Dynamo Moscow - SKA

Dynamo Moscow - SKA - 2:3

29 October 2021

In a pulsating battle, SKA held on for dear life at the VTB Arena, defeating Dynamo Moscow 3:2 on the road in the 2021/2022 KHL regular season.

SKA made the perfect start in the Russian capital. With only 17 seconds on the clock, the in-form Andrei Kuzmenko immediately opened the scoring, stealing the puck and lifting it over the surprised Alexander Yeryomenko.

That lead was quickly doubled in the fourth minute.

Pulling sharply to the doorstep, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi struck gold, thumping a rising wrister into the right corner to score his maiden goal of the campaign.

SKA continued to pile the pressure on a shocked Dynamo side. However, after Ivan Morozov and Kuzmenko had missed promising chances, the hosts managed to halve the deficit, as Dmitry Rashevsky nudged the puck over the line on the counter-attack. Moments later, Vladislav Mikhailov could have equalised for the Muscovites, but his backhander was brilliantly saved by Lars Johansson.

In the concluding shifts of the first period, SKA once again regained a measure of control, and Nikita Gusev was denied a third by Yeryomenko’s left pad when connecting with Mikko Lehtonen’s intelligent pass on the break-away.

Our players reinstated the two-goal advantage in the ninth minute of the second stanza.

Pouncing on a stray Dynamo pass, the fast Kuzmenko powered towards the crease, and he ruthlessly beat Yeryomenko glove-side when being fouled against at the same time.

In the subsequent shift, the evergreen Vadim Shipachyov thought that he had conjured up an instant response for Dynamo, but replays clearly showed that his wrist shot didn’t cross the line after smacking the right post.

Johansson was a busy man in our net as Dynamo earned two powerplays in the period and continued to press our team with intent. The Swede was up to the task, though, in particular pulling off tough point-blank stops against Mikhail Fisenko and Shipachyov.

The 34-year-old then made an incredible double save at the start of the third period to somehow shut the door on Stanislav Galiev and Andrei Sergeev.

SKA appeared to be in full control. However, the game turned on its head in the 51^st minute, as Joonas Kemppainen received a 5+20 penalty for slashing.

Naturally, that moment proved to be absolutely crucial. At the blue line, Sergeev did tally Dynamo’s goal with two minutes remaining in that extended powerplay, getting the better of Johansson with a rocket.

Thankfully, however, with heroic defending - particularly from Evgeny Ketov - and flawless goalkeeping, SKA clung on and successfully saw the game out despite Dynamo pulling Yeryomenko for the extra skater in the dying moments.

We do now consequently boast a confident five-point lead in first spot of the Western Conference over second-placed Jokerit Helsinki, and a seven-point advantage over Dynamo who occupy third position.

SKA will now prepare to host Metallurg Magnitogorsk in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

Dynamo Moscow - SKA - 2:3 (1:2, 0:1, 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Kuzmenko, 00.17

0:2 Shvets-Rogovoi, 03.09

1:2 Rashevsky (Wedin), 11.17

1:3 Kuzmenko, 28.41

2:3 Sergeev (Rashevsky, Mironov), 52.55

Goalkeepers: Yeryomenko - Johansson

Shots on target: 24 - 18

Faceoffs: 33 - 27