16:39 ice time

Pekka Rinne (Minsk) - 22 saves on 29 shots

Played for the Penguins? Here's a Goal!

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(6-0-3-3)

@

Amur

Khabarovsk

(4-2-0-9)

Players You May Recognize

None, I literally didn't recognize a single person on Khabarovsk's roster.

Recap

Quite a long trip back home after this game.

For the final stop of their road trip, Magnitogorsk visited the KHL's most isolated member in Khabarovsk.  Amur Khabarovsk is 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) away from any other KHL team and much further away from Magnitogorsk.  For that reason, opening faceoff was at a slightly early, 4am EST.  Paul Maurice went with the same lines despite coming off of a 4-1 loss.  The only change to the lineup was Georgi Gelashvili in net instead of regular starter Ari Ahonen.

First periods over the past week have been rather quiet in Magnitogorsk games and the trend continued in this matchup.  Both goalies started off flawlessly despite a powerplay opportunity for each team.  Evgeni Malkin had at least three opportunities from the slot and also drew a penalty, but none of it was useful in trying to beat Khabarovsk goalie Alexei Murygin.

After a scoreless first, the home team came out with three strong shifts to open the 2nd period and drew a high sticking penalty.  Magnitogorsk killed it off and went on a short attack before Mats Zuccarello was called for a weak trip that looked very much like a dive.  Though Malkin argued the team's case, Metallurg went to the penalty kill and and succeeded yet again.

Roughly half way through the period, Magnitogorsk drew a powerplay which ultimately led to chaos and a goal.  Sergei Gonchar was unable to control a puck at the blue line and was beat in a race to the puck by an Amur forward.  The forward went in on Gelashvili at full speed on a breakaway, but the goalie stoned him.  As the play turned back to the offensive zone, Gonchar ended up with the puck and took three strides in from his point position before ripping a shot past Murygin for a 1-0 lead.  From potential goat to hero in about 30 seconds summed up Gonchar's powerplay shift.


The second period would end with more Magnitogorsk penalties.  First Nikolai Kulemin took a high sticking penalty late in the period, then Gelashvili was called for slashing on the penalty kill.  With the second period expiring, Khabarovsk would begin the 3rd period with a 5 on 3 for over a minute.

Tyler Kennedy could even finish this chance.

Metallurg continued to win the special teams battle, led by Evgeni Malkin on the 3 man penalty kill.  Both penalties were killed and play opened up as both teams took more chances to get an odd man break.  The play development benefited Magnitogorsk quickly as Cal O'Reilly found himself wide open at the backdoor of the net.  Sergei Mozyakin had no problem finding him for a pass and O'Reilly finished it off into a wide open net.

CHAOS

With a two goal lead, Magnitogorsk drew another penalty and chaos ensued yet again.  Gonchar was beat at the point again and another Amur forward had a breakaway chance.  This time, goalie Gelashvili came out to challenge the shooter/slide into him/take out his legs at least.  Players flew all over the ice and the referees deemed it to be a penalty shot scenario.  Gelashvili stopped the penalty shot and essentially put an end to any fight Khabarovsk had.

The scoresheet was missing just one Pittsburgh-connected player late in the 3rd and he had no intentions of disappointing his fans back in the US.  After taking a pass from Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin skated through a couple of Amur players and deked out the last defenseman.  As he finished his deke and was falling to the ice, Geno unleashed a backhander that found the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.

The game would come to a quiet end shortly thereafter as Magnitogorsk earned their 7th win of the season behind the firepower of Sergei Gonchar, Cal O'Reilly, and Evgeni Malkin and the goaltending of Georgi Gelashvili.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3  Amur Khabarovsk 0

Magnitogorsk improves to 7-0-3-3 and Khabarovsk drops to 4-2-0-10.

Player Notes

Evgeni Malkin - The goal was only Malkin's 2nd in 9 games, but certainly a step in the right direction.  He had 7 shots in over 23 minutes of ice time as he continues to throw the puck to the net with every chance he gets.  Overall, he had a strong game and played a big role in the perfect penalty killing effort for Magnitogorsk.  His only weakness was in the faceoff circle, where he went 8 for 24.

