How Will Malkin’s KHL Stint Affect His Season?

As Evgeni Malkin leaves home (remember that, he’s not flying home) to play hockey in Pittsburgh, fans are abuzz about his KHL tenure.  I'm certainly excited to watch him in HD on my tv instead of via online streams on my laptop every other morning.

The stats speak for themselves:

37 games, 23 goals & 42 assists (65 points, 1.76 ppg), +23, 58 PIM, 226 shots, 54.7% on faceoffs, 22:26 avg. TOI

Upon leaving the KHL, he ranks 2^nd in goals, 1^st in assists, 2^nd in points, 2^nd in +/-, 1^st in shots, and 3^rd in faceoff %.  These stats are even more impressive when you figure in that he had a very slow start.  When Malkin first joined the KHL, his linemates were Dmitry Kazionov and Yaroslav Kosov (you may recognize Kosov from the 2013 WJC Russian team).

Scoring Geno was Happy Geno

After a slow start, Malkin was lined up with Nikolai Kulemin and Mats Zuccarello.  The line did well, but Sergei Mozyakin eventually joined Malkin and Kulemin to set the league on fire.  Mozyakin is currently 1^st in the KHL in goals and points.  Kulemin is 1^st in +/-.  The trio was simply unstoppable, especially once they were joined by Sergei Gonchar on the powerplay.  Gonchar finished his KHL season 5^th in assists with 26.

But alas, it is time to move beyond the KHL and into a shortened training camp and condensed NHL season.  No matter how much I clamor and wish for it, Sergei Mozyakin will not appear on Malkin’s wing in a Penguins uniform.  So how will this KHL stint affect Malkin?

Theories

Malkin is in mid-season form.

• AGREE.  He is already a FULL step ahead of everyone in the NHL.  Not only did he stay in shape and play meaningful games, he clearly played them at an elite level, even compared to other NHLers playing overseas.  Don't forget he also played those games on a bigger ice surface, so his conditioning should be solid.  No player is more prepared to hit the ground running than Geno (though Datsyuk does have prettier goals).

Malkin will wear down quickly.

Speaking in English again may be tough though.

• DISAGREE.  He has played 37 games already, add 48 games in a “condensed schedule” and he’ll finish with 85 regular season games.  As Jesse Marshall (@jmarshhh) of Faceoff Factor pointed out, the condensed schedule is only .5 more games per week compared to the original schedule.  Also, include the fact that Malkin’s 85 game season began back in mid-September, almost a month earlier than usual.  Games played will not be an issue this year more than any other season.  One last point on this, the KHL has far less hitting overall, so Malkin has dealt with less wear & tear to this point than usual.  If he wears down this season, he's probably going to wear down EVERY season.

Malkin will run away with the scoring title.

• DISAGREE.  While he has looked fantastic in the KHL, two factors will weigh against this.  First off, though he did play against some very skilled players (and frequently NHLers), there is no question he will be facing tougher competition in the NHL.  Second, his linemates will undoubtedly be less skilled in Pittsburgh.  Mozyakin and James Neal probably match up well, but Kulemin is certainly better than whoever ends up on Malkin’s other wing.

Other Thoughts

Powerplay.  

10 of 23 goals on the PP.  Let him have it.

• It will be very interesting to see how Malkin is used on the powerplay with Crosby.  As I have always been a devout Crosby fan (look at the website after all), I always stood by the idea of placing Crosby on the right half-boards and moving Malkin around.  After watching Malkin go to work on Magnitogorsk’s powerplay, move over Sid.  Geno was an absolute terror for opponents from the right half-boards and I’m convinced he needs to stay there.  Magnitogorsk's powerplay was ranked 1st in the league at 26.1% with 53 powerplay goals in 41 games.  It may be time to consider splitting 71 and 87 up and having 2 equal powerplay lines.  Another thing to note is Paul Maurice (head coach of Magnitogorsk) frequently gave equal time to both of his powerplay lines despite the first line being far superior.  That may have improved their effectiveness and it should certainly be considered when Pittsburgh can trot out a strong 2^nd PP line.  Perhaps Dan Bylsma can give Maurice a call if things start slow in the NHL.

