Karri Ramo, Sergei Kostitsyn, Nikita Nikitin, Alexander Frolov, Alexander Perezhogin
Recap
A week ago, the Euro Hockey Tour break ended and Magnitogorsk visited Omsk in their first game after the break. The game was built up as a heavyweight match between two of the top teams in the East and featured on ESPN 3. Magnitogorsk lost that game in overtime, 3-2. Unfortunately, the result was similar in today's match as Magnitogorsk lost 2-1 in regulation at home despite a plethora of chances to tie the game.
Karri Ramo started in net for Avangard Omsk and somehow that spelled the end for Magnitogorsk instantly. Ramo played a fantastic game, stopping 32 of 33 shots including numerous breakaways and point blank chances. Ari Ahonen stopped 29 of 31 shots for Magnitogorsk, but it wasn't enough for the snake-bitten offense to overcome.
Avangard Omsk took the lead early on a fluke play as Alexander Frolov streaked down the right side of the ice and tried to backhand a pass towards the crease. His pass worked out better than anticipated as it deflected off of Sergei Gonchar's skate and into the air past Ari Ahonen for a 1-0 lead.
Both teams traded chances for the rest of the period, including three 2 on 1 breaks within the last two minutes, but the period ended 1-0. Evgeni Malkin and Nikolai Kulemin looked fantastic after the first, but Karri Ramo was already the star of the game through one.
The second period started quickly with an Enver Lisin breakaway that was stopped by Ramo. The ref proceeded to call a penalty shot because Lisin was partially slashed even though he got the shot off. Ramo stopped Lisin yet again on the penalty shot to preserve the 1-0 lead. The teams traded powerplays through a mostly quiet 2nd period before the energy skyrocketed again towards the end.
With four minutes left in the period, Igor Volkov snuck past both Metallurg defenders and received a breakaway pass at the blue line. All it took was a quick forehand to backhand deke and Volkov lifted the puck past a diving Ari Ahonen for a 2-0 lead. Less than 2 minutes later, Malkin worked his own offensive magic for Magnitogorsk. Geno skated in and around two Avangard defenders before dishing a perfect pass to Sergei Gonchar across the slot. Gonchar one-timed the puck past Karri Ramo to cut the lead down to 2-1.
The third period started with more insanity when Avangard received a penalty shot because Sergei Mozyakin covered the puck in the crease during a crazy scrum. Ari Ahonen was up to the task and stopped the penalty shot to keep it at a one goal game. Unfortunately Magnitogorsk was unable to find a tying goal as Ramo continued to dazzle in net.
Final Score: Avangard Omsk 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1
Metallurg drops to 15-0-6-5 and Avangard improves to 12-7-3-6.
Player Notes
Evgeni Malkin - Malkin finished with 1 assist, 5 shots, 18 for 26 in faceoffs, and 21:22 of ice time. He skated like he was shot out of a cannon all night and had some beautiful puck-handling moves in the offensive zone. Despite the small offensive output, Malkin was a force in most of his shifts and created chances all over the ice with Kulemin.
Sergei Gonchar - Gonchar finished with 1 goal on 4 shots in 20:15 of ice time. Gonchar's one-timer was beautiful, though his overall play was marred by the accidental 1st goal and being on the ice for the breakaway goal against. Also, his reluctance to shoot on the powerplay and preference to feed it to Malkin on the half-boards is getting rather predictable for penalty killers to adjust to.
Other Players - Oleg Tverdovsky, who missed several games before the break with an injury, looked back up to speed and played quite well throughout the game. He had a great shot in front of the net but was stopped by the amazing Karri Ramo. Enver Lisin and Justin Hodgman both had awful games in terms of turnovers and general positioning. Nikolai Kulemin looked fantastic with Malkin but was robbed a couple times by Ramo and then missed the net on two tough chances.
I've been reduced to streaming, live-tweeting, and writing about KHL games...sad, right?
For many Pens fans, today was the beginning of a new hockey journey. Superstar Evgeni Malkin and former teammate/roommate/surrogate father Sergei Gonchar made their return to the KHL with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. After days of debating where to find an online stream (apparently everywhere according to Google) and what the time difference was (Moscow is 8 hours ahead of EST), it was time to sit down and watch a KHL game for the first time.
MATCHUP
Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2-0-0-2)*
vs.
Salavat Yulaev Ufa (2-0-2-2)*
*I'm still trying to learn the standings, but that reads (W, OT W, OT L, L). I'll do a KHL post this weekend.
My initial thoughts about the KHL were the expected ones: a larger ice surface leads to more skating, less hitting, and fewer stoppages. Once you get past those small changes, watching KHL hockey is just like any other type of hockey (except I can't understand the announcers).
Salavat clearly looked like the better team through most of the game. Their passing was crisper and they had more chances than Metallurg did. Despite this, Magnitogorsk made a game of it and was very opportunistic with their chances.
Final Score: Salavat 4 Metallurg 3 (OT)
Evgeni Malkin
Evgeni Malkin looked like he was more in pre-season form than regular season form in his first professional game of the season. He finished with 22:37 of ice time, 3 shots, 1 assist, and went 9 for 13 in the faceoff circle. Despite the regular ice time, he wasn't able to take control of the play as we have seen on so many occasions. I noticed that the KHL defenders were much more comfortable closing in on him and taking away his time and space in comparison to NHL defenders. Also, multiple Salavat players were always ready to take him on at the same time.
Despite the new (old) environment, Malkin adapted well as the game went on. He received regular powerplay AND penalty kill time on the first lines. He also drew a tripping penalty trying to cross the blue line and eventually assisted on the game-tying goal with 39 seconds left in the game. He (or coach Paul Maurice) may need to adjust on the powerplay though - he is positioned on the right half boards which creates a sharper-angled shot than it would in the NHL.
Geno's regular linemates were Dmitry Kazionov (4th round pick in 2002 for Tampa Bay) and Yaroslav Kosov (5th round pick in 2011 for Florida), so he might miss James Neal just a little bit right now. I'm looking forward to the inevitable game where he turns into dominant Geno and just crushes a team by himself.
Faceoff right before Metallurg tied the game.
Sergei Gonchar
It appears Sergei Gonchar will probably take longer to transition back to the KHL game than Malkin will. The abundance of open ice does not play well to Gonchar's skating with his career is on the decline. He finished with 23:38 of ice time, 2 shots, and 1 assist. Unfortunately, he was on for 3 goals against, including the overtime winner. Gonchar tried to bat the puck out of the air as the last defenseman back, but missed it and a Salavat forward took it in for a breakaway goal in overtime.
Isn't it nice seeing those 2 together again?
Misc. Thoughts
It was awesome seeing former Ducks (amongst other teams) defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky. I was a huge fan of his in the NHL and I had no clue he was still playing. He wore #90 for Magnitogorsk.
On the other hand, I was shocked to see Cal O'Reilly playing (and taking a tripping penalty). I'm not really sure how his game translates well to the KHL, but I guess we'll find out as the season progresses.
Though it was only a one game sample size, I didn't see a single dangerous or dirty hit, or anything near the head. Again, only a one game sample size.
Finally, both teams went through a full handshake line at the end of the game. It was a nice gesture of respect in comparison to how the Pens and Flyers end every game.
I probably won't post/live-tweet about every KHL game, but we will see how long this lockout goes. I'll try to tweet out a link to watch for every game, or you can always check out thepensblog.com because they will surely have links as well. Looks like it's time we all got adjusted to the KHL together...
Metallurg
Magnitogorsk
(15-0-6-4)
vs
Avangard
Metallurg 
Magnitogorsk 