Celebrating PP goals like they've been there before...

Sergei Gonchar - Despite his attempts to destroy Gelashvili's shutout, Gonchar managed to play a good game in general.  At even strength, his play on offense and defense was solid.  On the powerplay, his offense was solid but his defense was non-existent.  The two breakaways that Gonchar allowed were simply horrendous.  For today though, he can live by the phrase "no harm, no foul."  He finished with a goal (his first of the season) and an assist in 25 minutes of ice time.

Cal O'Reilly - Going into this game, I was ready to complain that O'Reilly had shown very little chemistry with his new linemates compared to when he was with Nikolai Kulemin.  His work with Sergei Mozyakin changed my mind greatly though.  Aside from the goal (his first of the season), O'Reilly and Mozyakin showed a strong prowess for how to attack the net and provide puck support for each other.  O'Reilly has been impressively productive (11 points) for a guy who only gets roughly 15 minutes of ice time per game.

Next Game:  10/13, 7am EST vs Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Links:

Go to onhockey.ru for all of your streaming needs.  They had 7 different links for this game.

If you want highlights for the games, check out http://www.youtube.com/user/KHLofficialvideo.  Here are this game's highlights in English.  I'll start finding these and adding them to the recaps:

Magnitogorsk Loses to the Other Metallurg

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(6-0-3-2)

@

Metallurg

Novokuznetsk

(3-2-3-5)

Players You May Recognize

Randy Robitaille, Brent Sopel, Chris Simon

Recap

Coming off of a tight 2-1 victory, Paul Maurice opted for no changes in his lineup as Metallurg Magnitogorsk visited Metallurg Novokuznetsk.  Ari Ahonen started in net with the KHL's 2nd best Goals Against Average (1.46) and 4th best Save Percentage (.947).  Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin kept his new linemates from the 3rd period of the previous game, Nikolai Kulemin and Mats Zuccarello.

Tom Barrasso looked downright surly in this one.

The 6am EST start was brutal on a Saturday morning and the camera angle was awful throughout most of the game since the online stream did not zoom very often, but alas, hockey is hockey.  The first period was very quiet as neither team came up with a significant scoring chance.  Magnitogorsk had a powerplay opportunity late in the period when Mats Zuccarello used his speed and small stature to draw a hook, but it was negated on the powerplay when Nikolai Kulemin was called for a trip.  The only cause for any excitement was Evgeni Malkin hitting the far side post on a bad angle shot.  After the first, the game was scoreless.

The second period started much like the first as both teams skated up and down the ice without actually trading many chances.  Finally, Magnitogorsk got on the board as Sergei Gonchar showed some brilliant skating and puck handling to move around a defenseman and then threw a perfect pass across the slot to Sergei Mozyakin.  Mozyakin rifled a wrist shot instantly to beat Novokuznetsk goalie Klyuchnikov for a 1-0 lead.

The opening goal woke up Novokuznetsk though and they proceeded to score twice in a minute to take the lead.  The first of their tallies was on a 2 on 1 where Gonchar forced Damir Zhafyarov to the outside.  Zhafyarov put a very weak shot on net at the last moment and Ahonen let it trickle through his 5 hole.  Shortly thereafter, Novokuznetsk had another odd man break, this time a 3 on 2, and defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky failed to cut off a cross-crease pass.  Alexei Efimov finished off an easy one-timer into a wide open net to give Novokuznetsk a lead they would not relinquish.

Whatever Maurice drew up for the last minute...
never do it again.

The 3rd period featured some nice highlight reel saves by both goalies, but unfortunately no highlight reel goals for Magnitogorsk.  Evgeni Malkin made some dazzling moves, splitting two forwards and deking between the third forward and a defenseman before ripping a backhanded shot off, but Klyuchnikov was up to the task.

Magnitgorsk had a powerplay in the last minute, but all it led to was two shorthanded, empty net goals.  After a timeout, Malkin lost the ensuing offensive zone faceoff cleanly to Randy Robitaille.  Robitaille won it back to Brent Sopel, who shot the puck from his own goal line into an empty net.  Thirty seconds later, Robitaille set up another empty netter, this time by Nikita Vyglazov.  In the battle of the Metallurgs, Novokuznetsk took this one by a very deceiving score.

