Third-period blitz condemns SKA to capital defeat

10 September 2026

SKA endured a chastening evening in Moscow on Thursday, suffering a 1:3 defeat to Spartak in the second game in as many days.

Our players bravely held on for two periods, but their stubborn resistance was eventually broken in the third against a Spartak team which held the initiative for virtually the entire match.

Predictably opting for a high-octane, aggressive approach, Spartak immediately laid siege to Artemiy Pleshkov’s net.

However, it was SKA who opened the scoring in the fifth minute, as Scott Wilson caught Spartak goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov cold with a snappy wrister.

It was one-way traffic for the remainder of the first period.

Outshooting SKA 29-8, the Muscovites created openings at will thanks to their effective press inside the attacking zone. German Rubtsov in particular should have done better when connecting with a sharp pass across the slot, but he fired wide with the goal begging to be hit.

More of the same was witnessed in the second stanza.

The fact that SKA took four penalties in the period didn’t exactly help either. Traditionally dangerous on the powerplay, the fired-up home side duly carved open a plethora of huge chances, with Maxime Comtois notably smacking the crossbar and Pleshkov pulling off a wonderful low save to shut the door on Alexander Belyayev.

Unfortunately, though, the latter did get his goal in the first knockings of the third period.

Just as SKA were returning to full strength, the 27-year-old forward gathered the rebound and sent it low under Pleshkov.

That goal provided Spartak with even more impetus to press with increasing urgency.

And, to our dismay, it quickly resulted in their second.

Familiar face Mikhail Maltsev connected with Andrei Mironov’s shot from the blue line, turning it home thanks to a smart deflection.

That goal came moments after Vladislav Syomin's slap shot had kissed the right post and Daniil Miromanov was thwarted by Fedotov.

In stark comparison to the preceding 40 odd minutes, SKA suddenly began competing at a high tempo with an emphasis on attack. Sergei Plotnikov came agonisingly close to our second marker, lashing against the bar with Fedotov unsighted.

Nonetheless, despite huffing and puffing, the visitors couldn’t maintain their threat and ended up conceding a third when Yegor Filin slid the puck into the empty net after Pleshkov had been swapped for the extra skater.

SKA will now prepare to face Sochi on the road on Saturday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

Spartak – SKA – 3:1 (0:1, 0:0, 3:0)

Goals:

0:1 Wilson (Glotov, Zaitsev), 04.26

1:1 Belyayev (Orlov, Galchenyuk), 41.28

2:1 Maltsev (Mironov, Jaros), 47.32

3:1 Filin (Mironov), 59.41 EN

Goalkeepers: Fedotov – Pleshkov

Shots: 79 – 38

Shots on target: 39 – 15

Faceoffs: 28 – 24