Penalty Kill.  

• Malkin was used on the 2^nd penalty kill line and was the first forward out for 5 on 3 PKs.  Magnitogorsk's PK is 6th (out of 26) with an 85.5% kill rate.  While I don’t advocate heavy usage of him on the PK, it’s time to unleash the best players when possible.  Geno looked very comfortable killing penalties and I would love to see him doing it a little in Pittsburgh.

Winger for Geno.  

Bring him with you Geno!

• With Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis locked up as the first line, the spotlight will be on which forward gets a chance next to Malkin and Neal.  After watching how the first line played in Magnitogorsk, I think the most important traits to look for are the ability to win puck battles or retrieve the puck from corners and off of rebounds.  Malkin and Neal can already score, so they just need someone to do the dirty work.  On the Pens roster, I would say Cooke is the best option, but I don’t believe anyone on the roster is really ideal for the job right now.

Overall

• After all is said and done, here's my prediction for Malkin.  29 goals and 41 assists for 70 points in 48 games (1.46 ppg).  He'll get off to a hot start, slow down as other players catch up, and then heat up again as the season comes to a close.  The scoring race will be a crazy one at the end.

If you have any thoughts/comments/questions about how Malkin looked or was used in Magnitogorsk, please ask and I'll keep adding to this!  Thanks for reading!

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!

Malkin's Hat Trick Leads Metallurg to First Place

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(23-0-9-7)

vs

Traktor

Chelyabinsk

(21-3-6-9)

NHL/Former NHL Players You May Recognize

Jan Bulis, Andrei Kostitsyn, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Deron Quint, Stanislav Chistov, Michael Garnett

Pregame Notes

• Evgeni Malkin was named attacker of the month and Sergei Gonchar was named defenseman of the month for December:  http://en.khl.ru/news/2013/01/01/24966.html
• Sergei Mozyakin was named attacker of the week for Week 15:  http://en.khl.ru/news/2013/01/01/24964.html
• Standings Update: Magnitogorsk sits in 3rd place in the West with 78 points.  Chelyabinsk is 4th in the West with 75 points.  Big game in the standings.
• KHL Scoring Race Update:  Mozyakin entered tonight's game with the lead (63), 4 points ahead of Malkin (59) and 15 points ahead of Alexander Radulov (48).
• Starting goalies: Michael Garnett for Chelyabinsk and Ari Ahonen for Magnitogorsk.
• Injury report remains the same: Cal O'Reilly, Oleg Tverdovsky, and Evgeny Biryukov out.

Recap

After a mini-break for the New Year (the KHL apparently has a break every 3 weeks), Magnitogorsk returned to the ice hoping to steamroll their third opponent in a row.  After a 6-0 win over Novokuznetsk, followed by a 7-0 win over Khabarovsk, it was easy to assume Metallurg would have a more difficult task in front of them with a MUCH better team in Traktor Chelyabinsk.  As I continually learn in the KHL, assumptions are wrong. Ari Ahonen and Metallurg extended their team shutout streak to 3 games with a dominant 3-0 win over Traktor.

Inseparable

The game began at a furious pace through the first four minutes, but neither team had much of a scoring chance during their rushes up and down the ice.  On a bad line change amidst the rushes, Traktor's Evgeny Katichev was forced into taking a holding penalty which ultimately led to the first goal.  Though the description changes, you can always guess the powerplay goal:  Evgeni Malkin from Sergei Mozyakin and Sergei Gonchar.  This one was mostly on Malkin's own effort as he received a pass from the neutral zone, cut across a defender and cut across the slot to throw a backhander past Traktor goalie Michael Garnett.

The rest of the first period continued along quietly with each team getting a powerplay chance but failing to convert.  Metallurg finished the 1st leading 9-6 in shots, which did not include a beautiful chance for Malkin with 18 seconds left where he shot the puck over a wide open net from two feet away.  Geno was left staring to the heavens in wonderment as the period came to a close.  Also of note, Washington Capitals' prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov (26th pick in 2010) had 4 of Traktor's 6 shots in the period.