Final Score:  Metallurg Novokuznetsk 4  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1  

Magnitogorsk drops to 6-0-3-3 and Novokuznetsk improves to 4-2-3-5.

Player Notes

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin showed more moves and flash in this game than all of the others combined.  He finished the game with no points, 3 shots, and 15 for 30 in faceoffs over 22:03 of ice time.  Stats not withstanding, Geno looks quite ready to break out of his mini scoring slump in a big way.

Post-game interview.

Sergei Gonchar - Much like Malkin, Gonchar also had the moves going today.  He looked simply brilliant in setting up Mozyakin's goal, showing great offensive zone prowess.  He was hung out to dry again in the defensive zone a few times, dealing with some odd man rushes, but he handled each situation well and cannot be faulted for the first goal.  He finished with 1 shot in 21:41 of ice time.  One interesting thing to note is he he did not start the game and was not the defensive leader in minutes played this game.

Next Game:  10/8, 4am EST @ Amur Khabarovsk

Links:

Go to onhockey.ru for all of your streaming needs.  They are excellent and add feeds as they find them.

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

Magnitogorsk Special Teams Thrive in 2-1 Win

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(5-0-3-2)

@

Sibir

Novosibirsk

(5-3-2-2)

Players You May Recognize

None.  I didn't recognize a single player on the Siberians.  I looked up their captain (Jonas Enlund) and he was a 2006 Thrashers draft pick that never panned out.

Recap

Coming off of a 2-1 shootout loss to CSKA Moscow, head coach Paul Maurice decided to change up his first line looking for more offense.  Evgeni Malkin started the game centering Sergei Mozyakin and Nikolai Kulemin (instead of Denis Platonov).  Offense could not be found though in a very quick paced first period.  Both teams turned the puck over frequently as shifts often turned into wind sprints back and forth down the ice.  Malkin was able to draw a tripping penalty, but Magnitogorsk could not capitalize on the powerplay and the period ended scoreless thanks to solid goaltending at both ends.

Oleg Tverdovsky interview during the 1st intermission.

The second period started at a much slower pace as both teams generally kept to the perimeter.  Magnitogorsk was rewarded as soon as they tested the slot area as Mikhail Yakubov and Pavel Zdunov broke through the defense.  Yakubov passed to Zdunov skating through the right faceoff circle and Zdunov ripped a wrist shot past Novosibirsk goalie Sergei Gaiduchenko, who could not cover the post quickly enough.

Magnitogorsk drew a penalty shortly after taking the lead but could not capitalize on the opportunity.  Novosibirsk took advantage of returning to 5 on 5 though as captain Jonas Enlund sprung Stepan Sannikov on a breakaway beginning at the red line.  Sannikov deked to the backhand and beat Ahonen high over his glove to tie the game at 1.  Novosibirsk had another quick chance entering the zone with a 2 on 1, but Sergei Gonchar broke it up and took a holding penalty in the process.  Magnitogorsk killed the penalty without a problem and the period ended with a 1-1 tie.

With heavy bags under his eyes, Maurice juggled
lines like a pro.

Maurice opted for more line changes to begin the 3rd period, moving Mats Zuccarello to the top line with Malkin and Kulemin.  Zuccarello drew an early 3rd period powerplay for Magnitogorsk as the line immediately paid dividends.  Metallurg took the lead 2-1 as Zuccarello found a wide open Evgeni Malkin in the corner behind the net.  With all of the time in the world, Malkin threaded a pass between two sticks and right to Nikolai Kulemin on the crease, where the puck was tapped in for what would be the game winning goal.

The second half of the third period was a blur (literally, because the online feed kept cutting out).  Magnitogorsk killed two more penalties, including one in the final two minutes when defenseman Evgeni Biryukov was given a 2 minute minor and 10 minute misconduct for a headshot.  With Malkin centering the penalty kill in the last minute, Magnitogorsk held on to win the game.  Kulemin's powerplay goal and numerous clutch penalty kills were the major keys to their victory.

Final Score:  Metallurg wins 2-1.  

Magnitogorsk improves to 6-0-3-2 and Novosibirsk drops to 5-3-2-3.

