Final KHL Recap: Magnitogorsk Loses in a Shootout as NHL Lockout Ends

It was a fun ride Geno, time to bring it back here.

With the end of the NHL Lockout, this will be my final post about the KHL and Metallurg Magnitogorsk as NHL players return back to North America.  It has been a fun ride and I must admit that following the KHL was far more enjoyable than I expected.  Thank you to onhockey.ru (@onhockey) for providing streams online and promoting my blog.  Of course, thank you all for reading these KHL recaps and following as well.  I hope you continue to read along as Evgeni Malkin takes his dominant play back to Pittsburgh.

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(24-0-9-7)

@

Slovan

Bratislava

(14-6-5-14)

NHL/Former NHL Players You May Recognize

Lubomir Visnovski, Andrej Sekera, Miroslav Satan (injured)

Pregame Notes

• Magnitogorsk assistant coach Tom Barrasso was fined for "abuse of the officials" in the previous game:  http://en.khl.ru/news/2013/1/6/24976.html
• Standings Update: Magnitogorsk sits in 3rd place in the West with 81 points.  Bratislava is 5th in the East with 59 points.
• KHL Scoring Race Update:  Mozyakin entered tonight's game with the lead (65), 3 points ahead of Malkin (52) and 15 points ahead of Alexander Radulov (50).
• Starting goalies: Jaroslav Janus for Chelyabinsk and Ari Ahonen for Magnitogorsk.
• Injury report remains the same: Cal O'Reilly, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Evgeny Biryukov out.
• Of course, with the NHL Lockout ending, this is likely the last game for Evgeni Malkin, Nikolai Kulemin, and Sergei Gonchar.  Ryan O'Reilly's situation remains to be seen as an NHL restricted free agent.

Recap

Paul Maurice *tear*

Though Evgeni Malkin found out the NHL Lockout was ending before this game started, he opted to play one more game for Magnitogorsk along with Sergei Gonchar and Nikolai Kulemin before their KHL journey ended.  Coming off of a 3 game stretch at home where Magnitogorsk had outscored opponents 16-0 in front of 3 consecutive Ari Ahonen shutouts, there was hope that the team could have one more dominant win together.  Unfortunately, for Magnitogorsk fans and the team, all good things must come to an end.

As the puck dropped and I began chanting "please don't get hurt", it was clear Magnitogorsk would get off to a sluggish start.  Within the first shift, both Malkin and Kulemin avoided traffic with the puck and it made you wonder how much effort they were actually going to put in.  The teams played a seemingly contact-free game for the first 5 minutes before Slovan defender Andrej Sekera (of the Buffalo Sabres) took a tripping penalty.  Metallurg dominated the offensive zone but had very few chances on the powerplay, which ended early as Kulemin took an interference penalty trying to retrieve a rebound.  Slovan capitalized on their powerplay as Viktor Antipin fell a step behind Milan Bartovic, who proceeded to tap a perfect pass from Libor Hudacek into the net.

A few minutes later, Yaroslav Khabarov put Slovan back on the powerplay when he covered the puck with his hands for a delay of game penalty.  Bratislava scored with the man advantage yet again on a wrist shot from the left side by Hudacek.  The period ended 2-0 in favor of Slovan and Malkin's finale looked like a dud early on.

He wasn't going out without a fight.

Magnitogorsk came out in the 2nd period with much more firepower and a completely different attitude than in the first.  They outshot Bratislava 15-6 in the period, though it took them until the final minute to finally score.  Jaroslav Janus made several spectacular saves before succumbing to an onslaught in the final minute of the period after Sekera was sent off for a cross-checking penalty.  With less than a minute left in the period and Magnitogorsk on the powerplay, Kulemin took a pass from Sergei Mozyakin down to the left faceoff dot by Janus.  As Kulemin drew the eyes of both defensemen, he slipped a pass into the slot to Malkin, who performed a half spin-o-rama away from the nearest defenseman and backhanded the puck past Janus to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The top line struck again just seconds later as Malkin won the faceoff, Kulemin skated the puck into the offensive zone and passed it across the ice to Mozyakin, and Mozyakin one-timed it into an almost empty net as Janus could not react quickly enough.   In a span of 12 seconds in the finale minute of the period, Magnitogorsk took a 2-0 deficit and turned it into a tie game in front of a stunned Slovan crowd.

