Lada – SKA

Lada – SKA – 0:3

4 September 2023

SKA confidently made it two wins from two in the 2023/2024 KHL regular season, defeating Lada Tolyatti 3:0 on the road in Samara Region.

Despite being major underdogs for this game, Lada came flying out of the blocks.

19-year-old goalkeeper Sergei Ivanov had to be at his best to keep SKA level, in particular pulling off two smart stops at close range to deny Danila Moiseev and Sergei Shumakov.

SKA also managed to create several clear opportunities with Lada refusing to sit in defence. Eager to prove his worth, former SKA goaltender Vladislav Podyapolsky was competing with fire in his belly, making a series of excellent saves to shut the door on the likes of Ilya Fedotov and Sergei Tolchinsky.

After Lada had started the second stanza with energy and intent, SKA subsequently took firm control of proceedings with three successive goals within the maiden seven minutes of the period.

Brendan Leipsic opened the scoring for SKA, calmly lashing the puck into the gaping net from the right flank with Podyapolsky caught out of position. Not long later, Ivan Zinchenko hit the jackpot with a rasping wrister shorthanded moments after Scott Kosmachuk had wasted a golden opportunity for Lada, before the impressive Vladimir Alistrov got the better of Podyapolsky when clean through. The gifted 22-year-old Belarusian forward had previously tallied two assists for our two opening goals.

With Lada starting to lose their discipline amid their frustration with the flow of the game, SKA were presented with great chances on the powerplay to extend their lead. Between the circles, Tolchinsky came closest to our fourth marker, firing his rising effort against the crossbar with Podyapolsky beaten.

Ivanov wasn’t being able to relax either, though, and the teenager flashed leather brilliantly to shut the door on the clean-through Shumakov.

Lada opted to swap Podyapolsky for Alexander Trushkov in their net for the third frame. Refusing to wave the white flag, the Tolyatti-based outfit did apply a lengthy spell of intense pressure on SKA at the start of the period, troubling Ivanov with strong slap shots from distance.

Ivanov continued to work his magic throughout the period, standing his ground fantastically with Lada taking aim from any angle possible. Two late powerplays did give the home side hope of a dramatic comeback, but SKA expertly saw out the game to secure Ivanov’s first KHL shutout.

SKA will now prepare to face Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod on Wednesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

Lada – SKA – 0:3 (0:0, 0:3, 0:0)

Goals:

0:1 Leipsic (Alistrov), 22.34

0:2 Zinchenko (Alistrov), 24.47 SHG

0:3 Alistrov (Leipsic, Nikishin), 26.58

Goalkeepers: Podyapolsky/Trushkov – Ivanov

Shots: 59 – 53

Shots on target: 30 – 27

Faceoffs: 17 – 31

Blocked shots: 13 – 13