Magnitogorsk Blows 2 Goal Lead, Falls in Shootout

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(7-0-3-3)

vs

Lokomotiv

Yaroslavl

(8-2-0-4)

Players You May Recognize

Semyon Varlamov started in net for Lokomotiv.  Other NHLers joining him:  Niklas Hagman, Dmitri Kulikov, Sami Lepisto, Artem Anisimov, and Viktor Kozlov.  Goalie Curtis Sanford is also on the roster for Lokomotiv, but currently injured.

Recap

At least it's a hockey night somewhere.

While most KHL teams require an introduction to NHL fans, here is the one where it sadly is not necessary. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl made their return to Magnitogorsk this morning after spending last season in the Russian Major League instead of the KHL.  Coming off of their horrific plane tragedy, they entered this season under a different set of rules compared to other KHL teams.  Lokomotiv is allowed to use more than 6 non-Russian players and they will receive an automatic berth into the playoffs at the end of the season, regardless of where they stand.

Despite the kind allowances, the team is doing quite well on its own this season.  They entered this game as the 2nd best team in the KHL's Western Conference, led by NHL-quality goaltending and a few former NHLers on their first line.  Meanwhile, Magnitogorsk entered the game 4th in the East after a 3-0 win and a five day layoff.

The home team showed no rust off of the opening faceoff and it took Magnitogorsk just 3 minutes to get on the board.  Sergei Mozyakin intercepted a puck in the neutral zone and fed it up to Justin Hodgman, who was breaking through two defenders for a breakaway.  Hodgman went to his backhand and then pulled the puck back over to his forehand to easily beat an outstretched Semyon Varlamov for a 1-0 lead.

The Steel Fox loves it.

After a comical stoppage where Magnitogorsk blasted "Born in the USA" to the crowd, Metallurg continued to put endless pressure on Lokomotiv.  The 2nd and 3rd lines created most of the chances as Lokomotiv did not appear to have enough depth to keep up with Metallurg.  Malkin's line was held rather quiet through the 1st period though as they often faced two NHL defensemen in Sami Lepisto and Dmitri Kulikov.  Geno did have a chance late in the period, but mostly fanned on a one-timer from just outside of the crease.  The first period ended 1-0 in Magnitogorsk's favor.

They continued to dominate play in the second period, forcing Lokomotiv into a penalty kill mentality for a few minutes despite it being 5 on 5 play.  Varlamov was the difference though, making several saves through screens and due to sheer incompetence from his team.  He eventually allowed a second goal with 4 minutes left in the period though as Denis Platonov jammed away at a rebound that Varlamov could not fully control. The assists went to Cal O'Reilly and Sergei Mozyakin.  Magnitogorsk would have a couple more beautiful chances before the end of the period, but Varlamov kept Lokomotiv in it with some dazzling saves and the period ended with a score of 2-0.

Platonov jamming away at Varlamov's glove.

Feeling confident after two dominant periods, Metallurg gave up an awful early goal to start the 3rd period and bring Lokomotiv back into the game.  Defenseman Yaroslav Khabarov made an ill-advised backhand pass from behind the goal line directly in front of the net.  Unfortunately for him, the only player in front of the net was Lokomotiv forward Egor Averin.  Averin took a quick shot before Magnitogorsk goalie Ari Ahonen was set and cut the lead to 2-1.

The teams traded powerplays midway through the 3rd period but neither could capitalize and the game continued on as Lokomotiv gained more steam with every shift.  Finally, with just 2:30 left in the 3rd period, Ahonen made a save and knocked the puck wide behind the goal line.  Lokomotiv's Alexander Chesnikov corralled the puck behind the net and was chased by both defensemen (Sergei Gonchar and Yaroslav Khabarov) AND a forward who I did not catch.  With 3 men behind the net, Egor Averin sat in the slot by himself.  Somehow, Chesnikov beat all 3 men and dished the puck out to Averin, who one-timed it past Ahonen to tie the game.

The game continued through the 3rd and a 5 minute overtime without much action.  After overtime, it was hard not to feel doomed as Magnitogorsk has fared quite poorly in shootouts this season.  The first 3 shooters from each team were stopped (Magnitogorsk: Mozyakin, Malkin, Zuccarello; Lokomotiv: Galimov, Kozlov, Hagman).  Justin Hodgman led off the 4th round for Magnitogorsk but was stopped by Varlamov.  With the game on his stick, Daniil Apalkov completely fooled Ahonen by faking to his right and then snapped a quick wrist shot for the win.

Semyon Varlamov finished with 40 saves on 42 shots and shutout Magnitogorsk in the shootout for a very well-deserved win.

Final Score:  Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (SO)

Magnitogorsk drops to 7-0-4-3 and Yaroslavl improves to 8-3-0-4.

Player Notes

Gonchar, Mozyakin, Malkin, some Letang wannabe
(errr Zuccarello)

Evgeni Malkin - Malkin finished the game with 4 shots in 24:11 of ice time and went 12 for 20 in faceoffs.  He looked a bit off today as he lost the puck in the offensive zone a couple times and also seemed very inaccurate with his shots.  There was one sequence that was out of the ordinary in the KHL (though we have seen Geno do it in the NHL plenty) where he tried to burst past a defender, lost the puck, and went to shoulder the defender before retrieving the puck.  It turned into an offensive zone turnover as the defenseman just kept skating for the puck looking to avoid a physical battle.  I've never thought about it before, but Malkin's big body and physical play certainly lends itself to the NHL much better than the KHL at times despite his skill level.

Sergei Gonchar - Gonchar played one of his worst games of the season from start to finish in this matchup.  Though he did land 5 shots on net in 22:18 of ice time, his offensive zone play was lackluster and his defense was costly.  Like Malkin, Gonchar had turnover issues in the offensive zone and added to it by taking a needless holding penalty in the offensive zone as well.  He also got caught behind the opponent's net on 3 different instances where he passed the puck to the front and it turned into a breakout the other way.  Gonchar was simply trying to force too much in this game.

Cal O'Reilly - Shocking, O'Reilly adds another assist!  He stays in the top 5 in the KHL with 11 assists in 14 games.  He received a big bump in ice time (up to 21:30) and was 9 for 15 in faceoffs.  O'Reilly's play can simply be defined as safe and dependable at the KHL level so far.

Artem Anisimov - Anisimov scattered 4 shots through 22:04 of playing time and went 11 for 22 in the faceoff circle.  He looked to be at his best when he did not have the puck though, causing chaos in front of the net a few times.  I was rather surprised to not see him in the shootout, not that I know much about Lokomotiv's shooters.

Varlamov gets my first star for the game.

Semyon Varlamov - Varlamov had a phenomenal game, getting beat only on a breakaway and a massive scrum where he had no chance to do anything.  He stayed square to his shooters and gave Magnitogorsk very little to shoot at throughout the game.  His fundamentals were perfect as he made quite a few saves through screens as well.  He is easily the biggest reason that Lokomotiv had a chance to even be in this game, let alone win it.

Others - Mats Zuccarello had a quiet game as Lokomotiv seemed very well-equipped to deal with any speed that Magnitogorsk used against them.  Viktor Kozlov looked solid on the powerplay but was not very noticeable at even strength.  Niklas Hagman also did not appear to create much on his own for Lokomotiv.  Sami Lepisto played a strong 2 periods but did not return for the 3rd or extra time.  Finally, Kulikov played very well in keeping Malkin's line quiet and led the game with over 26 minutes of ice time.

Next Game:  10/15, 9am EST vs Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod

Links:

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

If you want highlights for the games, check out http://www.youtube.com/user/KHLofficialvideo.  Here are this game's highlights.