It was a nice try, Antipin.

Bratislava came out hard in the 3rd period and Magnitogorsk gave them a couple more powerplay chances, which was one too many.  With Evgeni Malkin in the box for tripping (which he argued fervently), Slovan caught Ari Ahonen completely out of position and fired a shot past Viktor Antipin who attempted to play goalie temporarily.  Malkin was livid after the goal and put his focus into tying the game, which would happen  4 minutes later.  With the top line out on an extended shift, Malkin carried the puck along the offensive blue line as Mozyakin went deep into the zone.  Slovan defenders lost track of Mozyakin and Malkin fired a pass down to him at the crease where he easily beat Janus with a one-timer to tie the game at 3.  Both Malkin and Enver Lisin had breakaway chances to win the game in the final minute, but were stymied by some clutch saves.

Overtime came and went with barely any chances.  Slovan had the best shot but Ahonen fought it off with his blocker easily.  As Magnitogorsk carried their 0-9 overtime record to a shootout, the ending was rather clear.  Ryan O'Reilly missed on his first chance while Mario Bliznak scored for Slovan.  Both Evgeni Malkin and Jan Lipiansky were stopped in the second round.  Sergei Mozyakin came up with a shootout tying goal in the 3rd round and Ahonen stopped Michal Vondrka to keep the game alive.  However, Mozyakin was unable to score on his chance in the 4th round and Mario Bliznak scored his second of the shootout to win it for Slovan.  Make that 0-10 in overtime.

Final Score:  Slovan Bratislava 4  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (SO)

Box Score: http://text.khl.ru/en/35139.html

Magnitogorsk drops to 24-0-10-7 and Bratislava improves to 14-7-5-14.

Player Notes

The last of many Gonchar-Malkin-Mozyakin celebrations.

Evgeni Malkin

Malkin finished the game with 1 goal, 2 assists, 7 shots, 11 for 26 (42.3%) in faceoffs and 2 PIM in 23:21 of ice time.  After a slow start, his competitive fire erupted as he figured in to every Magnitogorsk goal of the day.  As usual, Sergei Mozyakin also figured into every goal, so Malkin finishes his KHL season still in 2nd place in scoring, behind Mozyakin.  I hate to see those two broken up, there was incredibly chemistry between them and it was really something special to watch.

Malkin's Final KHL Stats:  37 games, 23 goals, 42 assists, (65 points), +23, 58 PIM, 226 shots, 10.2% shooting, 492/899 faceoffs (54.7%), and averaging 22:26 TOI.
Goal breakdown was 12 even strength, 10 powerplay, 1 shorthanded

Nikolai Kulemin

Kulemin added 3 assists in this game and, as usual, was the perfect 3rd musketeer for the Malkin-Mozyakin combination.  He helped create space for both players, frequently chased down loose pucks, and kept defensemen honest.

Kulemin's Final KHL Stats:  36 games, 14 goals, 24 assists, (38 points), +25, 26 PIM, 98 shots, 14.3% shooting, 11/21 faceoffs (52.4%), and averaging 19:27 TOI.
Goal breakdown: 7 even strength, 7 powerplay

Sergei Gonchar

Gonchar went pointless in his final Magnitogorsk game, but also was not on for any of the PP goals against at least.  He played on the 2nd pairing as usual and made a quiet exit out of the KHL.

Gonchar's Final KHL Stats:  37 games, 3 goals, 26 assists, (29 points), +20, 40 PIM, 92 shots, 3.3% shooting, and averaging 21.39 TOI.
Goal breakdown: 2 even strength, 1 powerplay

Next Game:  1/8, 1pm EST @ Lev Praha

The rest of the Magnitogorsk schedule is here:  http://en.khl.ru/calendar/222/01/3995/.