Player Notes

Hey Bylsma, try Malkin on the PK.

Evgeni Malkin - Geno finished the game 17 for 29 in the faceoff circle, which included many key defensive zone wins.  He had 9 shots and 1 assist in 21:21 of ice time.  Despite his clear chemistry with Mozyakin, he looked very strong with Kulemin and Zuccarello, especially as Zuccarello's speed created more room in the 3rd period.  His overall shooting percentage is horrendous right now, but I imagine that will inevitably fix itself.

Sergei Gonchar - Sarge had 2 shots on net and a holding penalty in 19:49 of ice time.  The penalty was a smart one since it stopped a 2 on 1 where he was the last man back.  Aside from that, Gonchar was not very noticeable in general.

Cal O'Reilly - O'Reilly eventually inherited Mozyakin and Platonov as linemates from Malkin but showed little chemistry with them, especially Platonov.  There was really nothing else of note in his game today.

Next Game:  10/6, 6am EST vs Metallurg Novokuznetsk

Links:

Go to onhockey.ru for all of your streaming needs.  They are excellent and add feeds as they find them.

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

CSKA Outlasts Magnitogorsk in a Shootout

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(5-0-2-2)

@

CSKA

Moscow

(5-2-0-4)

Players You May Recognize

Ilya Bryzgalov (did not play), Mikhail Grabovski, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Radulov, Oleg Kvasha.
Also, Mats Zuccarello apparently joined Metallurg 2 games ago, but I missed that completely (we'll say lost in translation).  

Recap

Metallurg Magnitogorsk hosted CSKA Moscow and one of the KHL's best and feistiest forwards in Alexander Radulov.  Magnitogorsk entered the matchup on a 3 game winning streak led by Cal O'Reilly (2nd in the KHL in assists with 9) and Sergei Mozyakin (2nd in goals with 6 and 4th in points with 11).  Meanwhile, CSKA countered with Radulov who entered the game 3rd in points (12) and leading the league in penalty minutes (50).  Magnitogorsk started Ari Ahonen in net while Moscow went with Ratislav Stana, leaving Ilya Bryzgalov as a scratch.

CSKA got off to a quick start, taking a 1-0 lead just 1:32 into the game with a goal from Vladimir Zharkov assisted by Alexander Guskov.  Unfortunately, it took me the first 7 minutes to get the game streaming, so I do not have a better description than that.  Here's what we missed, translated from Russian:

"the goal is not got!"

Both goalies looked excellent midway through the period and each made multiple saves on point blank chances from the crease.  The skating started to open up late in the 1st and Evgeni Malkin went to work, first taking the puck on a semi-breakaway that was stopped by Stana, and then setting up two great chances for his linemates in the slot.  CSKA took a hooking penalty in the effort to stop Malkin's line, but goaltender Stana was up to the task as CSKA killed off the penalty. With only two minutes left in the period, Alexander Radulov was taken awkwardly into the boards, which sparked some aggression and shoving, but no goals or penalties.  Radulov wouldn't even miss a shift.

Cal O'Reilly...the KHL star?

The second period was rather quiet for the first 9 minutes.  Oleg Tverdovsky hit the post on a chance to tie the game, but that was the only drama early on.  As the game approached the midway point, Metallurg finally got on the board when Nikolai Kulemin one-timed a Cal O'Reilly pass at Stana.  The puck bounced off of Stana's pads, straight up into the air, and trickled past the goal line to tie the game.

Both teams returned to their quiet pace of the 2nd aside from a scrum centering around another Radulov, Igor.  Igor Radulov took a run at Sergei Mozyakin on the boards.  Mozyakin was fine, but teammate Sergei Bernatsky took offense to the hit and proceeded to attack Radulov.  Pavel Datsyuk got involved in the fun as he shoved Bernatsky's head down while he was on top of Radulov.  The players were pulled apart and only Bernatsky received a penalty in the end.  Magnitogorsk killed it off and the end of the 2nd period arrived, tied at 1.

Two minutes for Gonchar to feel shame.

