Atlant - SKA - 1:0

SKA travelled to Mytishchi in the Moscow suburbs to take on local side HC Atlant. Head coach Vyacheslav Bykov didn’t make too many changes to the starting line-up, with only Yury Alexandrov being replaced by fellow defenceman Dinar Khafizullin. Ilya Ezhov was trusted for his second start in net, with Mikko Koskinen backing him up.

Despite Atlant needing the points to keep alive their slim playoff hopes SKA began much the brighter, and Atte Engren in the hosts’ net had to be sharp on several occasions. The best opportunity of the frame fell to Vadim Shipachyov, as shorthanded he failed to find the target when all alone blocker side with the goaltender. Ilya Ezhov at the other hand had virtually nothing to do at all, as during the first period Atlant managed get only seven shots on target compared to SKA’s 10.

It was a completely different story in the second though, as Atlant slowly began to take charge of the game. After Ilya Kovalchuk smacked the left post just seconds in all the goalmouth action came at SKA’s crease, and Ilya Ezhov made some heroic stops. The puck even hit his net, but after Ilya had denied a one on one attempt, Sergey Shmelyov’s following rebound was ruled out for goaltender interference. As the frame came to a close Atlant earned a few powerplays in a row, and our netminder somehow kept out a number of point blank efforts to keep the team level.

There was a strong feeling that the first goal was going to prove crucial, and that’s exactly what happened. Vadim Shipachyov looked to have been fouled on, Igor Levitskiy twisted to the doorstep, and wristed fiercely between Ilya Ezhov’s pads and in. Atlant naturally shut up shop for the remaining minutes, and chance after chance was passed up by Atte Engren’s crease. Ilya Kovalchuk had one last heavy slap shot shut down as the seconds ticked by, and despite a late Atlant penalty and Ilya Ezhov getting pulled, the hosts held on to beat SKA 1:0.

Match protocol:

Atlant – SKA – 1:0 (0:0, 0:0, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Levitskiy (Chernov, Novopashin), 44.16

Goaltenders: Engren – Ezhov

Shots: 36 – 31

Penalty minutes: 6 – 8

Faceoffs: 30 – 35

Hits: 12 – 15

Blocked shots: 17 – 6

Referees: Belov, Rogachyov

20.02.2015. Arena Mytishchi, Mytishchi. Attendance 6900.