Good luck to Metallurg Magnitogorsk and their fans!!  Thanks for everything!

Mozyakin from Malkin Isn't Enough for Magnitogorsk

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(21-0-9-6)

vs

Sibir

Novosibirsk

(13-5-4-13)

NHL/Former NHL Players You May Recognize

Petr Skudra (assistant coach)

Pregame Notes

A little electric guitar and a Malkin jersey for the anthem.

• Here's a little Magnitogorsk fun to start off the day (link courtesy of @MarkFrane)
• The full All Star teams have been announced.  Paul Maurice has been named one of the coaches for Team East, joining players Evgeni Malkin (starter), Sergei Gonchar (starter), and Sergei Mozyakin (2nd line) from Metallurg.
• Other (former) NHL players added: Aleksey Morozov and Victor Hedman to Team East.  Artem Anisimov, Mikhail Grabovski, and Nicklas Backstrom to Team West.
• Standings Update: Magnitogorsk sits in 3rd place in the West with 72 points.  Sibir is in 8th in the East with 53 points.
• KHL Scoring Race Update:  Mozyakin entered tonight's game with the lead (53), 4 points ahead of Malkin (49) and 9 points ahead of Alexander Radulov (44).
• Starting goalies: Sergei Gaiduchenko for Sibir and Ari Ahonen for Metallurg.
• Injury report remains the same: Cal O'Reilly, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Evgeny Biryukov out.

Recap

Might as well have been an empty net.

In what has become an alarming trend as of late for Metallurg, they fell behind early for the 3rd straight game.  Unfortunately, they would not be able to come from behind for a victory this time.  The teams played physical from the start and it led to the first big chance for Sibir as Georgi Misharin was sent to the penalty box for high sticking.  Sibir capitalized on the chance for a 1-0 lead when Viktor Drugov received a pass across the slot and quickly wristed a shot into the net before Ari Ahonen could slide into position.  Magnitogorsk tied the game shortly afterwards on their first powerplay when, let's all say it together: Sergei Mozyakin one-timed a pass from Evgeni Malkin.  It started with Sergei Gonchar at the point passing to Malkin on the right half boards.  Malkin then threaded a pass to Mozyakin on the other side of the ice and Gaiduchenko wasn't even close to getting in front of the one-timer.

Metallurg gained a significant amount of momentum off of Mozyakin's goal and the crowd continued to go wild as defenseman Sergei Bernatsky dropped the gloves with Arturs Kulda.  The air would be sucked out of the arena quickly though after Viktor Bobrov gave Novosibirsk a 2-1 lead.  Bobrov entered the Magnitogorsk zone 1 on 1 with a defenseman and fired a wrist shot from just inside the blue line.  Ahonen appeared to misread the puck and missed the save for a weak goal against.  Magnitogorsk fought back towards the end of the period, but couldn't find an equalizer before the horn sounded.

The second period started as dismally as everything has been starting for Magnitogorsk lately.  12 seconds into the period, Magnitogorsk lined up in the defensive zone for a faceoff.  Malkin was waived out and Nikolai Kulemin stepped in to lose the draw cleanly.  In a matter of three seconds, Jori Lehtera skated behind the net with the puck and fed Sibir captain Maxim Krivonozkhin in front.  His shot went unchallenged by any defenseman and he beat Ahonen for a 3-1 Sibir lead.

Luckily for Magnitogorsk, Ivan Velichkin was given a 4 minute double minor for high sticking just a minute later and Metallurg had a chance to get back into the game.  Though the first line was unsuccessful on the first powerplay, Dmitri Kazionov found a way to jam the puck in towards the end of the second powerplay to bring the score back to 3-2.  The teams spent the majority of the period trading chances back and forth with Metallurg getting quite a few more shots on net (19-8).  It finally paid off with three minutes left in the period when, together again: Sergei Mozyakin one-timed a pass from Evgeni Malkin.  This time, Malkin stood behind the net with the puck and waited patiently as Mozyakin steamrolled through the slot.  The pass and shot happened so fast that the slow motion camera angles even had issues picking it up on the stream.