Magnitogorsk started the second period with back to back powerplays as forward Konstantin Panov was called for tripping, came out of the box after the penalty was killed, and was called for tripping again.  Unfortunately they were unable to capitalize on either chance with Malkin ringing a slapshot off the post at the end of the second powerplay.  After the two kills, Traktor had a chance to tie the game with Malkin in the penalty box for hooking, but they only managed 1 shot on the powerplay.

Geno ROAR.

Malkin promptly made them pay for not taking advantage of the opportunity.  Just as Malkin exited the box, Mozyakin and Nikolai Kulemin jumped on to the ice to unite the first line in an effort to shift momentum.  Mozyakin skated out of the corner in the offensive zone with the puck and dished it to Kulemin at the left faceoff circle.  Kulemin passed it to the crease, where Malkin skated laterally with Garnett already down and slid the puck into a virtually empty net for a 2-0 lead.  Magnitogorsk had a few more chances in the period led by the line of Lisin-Hodgman-Zuccarello, but Garnett held strong and kept the score 2-0 through 2 periods.

Traktor had one more strong chance to get into the game early in the 3rd period with Mikhail Yakubov in the box for holding, but Metallurg's penalty kill was too aggressive for Traktor to handle.  A few minutes after the penalty was killed, Malkin finished his natural hat trick and capped off the scoring with a fanned shot that dribbled into the net.  Enver Lisin created the chance by skating the puck behind the net and attempting a wrap-around that sailed across the crease.  Mozyakin attempted to corral the puck, missed it, and let it slide to Malkin.  Malkin then fanned on the shot but still hit the puck hard enough that it slid past Garnett who was left scrambling.

With a 3-0 lead midway through the 3rd, the only things left to do were clean up the hats and preserve Ahonen's third shutout in a row.  Traktor never put a scare into the goalie as Metallurg kept all shots to the perimeter and cleared the front of the net to perfection.  With that, Magnitogorsk won the game and jumped into 1st place in the West with 81 points, 1 point ahead of Avangard Omsk and Ak Bars Kazan.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3  Traktor Chelyabinsk 0

Box Score: http://text.khl.ru/en/35122.html

Magnitogorsk improves to 24-0-9-7 and Chelyabinsk drops to 21-3-6-10.

Player Notes

Things I miss: Geno celebrations

Evgeni Malkin - I don't have enough words to praise Malkin in this game.  He could have had 5 goals since he missed an open net and also beat Garnett but hit the post.  His final stat line was 3 goals on 6 shots, 7 for 16 (43.8%) on faceoffs, and 2 PIM in 23:02 of ice time.  Geno did a masterful job of creating space for himself with head fakes and speed changes throughout the game and simply looked in peak form.  He even played a strong defensive game, denying two Traktor forwards of chances in front of the net with perfectly timed stick lifts.  This may have been the best all around game Malkin has played all season.

Gonchar's inevitable reaction to Pens fan debates

Others (Metallurg) - Sergei Mozyakin, of course, assisted on all 3 of Malkin's goals and remains the KHL scoring leader.  The chemistry between the two players is a sight to behold as they perfectly measure where each other will be ahead of the play.  Gonchar, Kulemin, and Lisin also added assists in this game.  Mats Zuccarello had a plethora of chances but was robbed by Garnett on multiple occasions  Ryan O'Reilly went 12 for 16 in faceoffs.  Ari Ahonen is rising back into the Top 5 for goalie stats with his 3rd shutout in a row as both he and Metallurg's defense look impenetrable right now.

A couple more years of seasoning makes more sense now.

Others (Traktor) - Admittedly, the only Traktor player I focused on was Evgeny Kuznetsov, who looked like the focal point of Traktor's offense but was kept to the perimeter at all times.  Though he had 7 of the team's 23 shots, I was less than impressed with his willingness to drive with the puck into traffic.  He clearly seemed more interested in deking to the outside than inside against this Magnitogorsk team.

Next Game:  1/6, 11am EST @ Slovan Bratislava

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/.

