Metallurg humbles CSKA, Loko remains on top. October 3 round-up

Most people would have expected a close game when Metallurg went to CSKA – but Thursday’s match-up was anything but. An astonishing second period from the Steelmen powered a crushing 7-0 success in Moscow; quite the shocker for CSKA head coach Ilya Vorobyov, long associated with Magnitogorsk. League leader Lokomotiv reeled off a fifth win, coming from behind in Omsk. Vityaz had a 7-2 success over Kunlun in another high-scoring game and Sochi sank Admiral with a 5-0 scoreline. Elsewhere, there were closer battles: Barys battled back against Spartak before falling 2-4, SKA blanked Dinamo Minsk for a 3-0 win and Traktor added two late goals to pad a 4-1 win at Dynamo Moscow.Boucher’s double can’t stop LokomotivAvangard Omsk 3 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 5 (1-1, 2-0, 0-4)Table-topping Lokomotiv faced a battle on the road in Omsk but a strong third-period saw Igor Nikitin’s team turn a 1-3 deficit into a 5-3 win.The action got off to a fast start. Ilya Reingardt dinged Daniil Isayev’s crossbar in the second minute and the home team was the livelier in the opening exchanges. However, Loko began to turn things around and before long Andrei Sergeyev rang the iron at the other end. When the visitor got its first power play, Daniil But quickly converted it with a one-timer.Today, though, the familiar unbreakable Lokomotiv defense was not so much in evidence. Avangard tied the game quickly when defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev found the net after a spell of pressure.After the break, both teams produced some solid defensive play and for 10 minutes there were few chances to be found. That all changed when Ryan Spooner released Reid Boucher, who raced to the Loko net and scored his first goal of the season. Boucher’s return from injury and Spooner’s return to the club late last month offered the Hawks new attacking options, much needed in a sticky start to the 2024-2025 campaign. And late in the middle frame, Boucher was on target again when a familiar power play move from Damir Sharipzyanov set him up to make it 3-1.But Lokomotiv is not top of the standings for nothing and that lead evaporated in the space of a minute. First, Stepan Nikulin set up Georgy Ivanov to reduce the deficit, then Sharipzyanov’s error gifted Nikita Kiryanov the chance to bear down on Pavel Khomchenko’s net and tie the scores in the 44th minute.There was a big moment six minutes before the end when Alexander Filatyev took an unnecessary O-zone penalty and handed Lokomotiv a chance to win it. However, the visiting PP could not find a break through and it wasn’t until the teams got back to equal strength that Maxim Shalunov found the go-ahead goal. Avangard tried to find a way back, but home hopes were extinguished when Byron Froese wrapped it up with an empty-netter.Biggest win since 2022 for VityazVityaz Moscow Region 7 Kunlun Red Star 2 (3-0, 3-0, 1-2)Vityaz enjoyed an emphatic victory over Kunlun, building on its win in Astana in its previous game and halting the Dragons’ two game winning streak. This was only the third time the home team had scored seven in a KHL game, having previously defeated Severstal 7-2 in Jan. 2011 and Dinamo Minsk 9-6 in Oct. 2016.The home team had not played since Sep. 28 and made the most of that rest to produce a powerful start. Frederik Gauthier opened the scoring with a power play effort in the third minute, Derek Barach doubled the lead 14 seconds later and Ivan Vorobyov made it 3-0 in the ninth minute.That forced Red Star into a change: Kyle Keyser came off the bench to replace starting goalie Jeremy Smith. Keyser kept Vityaz at bay until midway through the second period, but was eventually beaten by an awkward deflection off Ivan Savchik. Again, one goal led to a rush: Gauthier and Vorobyov both claimed their second tallies of the night to pad the lead to 6-0.At the second intermission, the home team was on course for its biggest ever win in the KHL. Previously, Vityaz had never won by more than a five-goal margin, most recently a 5-0 success against Barys in Sep. 2022. A power play goal from Nail Yakupov, Red Star’s leading goalscorer this season put that record in doubt and even though Alexander Daryin made it 7-1 with five to play, the Dragons had the final word thanks to Luke Lockhart.SKA shakes off defensive troublesDinamo Minsk 0 SKA St. Petersburg 3 (0-1, 0-1, 0-1)After two games of defensive disarray saw SKA allow 10 goals to SKA and Kunlun, Roman Rotenberg’s men tightened things up impressively in Minsk. As well as 34 saves from Artemy Pleshkov, there was much satisfaction from 25 blocked shots through the game.After losing 4-5 to Red Star in the previous game on Tuesday, SKA was looking for a good start here. It took just 27 seconds to open the scoring, with the visitor forcing a turnover that set Arseny Gritsyuk galloping down the left before setting up Vasily Glotov to make it 1-0.After that, SKA established a territorial advantage and had a good chance to extend its lead on the power play when Vladimir Alistrov, playing against his former club, tested goalie Andrei Tikhomirov. However, there was no further scoring in the first period.Dinamo posed more of a threat in the second period and came close to tying the game when Vadim Shipachyov – also playing against a former club – set up an attack that ended with Pleshkov working hard to deny Borikov. However, a couple of minutes after that SKA doubled its lead through Gritsyuk. A stretch pass sent the young forward away on the counter and he outwitted Tikhomirov.The final frame saw Dinamo hunting a way back into the game. There were great chances for Alexander Volkov and Vitaly Pinchuk, but Pleshkov neutralized the danger. And the evening finished as it started with a goal from Glotov, this time into an empty net to wrap up SKA’s win.Second successive shut-out for SochiHC Sochi 5 Admiral Vladivostok 0 (0-0, 2-0, 3-0)The Leopards recorded back-to-back wins for the first time this season and sent Admiral to a third successive loss.After defeating Severstal 1-0 in the previous game, Sochi head coach Sergei Zubov decided to swap his goalies. Yegor Zavragin was rested after his first career shut-out, and Sergei Ivanov came in to repeat his team-mate’s achievement.While Ivanov’s goaltending made a big impact in the game, the decisive passage came early in the second period. Nikolai Chebykin opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. Then, almost immediately, the home team killed a penalty. Back at equal strength, Artur Tyanulin added to his earlier assist and made it 2-0 for the host.Early in the third, Sochi put the game to bed with two quick goals. Daniil Seroukh and Amir Garayev were on target to push the lead out to 4-0. Admiral called a time-out and replaced goalie Vasily Demchenko with Andrei Mishurov, but could do little to change the game. A major penalty for Jack Rodewald saw Sergei Popov add a fifth goal before Ivanov completed his first shut-out of the season.Dronov double leads Traktor to victoryDyn