Maurice was livid as he watched the game
slip away in the 3rd.

With a 3-3 tie after 2 periods, momentum favored Metallurg heavily and it looked like they were well on their way to yet another come from behind victory.  Krivonozkhin had other ideas though, as did Ari Ahonen apparently since he allowed a very weak short-side goal to the Sibir captain, who had taken a bad angle shot from the boards below the faceoff circle.  Magnitogorsk fought through the period trying to tie it up and had quite a few chances in front of the net but couldn't get a lucky bounce.  With less than 3 minutes left in the game, Sergei Bernatsky took a necessary but brutal hooking penalty in front of Ahonen to save a goal.  Jonas Enlund scored just 16 seconds into the Sibir powerplay, all but assuring Magnitogorsk of defeat.  Ahonen was pulled in favor of an extra attacker, but Gaiduchenko stood strong in net.

Final Score:  Sibir Novosibirsk 5  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3

Magnitogorsk drops to 21-0-9-7 and Novosibirsk improves to 14-5-4-13.

Player Notes

A pair that should never be broken up...
(hint hint, Ray Shero)

Evgeni Malkin - The chemistry between Sergei Mozyakin and Evgeni Malkin is something very special to watch.  The two have an enormous amount of trust in each other and read the play quite well together.  Malkin finished with 2 assists, 6 shots, and an astounding 19 for 24 (79.2%) in faceoffs in 25:23 of ice time.  He looked healthy and dominant again to put away any worries from last game.  Of course, continually feeding Mozyakin also means he didn't gain any ground in the scoring race.

Others (Metallurg) - Ari Ahonen had a dismal game compared to his usual stellar play, allowing 5 goals on just 28 shots.  Ryan O'Reilly had another strong game but failed to get on the scoresheet despite having 5 shots.  He is quickly developing chemistry with Kazionov.  Nikolai Kulemin also played well, recording an assist on Mozyakin's second goal and 6 shots.  Kulemin deserves a great deal of credit for preventing defenders from focusing solely on Malkin and Mozyakin on the top line.

Next Game:  12/28, 8am EST vs Metallurg Novokuznetsk

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/.

Metallurg Heads Into Break With a Loss

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(18-0-9-5)

vs

Donbass
Donetsk

(9-6-4-14)

Players You May Recognize

Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, Erik Ersberg, Oskar Bartulis, Anton Babchuk, Evgeni Dadonov, Clay Wilson

Recap

And so...the blog continues...

Two days ago, Paul Maurice spoke about how negotiations were going well with the NHL and NHLPA.  Reporters asked him about the players he would be losing if the lockout ended, and with a sad smile, he acknowledged how lucky he was to have them in what was supposed to be a rebuilding season.  There will be no more sad smiles for Paul Maurice for the time being though.  It looks like he will keep his strong roster intact longer than he anticipated.

Magnitogorsk hosted Donbass Donetsk in their final game before the December Euro Hockey Tour break.  They received good news beforehand with the signing of Cal O'Reilly's brother, Ryan O'Reilly, formerly of the Colorado Avalanche.  Ryan signed through '13-'14 and is expected to join the team after the break.  Magnitogorsk will not hold him to his contract if he receives a better NHL offer though (assuming they ever play again).

Courtesy of @stapler_87

The good news ended there as Magnitogorsk suffered through a frustrating game filled with missed opportunities.  The first period was fast paced but the goalies stole the show early on.  Jan Laco started for Donetsk and made several key saves on Sergei Mozyakin and Dmitry Kazionov throughout the period.  He would finish with 30 saves on 31 shots.  The one shot that he did let in happened early in the 2nd period.  Roughly two minutes into the period, Mikhail Yakubov won a faceoff straight back to Sergei Bernatsky.  Bertnatsky immediately unloaded a slapshot that Laco missed through a partial screen.