Look for Ahonen stats too.

Top Line Destroys Khabarovsk Behind Mozyakin's 4 Goals

The Matchup (from 12/30):

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(22-0-9-7)

vs

Amur

Khabarovsk

(9-3-1-25)

Stats

• Evgeni Malkin - 1 goal, 4 assists, 2 PIM, 7 shots, 18 for 29 (62.1%) in faceoffs in 20:43 of ice time
• Sergei Mozyakin - 4 goals, 1 assist, 10 shots in 19:05 of ice time
• Nikolai Kulemin - 4 assists, 1 shot in 19:13 of ice time
• Sergei Gonchar - 1 assist, 1 shot in 21:50 of ice time
• Ari Ahonen - 26 saves on 26 shots, 2nd consecutive shutout

Highlight Videos

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 7  Amur Khabarovsk 0

Box Score: http://en.khl.ru/report/222/?idgame=35116

Magnitogorsk improves to 23-0-9-7 and Khabarovsk drops to 9-3-1-26.

Next Game:  1/4, 6am EST vs Traktor Chelyabinsk

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/.

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/.

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/.

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/.

Magnitogorsk Finds Magic Late to Steal a Win

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(19-0-9-6)

@

Torpedo

Nizhny Novgorod

(13-1-5-14)

Players You May Recognize

Petr Schastlivy, Anton Volchenkov, Alexander Semin

Pregame Notes

• Evgeni Malkin misses Sidney Crosby
• With Cal O'Reilly and Oleg Tverdovsky already out with injuries, Magnitogorsk added Evgeny Biryukov to the injured list.  He left the previous game early after getting his face (cheek) smashed into the boards.
• With Biryukov out of the lineup, Sergei Gonchar received the 2nd "A" on his jersey, joining Sergei Mozyakin.
• Mozyakin has been named to the Team East All-Star team.  He was voted in by journalists for the 2nd line.  Other notable NHLers added were Andrei Markov, Alexander Radulov, and Evgenii Dadonov for Team West.  The full rosters will be unveiled on the 24th and fans can vote for team captains starting January 7th.
• Enver Lisin is still out of the lineup.  I still don't know why, but he's not on the injured list at least.

Recap

As Ari Ahonen fell out of the Top 5 for most goaltending stats over the past month, head coach Paul Maurice started using backup Georgi Gelashvili more frequently.  The move almost cost his team a win tonight against Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.  Gelashvili gave up 3 goals in the first 12 minutes of the game before getting pulled in favor of Ahonen.  The rest would be up to Magnitogorsk's offense.

Semin has been average in the KHL with 12 pts in 15 games

Both teams started at a slow, quiet pace before a scoring frenzy erupted in the first period.  3:09 into the game, Torpedo struck first as Maxim Potapov found Petr Schastlivy wide open in front of the net.  Schastlivy took his time and deked Gelashvili out of position before flipping a backhander over him for the 1-0 lead.  Just 28 seconds later, Metallurg tied the game when Nikolai Kulemin received a pass in the slot from Malkin and ripped a wrist shot past Torpedo goalie Vitaly Koval.  The frenzy wasn't over yet though as Mikhail Varnakov brought the puck into the Magnitogorsk zone with Alexander Semin on a 2 on 1.  Varnakov passed it across to Semin, who made it 2-1 Torpedo with a backhander.

The pace settled down considerably after Semin's goal and both teams kept their defensemen back to put an end to the odd man rushes.  It wasn't enough for Magnitogorsk though.  With Gelashvili flailing like a fish out of water, Radek Smolenak out-battled Sergei Gonchar in front of the net to chip a puck over the goalie's leg pads half way through the period.  This marked the end for Gelashvili as Ari Ahonen took over in net.  This also marked the end for Torpedo's offense.

The teams traded powerplay opportunities for the rest of the 1st period but the score remained 3-1.  After a dismal penalty killing effort in the previous game, Magnitogorsk changed their PK lines and added Ryan O'Reilly which worked nicely.