Metallurg drew a powerplay early in the 3rd period, but it was negated as Sergei Gonchar took a tripping penalty while on the powerplay.  After each team succeeded in killing their penalties, the game tightened up and the pace dropped remarkably.  Aside from 2 or 3 Malkin offensive zone turnovers, the 3rd period was simply nothing to write about as the teams went to overtime.

Overtime was easily the most dramatic period of the game as Magnitogorsk's Justin Hodgman took a 4 minute double minor for high sticking to put CSKA on the powerplay.  A minute into the penalty kill, Metallurg's Mikhail Yakubov drew a tripping penalty on Pavel Datsyuk off of a faceoff which resulted in 3 on 3 play.  Neither team could utilize the open ice of 3 on 3 and CSKA returned to the powerplay when Datsyuk exited the penalty box.  Magnitogorsk held on for the rest of the overtime and the teams proceeded to a shootout.

The shootout began with CSKA and Pavel Datsyuk, who shot wide.  Sergei Mozyakin went next and was stopped.  Alexander Radulov was the 2nd CSKA shooter and he was stopped on a wrist shot.  Evgeni Malkin went 2nd for Metallurg, took the puck wide, but could not get it around Ilya Proskuryakov, who replaced Ratislav Stana at some point prior to the shootout (but I have no clue when).  Oleg Kvasha was the 3rd shooter for CSKA and he beat goalie Ari Ahonen 5-hole.  With all of the pressure on his small shoulders, Mats Zuccarello deked Proskuryakov completely out of position and tied the shootout.

In an odd difference from the NHL, after the first 3 rounds, the teams switched their shooting order and players were allowed to go again.  Therefore, Metallurg began with Mats Zuccarello, who tried the same move but lost the puck.  CSKA changed it up and went with Igor Radulov, who beat Ahonen high, blocker side and won the game for CSKA.

Malkin says something that gets Radulov's attention.

Final Score:  CSKA wins 2-1 (Shootout).  

Metallurg drops to 5-0-3-2 and CSKA Moscow improves to 5-3-0-4.

Player Notes

Evgeni Malkin - Geno played a season high 24:44 and frequently shifted between dynamic and nonexistent from shift to shift.  At times, Malkin and his linemates (Mozyakin and Platonov again) were unstoppable in the offensive zone as they cycled around the net and created chances around the slot.  However, the group committed quite a few turnovers which led to CSKA breakouts.  Malkin finished with 4 shots and went 15 for 29 in faceoffs, though he seemed to lose every big opportunity to Pavel Datsyuk in the offensive and defensive zones.  

Sergei Gonchar - Gonchar had a very quiet game though he also played a season high with 23:26  of ice time.  He had no shots and took an unnecessary tripping penalty while Magnitogorsk was on the powerplay.  The powerplay overall was very quiet as Gonchar could not get set up comfortably at the point.  He didn't play awful defensively, but his usual offensive output was not there today against CSKA.

Cal O'Reilly - O'Reilly added to his assist total amongst the league leaders with a perfect feed to Kulemin on the only Magnitogorsk goal.  Zuccarello joined his line in this game and it appears that these 3 will make an excellent second line.  O'Reilly's big negative at this point is he doesn't take enough shots and looks to pass first a little too frequently.

Malkin vs. Datsyuk...somehow, Geno lost this one.

Pavel Datsyuk - Datsyuk showed his usual strong vision throughout the game, though he did not have linemates that created for him as much as he is used to in the NHL.  He was a dismal 9 for 26 in faceoffs, quite possibly only winning in draws against Malkin.  On many offensive chances, he seemed to slow down and settle into a puck distributor role at the point instead of going deep into the zone.

Alexander Radulov - Without making a comment as to stereotypes, Radulov's effort looked simply wonderful in this game compared to his recent NHL play.  He was gritty and went hard on both the forecheck and backcheck.  He also received both powerplay and penalty kill time, acting quite responsibly on both.  As captain of CSKA, Radulov finished the game leading both teams with over 29 minutes of ice time and leading his own team with 4 shots.  He certainly made his presence felt in this game, though he did not get on the scoresheet.

Next Game:  10/4, 8am EST vs Sibir

Links:

Go to onhockey.ru for all of your streaming needs.  They are excellent and add feeds as they find them.