Later in the second period, Magnitogorsk defenseman Georgi Misharin was called for delay of game after he cleared a puck over the glass.  Donetsk tied the game on the powerplay when Evgeni Dadonov took the puck into the corner and fed it out to Tuomas Kiiskinen.  Kiiskinen fired a quick wrist shot to tie the game at 1.  Magnitogorsk took control of the game for the rest of the second period but was unable to beat Laco.

Maurice's Asst Coach was too busy to help I guess

The third period was filled with powerplays for and special teams would be the deciding factor.  It started when Oskar Bartulis was given a 5 minute major and game misconduct for slashing Misharin.  Then, Magnitogorsk proceeded to take a hooking penalty and high sticking penalty to somehow end up on the wrong side of a 4 on 3 penalty kill.  They killed both penalties off and Evgeni Malkin drew a trip to create a 5 on 3 advantage.  Metallurg was unable to capitalize on the powerplay though.  They would have 3 more powerplay chances in the period and were unable to score on any of them.  Meanwhile, with 3:30 left in the game, Misharin was called for interference and Donetsk succeeded in taking the lead on the powerplay.  Peter Podhradsky fired a shot from the point that beat Ahonen and would stand as the game winning goal.

Magnitogorsk's loss can be blamed completely on the 0 for 5 powerplay number, especially with all 5 occurring in the 3rd period with the game tied at 1.

Final Score:  Donbass Donetsk 2  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1

Magnitogorsk drops to 18-0-9-6 and Donetsk improves to 10-6-4-14.

Player Notes

He even looked sad all game.

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin had a VERY quiet game, only registering 1 shot and no points in 23:43 of ice time.  He did well in the faceoff circle, finishing 14 for 22, but this was certainly one of his least impressive games.  Malkin simply was not very noticeable on the ice and was not around the puck much.  His whole line (Kulemin-Malkin-Lisin) was quiet in general today.

Next Game:  12/19, 10:30am EST @ Atlant

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.

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 Dismantles Riga Using the Powerplay

(Sorry for the delayed recap, "afternoon" games throw off my schedule)

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(9-0-4-3)

vs

Dynamo

Riga

(3-3-2-10)

Players You May Recognize

Viktor Ignatjev (assistant coach), Rob Schremp, Alexandre Giroux, Raitis Ivanans, Kaspars Daugavins

Recap

This really shouldn't have been a close game as Magnitogorsk visited last place Dynamo Riga, located in Latvia.  Shoddy defense and a very tightly called game kept the teams close though, ultimately helping Metallurg earn the 5-2 victory in the end after a shaky start.

Maybe Paul Maurice should hide his game plan better.

Despite a dismal record of 3-3-2-10, Riga's crowd was jubilant from the start and thought they had a reason to be when Riga appeared to take the lead less than a minute into the game.  The goal would be waived off because the puck last touched a player's hand, but Riga would score 3 minutes later anyways to take a 1-0 lead.  In a major defensive lapse, Magnitogorsk was caught pinching heavily in the offensive zone, leading to a 3 on 1 the other way where Sergei Gonchar was the only defenseman.  Gonchar played the cross-crease pass perfectly, but was helpless as the 3rd man in, Andris Dzherinsh, received the puck and flipped it over an outstretched Ari Ahonen in net.

Shortly thereafter, the tone of the game changed completely as penalty after penalty was called (a total of 24 in the game) and the pace died off altogether.  Magnitogorsk took advantage of their first powerplay in the first period after Evgeni Malkin drew an interference call in the offensive zone.  Sergei Mozyakin took the puck at the left point and fed it down to Malkin to the right of the net.  Malkin wasted no time and one-timed it past goalie Maris Yuchers.  The first period would end with 3 more penalties, but no more goals.

The second period started with 4 more penalties as the pace slowed to a crawl.  During a rare moment of 5 on 5 play, Riga simply embarrassed Magnitogorsk by taking the puck into the zone on a 2 on 3 break where both Riga players skated past all 3 defending players for a 2 on 0 chance against Ari Ahonen.  Ahonen was helpless as Kaspars Daugavins tapped in a cross-crease pass to give Riga the 2-1 lead.  More penalties followed as usual and Magnitogorsk used another powerplay to tie the game as Denis Platonov wristed a puck from the slot.  The second period ended with a "fight" featuring Alexandre Giroux and the third period would start with some 3 on 3 play.