The second period was a display of more solid penalty killing for both teams, a goal for Magnitogorsk, and a fight for Evgeni Malkin.  Each team had 2 powerplays but neither managed much in the way of shots let alone a goal.  Roughly halfway through the period, Mats Zuccarello and Justin Hodgman entered the neutral zone 2 on 3 against Torpedo.  Zuccarello made a brilliant pass to open ice on the left side where only Hodgman could catch up to it.  As Hodgman sped up to get the puck, he also blew past the closest defender and cut across the crease to beat Koval and cut the deficit to 3-2.  Even the Russian announcers described it with "bravo" and "fantastic!"

Gorbunov was saved by the refs from angry Geno

Late in the period, Malkin stole the show with his fists instead of his skills.  Back behind the play, [the announcers said something about someone doing something to Gonchar], and Evgeni Malkin dropped the gloves with Vladimir Gorbunov.  Gorbunov, a 2000 draft pick of the New York Islanders, didn't get much of a chance to fight though as Malkin fell on him and the refs intervened very quickly.  Both players were given double minors for roughing.  The period ended shortly after with Ryan O'Reilly being pulled away from a shoving match by refs as tempers escalated.  Magnitogorsk outshot Torpedo 14-2 in the second period, but was definitely outhit by Torpedo, who seemed to be targeting O'Reilly especially.

Pure elation for Kulemin after scoring the go ahead goal.

Most of the third period flew by very quickly with few whistles and fewer chances.  Each team had an unsuccessful powerplay and it appeared that Torpedo would hold on for the victory with less than 3 minutes to go.  With just 2:22 remaining in the 3rd period, everything fell apart for Nizhny Novgorod though.  It started with a breakdown in the slot where Ryan O'Reilly was left with a huge opening to receive a pass from Alexei Bondarev and rip a wrist shot past Koval to tie the game.  Just over a minute later, Torpedo had a defensive breakdown in the exact same area of the slot and Nikolai Kulemin was left wide open to take a Sergei Mozyakin pass and fire an identical wrist shot past Koval to take the lead.

Nizhny Novgorod called timeout down 4-3 with 1:16 left in the game, but the damage was done.  Evgeni Malkin soon finished the game off with an empty netter assisted by O'Reilly, and Magnitogorsk stole a regulation win with 3 goals in the last 2:22.

Final Score:  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5  Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3

Magnitogorsk improves to 20-0-9-6 and Nizhny Novgorod drops to 13-1-5-15.

Player Notes

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin finished with 1 goal, 1 assist, 7 shots, 9 for 19 (47.4%) in faceoffs, and 4 PIM in 20:21 of ice time.  He looked superb skating through the offensive zone and made defenseman and Torpedo captain Dmitry Bykov look foolish multiple times.  His offensive production was more valuable than his stats show since Vitaly Koval played a solid game, especially in the second period.  While Geno has never been one to shy away from physical contact, he certainly sought it out tonight, culminating in his short fight.

O'Reilly's 1st KHL goal was a significant one.

Others (Metallurg) - Ryan O'Reilly was targeted heavily in the hitting game but broke free of it in the 3rd period for a goal and an assist.  I wonder if it was in the Torpedo game plan to "welcome" him to the KHL in such a manner and that bothers me if Crosby eventually joins the KHL.  Regardless, O'Reilly improved drastically in his 2nd KHL game and he won't be on the 3rd line for long at this rate.  Mats Zuccarello and Justin Hodgman continued to play very well together and clearly have a lot of chemistry.  Hodgman's goal in the 2nd period was a huge turning point for Magnitogorsk and Zuccarello's pass and vision was exceptional.

Others (Torpedo) - Anton Volchenkov had a quiet game, amassing 2 PIMs and no shots.  He was only on the ice for 16:24 which is far less than I expected to see.  Alexander Semin reminded me of just how great his hands and stick-handling ability are.  There is no questioning his skill but I don't believe the bigger ice surface is a big advantage for him.  Magnitogorsk defensemen were able to back off from him instead of getting flat out burned by tricky moves.  

Next Game:  12/23, 8am EST @ Lokomotiv Yaroslavl

Links:

A huge 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 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