Ruslan Fedotenko...For The Win?!

The Matchup:

Metallurg 

Magnitogorsk 

(10-0-4-3)

@

Donbass
Donetsk

(5-2-3-9)

Players You May Recognize

Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ruslan Fedotenko, Erik Ersberg, Oskar Bartulis, Anton Babchuk, Evgenii Dadonov

Recap

This game was the second of a three game stretch where Magnitogorsk visits the three worst teams in the Western Conference.  Unlike Monday's 5-2 win, this one did not go quite as planned.  Metallurg allowed four special teams goals (3 powerplay and 1 shorthanded) in a 4-3 loss in overtime.  They were lucky to even make it to overtime, relying on a late tying goal by Sergei Mozyakin with just 8 seconds left in the game.

Fedotenko almost falling on a faceoff against Malkin.

The first period started innocently enough as both teams skated up and down the ice with no big plays or key chances.  Magnitogorsk's Mikhail Yakubov was called for tripping 6 minutes into the period and the team killed the powerplay despite committing 3 turnovers (2 by Malkin) on the penalty kill.  Shortly thereafter, Magnitogorsk went on the powerplay thanks to a too many men penalty and quickly got on the scoreboard first.  On a broken play, Sergei Mozyakin poked a loose puck from behind the net into empty space in the slot area.  Evgeni Malkin rushed over from the right half-boards to pick up the puck, skated around a defender, and wristed a shot past Donetsk goaltender Erik Ersberg for a 1-0 lead.

After another successful penalty kill to end the first period, Magnitogorsk found themselves down a man yet again to start the second period due to a tripping penalty.  Donetsk tied the game on the powerplay as Alexei Ponikarovsky sent a backhand pass to Ruslan Fedotenko alone in front of the net.  Fedotenko took a quick wrist shot to beat Georgi Gelashvili on his glove side.

Metallurg had a chance to take the lead three minutes later on another powerplay, but instead gave up a 3 on 2 shorthanded break that led to a goal by Peter Podhradski, assisted by Ponikarovsky.  The team then gave up a shorthanded breakaway which was interrupted by a hook from defenseman Aleksey Bondarev.  Donbass took a penalty shot but was stopped by Gelashvili to keep the game at 2-1.  The score would not remain that way for long though as Fedotenko scored his 2nd goal of the night on the powerplay by capitalizing on a rebound while Yaroslav Khabarov sat in the penalty box.

As things began to look bleak for a Magnitogorsk team that seemed out of sync, Donetsk was called for interference and the momentum shifted.  Nikolai Kulemin scored from in front of the net on the powerplay (assisted by Malkin) to make it 3-2 just before the second period ended.

Platonov argued his case to no avail.

The first half of the third period was uneventful as Magnitogorsk still couldn't find a way to get much puck possession.  Their chances of a comeback plummeted with 8 minutes left in the 3rd period as captain Denis Platonov was given a 5 minute major and game misconduct for punching a player in the head during a scrum after the whistle.  With Metallurg on their heels, Donbass could not find a way to capitalize on the long powerplay and momentum shifted completely towards the away team for the final 3 minutes.  With the goalie pulled, Evgeni Malkin sent a pass that found its way to Sergei Mozyakin with 8 seconds left.  Mozyakin ripped it past Ersberg to tie the game to the disbelief of the Donbass crowd.

Stunned heading to OT.

The teams went to overtime and of course it was a penalty that finished it off.  Evgeny Biryukov was called for hooking with 2 minutes left in overtime leading to a 4 on 3 for Donetsk.  After a few passes, Ponikarovsky found a wide open Fedotenko on the backside of the crease and he one-timed the puck in for the hat trick and a win.  No hats were thrown.

Final Score:  Donbass Donetsk 4  Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (OT)

Magnitogorsk drops to 10-0-5-3 and Donetsk improves to 5-3-3-9.

Player Notes

Evgeni Malkin - Geno's three point night was his 4th straight multi-point game and has moved him into a tie for 6th place in the KHL in points with Ilya Kovalchuk (20 points).  He is currently 4 points behind the leader, Alexander Radulov.  He is also 3 points behind Magnitogorsk's leader, Sergei Mozyakin.  Malkin continues to dominate on the powerplay, though the rest of his game was lacking today.  He was especially turnover prone in the defensive zone as the whole team looked a little off.

Sergei Gonchar - Gonchar had another quiet game though he made a slightly bigger impact on the powerplay, registering 3 shots.  His go-to from the point seems to be pass to Malkin for a one-timer, which is getting easier and easier to predict.  His defensive awareness has improved greatly as his production has dropped though as this was the 3rd straight game where he was back for odd man breaks when no one else was.

Others - Alexei Ponikarovsky had a 4 point night (all primary assists) and looked very comfortable on the first line with Ruslan Fedotenko.  He had only recorded 3 assists total in his preivous 13 games.  Meanwhile, Fedotenko had 3 goals, all on the powerplay, after recording only 1 in his first 13 games.  Both Fedotenko and Ponikarovsky both had their best games of the season by far against Magnitogorsk.

Next Game:  10/26, 11:30am EST @ Spartacus

Links:

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