The fight resulted in Giroux receiving a 5 minute major and Misharin only receiving a 2 minute minor.  On the ensuing powerplay, Magnitogorsk took the lead when Sergei Mozyakin one-timed a pass from Malkin into the net.  Shortly thereafter, Malkin would draw a hooking penalty as he drove towards the net and Magnitogorsk would score their 4th powerplay goal - Mozyakin from Malkin again.  The plethora of penalty calls would continue and Riga's Mathieu Carle would be sent to the locker room with a 5 minute major and game misconduct for abuse of the officials.  Though Riga made a last minute push despite the penalties, Nikolai Kulemin would finish the scoring with, of course, a powerplay goal assisted by Evgeni Malkin.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5  Dynamo Riga 2

Magnitogorsk improves to 10-0-4-3 and Riga drops to 3-3-2-11.

Player Notes

Four point Malkin is a happy Malkin.

Evgeni Malkin - A four point night finally moved Malkin past Cal O'Reilly in the Magnitogorsk scoring race and he now sits second on the team with 17 points in 13 games (behind Mozyakin who has 20 in 15).  In a game filled with frustration on both sides, Malkin stayed composed and only took one penalty for slashing while drawing two for hooking and interference.  He was the key to the powerplay, scoring 1 goal and earning the primary assist on 3 others.  He finished with 4 shots and went 14 for 25 in faceoffs in 21:35 of ice time to go with his 4 points and 2 PIM.

Sergei Gonchar - Though the powerplay was dominant and there was plenty of time with the extra man, Gonchar was nowhere to be seen.  He finished with no points and only one shot on net despite playing 21:44, much of it on the powerplay.  Gonchar didn't need to be flashy as Malkin took control of the powerplay and the game, but it is rare to see him do so little on the powerplay.

Others - Nikolai Kulemin had a quiet game despite his powerplay goal at the end.  Alexandre Giroux, who notoriously avoided contact in his AHL career, played a very physical game and took it all out on Georgi Misharin in their "fight".  Cal O'Reilly and Mats Zuccarello both assisted on Platonov's powerplay goal.  O'Reilly is now tied for 5th in assists (13) in the KHL with Ilya Kovalchuk.  

Next Game:  10/24, 12pm EST @ Donbass

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.

Malkin Adjusting to KHL, Owns Russia

Before we get to Evgeni Malkin’s 2^nd game of the ’12-’13 KHL season, let’s all look at how suave he is!

Evgeni Malkin – Your 2012 Russian Sportsman of the Year

The Matchup:  

Metallurg Magnitogorsk

 (2-0-1-2, 7 pts) 

@ 

Ak Bars Kazan 

(5-0-1-1, 16 pts)

Players you may recognize:

Metallurg: Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Cal O’Reilly, Nikolai Kulemin, Oleg Tverdovsky, Alexander Pechurski

Ak Bars: Aleksey Morozov, Janne Pesonen, Niko Kapanen

After thinking the KHL was less dangerous in my first experience watching an overseas game on Thursday, I’ve taken a complete 180 turn.  Sticks were flying at head level and players were getting boarded just like it was an NHL game. 

Errr, coming up next, Sportscenter?

 Ak Bars scored the 1^st goal of the game midway through the first period.  A slapshot squirted behind Metallurg goalie Ari Ahonen and was sitting on the doorstep for Dmitry Obukhov to tap in for a 1-0 lead.  Shortly after this, Ak Bars’ forward Artem Lukoyanov took a 2 minute boarding penalty to put Magnitogorsk on the powerplay. 

