Wolves halt Loko’s winning start, Ak Bars blanks Magnitka. September 14 round-up

Goalie Filipp Dolganov made 46 saves to end Lokomotiv’s winning start to the season. Neftekhimik won 1-0, absorbing huge pressure in Neftekhimik. Also in Tatarstan, Ak Bars blanked Metallurg to win its home opener 2-0. Avtomobilist was the day’s big scorer in a 6-1 win over previously undefeated Salavat Yulaev, while Spartak continued its bright start with a 4-2 success over Torpedo. There were also victories for Severstal over CSKA and Traktor at Sochi.Macek at the double as Motormen impressAvtomobilist Yekaterinburg 6 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (2-0, 1-1, 3-0)After back-to-back losses, Avtomobilist got back to form with an emphatic victory over Salavat Yulaev. The 6-1 scoreline was all the more surprising considering that Ufa was undefeated in its opening three games of the season and went into action hoping to finish the day with at least a share of the lead in the Eastern Conference.Those ambitions were undermined in the first period. The Motormen made an active start to the game and dominated the opening exchanges. Midway through the first, Sergei Zborovsky opened the scoring when his shot from wide on the left took a deflection to beat Alexander Samonov in the visitor’s net. Ufa had chances to tie the game, but Evgeny Alikin kept his goal intact before Alexei Byvaltsev doubled the home lead in the final minute before the intermission.Early in the second period, Avtomobilist extended its lead on the power play. Alexander Chmelevski sat for high sticking and Brooks Macek redirected a Jesse Blacker point shot into the net.Then came Salavat’s best spell of the game. Chmelevski emerged from the box and pulled a goal back in the 28th minute, banging in a one-timer from close range off Josh Leivo’s feed. Then Leivo had a great chance to bring his team right back into the game. Daniil Karpovich was penalized for throwing his stick towards the puck and the officials immediately awarded a penalty shot. However, Leivo put his attempt wide of the target after a good approach to Alikin’s net.Despite that disappointment, Ufa continued to press and had the better of the play in the latter stages of the middle frame. However, the visitor could not carry that momentum into the third. Leivo talked himself into trouble as the players left the ice and Avtomobilist converted that power play at the start of the final frame through Curtis Valk. He raced onto a Stephane Da Costa pass and fired in a shot that hit the crossbar before bouncing into the net off Samonov’s back.Thereafter, the home team closed out the win and added a couple more goals to their tally. Macek got his second of the game before Anatoly Golyshev completed the scoring. The home captain finished with 1+1 and moves to five points from five games this season.Dolganov defies LokomotivNeftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)Filipp Dolganov produced a huge performance to record his first shut-out of the season and lead Neftekhimik to a hard-fought win over previously unbeaten Lokomotiv.Visiting head coach Igor Nikitin travelled to Nizhnekamsk for his 600th game behind the bench in the KHL. Moreover, he was seeking his 400th career win and looking to maintain the Railwaymen’s undefeated start to the 2024-2025 campaign. But 46 saves from Dolganov shattered that hope.Neftekhimik, meanwhile, offered a real test. The Wolves won three out of four at the start of the season, including back-to-back success against defending champion Metallurg. Now there was a chance to test the team’s strengths against last year’s other Gagarin Cup finalist.The visitor had the better of the first period in most senses. Lokomotiv outshot Neftekhimik 16-5 and enjoyed roughly twice as much attacking possession. However, the key stat at the first intermission favored the home team: the home team got the first power play of the game, and Nikita Khoruzhev claimed his first KHL goal when he got to the slot in time to steer Dmitry Zhukenov’s feed into the net.That lead lasted until the end. Neftekhimik rarely posed an attacking threat but Dolganov was brilliant and his colleagues backed him up with 21 blocked shots to claim a memorable backs-to-the-wall victory.Home delight for Ak Bars in Kazan openerAk Bars Kazan 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 1-0)Traditionally, these two clubs are among the powerhouses of the Eastern Conference. However, in the 2024-2025 season, neither made a hugely impressive start. Between them, Ak Bars and Metallurg managed just two wins from seven games and in both cases they needed the extras to secure the verdict.This was the first game of the season in Kazan after three road games for Ak Bars, while Metallurg was on its travels after a four-game home stand. It represented an eye-catching start to the home campaign for Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men – and offered an important opportunity to reassure fans that the new head coach can make a success of a demanding role.The opening period produced plenty of good hockey. Both teams played on the front foot and created decent chances – not least when Nikita Mikhailis hit the post for Metallurg – but there was only one goal at the intermission. That went to Albert Yarullin, whose well-taken point shot found the top corner while Dmitrij Jaskin’s presence on the slot screened Ilya Nabokov’s view. The goal came in the 15th minute, and probably reflected the balance of play up to that time.Magnitka couldn’t make much headway in the second period either. Ak Bars topped the shot count 17-7, although many of those efforts were from long distance and proved straightforward for Nabokov.Early in the third, Nikita Dynyak stuffed home the rebound from his own shot to make it 2-0. However, as he battled to finish the play, the goal came off its moorings and a video review whistled off the goal. That reprieve was followed by a couple of Metallurg power plays, but once again there was no cutting edge from the visitor. Indeed, the closest chance came at the other end, but Jaskin fired narrowly wide of the target when he was released by a team-mate.In the 59th minute, Metallurg sent out a sixth skater. However, it could not save the game. Artyom Galimov scored into the empty net to seal the win for Ak Bars.Two short-handed goals sink SochiHC Sochi 1 Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 (0-1, 0-1, 1-2)There was no happy home opener for Sochi, with Traktor finishing its opening road trip with a comfortable win beside the Black Sea. The visitor was rarely troubled in this game, and Michal Kristof’s consolation goal for the host was too late to affect the outcome.The first period saw Traktor well on top, with Sochi rarely looking like a home team. However, the visitor had to wait to open the scoring: Maxim Shabanov broke the deadlock 41 seconds before the intermission, potting his fourth goal in three games.It was a similar story in the second, with Traktor controlling the play and extending its advantage thanks to a power play goal from defenseman Grigory Dronov.Even the loss of Shabanov on an interference penalty could not upset Chelyabinsk. Mikhail Kotlyarevsky added a short-handed goal early in the third, summing up Sochi’s struggles. Kristof gave the home fans something to cheer when he scored in the 55th minute but it never looked likely to be enough. And a second short-handed goal, this time from Charles Robinson, completed a solid victory for Traktor.Late show lifts SeverstalSeverstal Cherepovets 4 CSKA Moscow 2 (0-0, 2-2, 2-0)A dramatic late flourish handed Severstal victory at home to CSKA. Kirill Pilipenko snapped a 2-2 tie with less than four minutes on the clock to lead the host to victory. An empty-net goal ended CSKA’s hopes.