Leaving the NHL last season = Greatest decsion ever

Head coach Paul Maurice had his powerplay adjust from the last game, using more of an umbrella format with Gonchar taking the middle of the blue line.  Malkin was positioned a little deeper than Gonchar in the zone on the right side, but not quite as deep as his usual side-boards position that you see with the Penguins.  The new setup was immediately successful as Gonchar fired a shot from the blue line, Malkin Kulemin chipped at the rebound, and Justin Hodgman (or Dzhastin Hodzhmen if you ask Google Translate) scored to tie the game at 1.

The second period was rather quiet (Google translate says “speed slept, went quiet game”).  The third period was far more tense as Metallurg had two powerplay opportunities and Ak Bars had one.  The 2^nd penalty of the period was taken by Malkin as he tripped a player behind the net.  He made up for it by drawing a penalty late in the period as he tried to split the defense driving to the net.  All three powerplays were unproductive though.

With the game on his stick...fail.

After a 5 minute, 4 on 4 overtime, the teams remained tied and went to a shootout.  Metallurg’s first shooter, Sergey Mozyakin, scored on a nice little deke to open up the 5 hole (think Chris Kunitz’s move).  Denis Abdullin came right back and tied it for Ak Bars on the next shot.  The second round began with Evgeni Malkin, who shot wide left and missed the net.  Aleksey Morozov then took his turn for Ak Bars and scored on a gorgeous backhander, top-shelf with Ahoren sprawled out (think Crosby on Theodore).  Metallurg’s chance to tie was on Cal O’Reilly’s stick.  He proceeded to shoot it directly into the goalie, and that was it.

Final Score:  Ak Bars Kazan 2  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (SO)

Evgeni Malkin

Geno looked much more comfortable as a physical presence in his 2^nd game of the season.  He started leaning his shoulder into players and was not afraid to get gritty in the corners when necessary.  He finished with 7 shots, 2 PIM, 9 for 16 in the faceoff circle, and an assist (the assist was later given to Kulemin instead) in 22:26 of ice time.  I have no doubt he will be scoring soon as his comfort level increases.  It is still fascinating to me that KHL players really do not shy away from him though – players do not back off from him at all.  Also of note, he did play a little bit on the penalty kill, but not as much as last game.

I'm gonna pretend Dan Potash is holding the mic.

Sergei Gonchar

Gonchar looked much more defensively responsible than he did last game, though he was also tested less.  The move to the umbrella powerplay also helped him out in terms of quarterbacking the top powerplay line.  His final stat line was 2 shots and an assist in 20:13 of ice time.

Misc. Notes

• Cal O’Reilly acts like a sniper (and might very well be) in the KHL.  He looked very comfortable flying down the left wing and just shooting the puck.  O’Reilly looked much more confident in this game than any of the small sample size of games he had with the Penguins.
• Aleksey Morozov was rather quiet throughout the game but came up big when it mattered in the shootout.  Maybe there’s just another team in the KHL that he treats like the Devils.
• Janne Pesonen was non-existent; I can’t remember a single play he made.
• I only noticed today that Alexander Pechurski is the backup for Magnitogorsk.  If you remember, Pechurski had a one game tryout contract with the Penguins on an emergency basis in Vancouver a few years ago.  He was not expected to play, but John Curry was so awful that he needed to go in.
• It appears that follow through high sticks (ie – a high stick after a shot) are not called in the KHL.  They occurred at least 3 times (Malkin committing one of them) and can be awfully dangerous.  That’s not something I want to see around the Penguins superstar.

Respect.

Next Game: 9/24, 11:30am EST

Metallurg Magnitogorsk (2-0-2-2, 8 pts) @ HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (3-3-1-1, 16 pts)

Links

Here is where I usually find a link to watch the game:  http://livetv.ru/allupcomingsports/2/

Links appear about 20 minutes before game time.

If you are interested in a Malkin KHL jersey, check out this site:  http://lutchusa.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=18&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=3

I cannot vouch for it since I haven't used it, but it's worth a look if you're searching for one.  You can customize it to Malkin's name in English or Russian.

PS - I'm going to adjust the formatting and color scheme this weekend, so sorry if this post and the next few look odd.  Thanks for reading!!