Lokomotiv – SKA

Lokomotiv – SKA – 1:2

18 November 2023

Despite Lokomotiv registering 101 shots, 51 on target, 46 faceoff wins and 21 minutes in attack, SKA heroically clung on for dear life in Yaroslavl, earning a pulsating 2:1 triumph away in the 2023/2024 KHL regular season.

The first period was a cautious, somewhat uneventful affair.

SKA were mainly relying on counter-attack opportunities, while Lokomotiv were trying to compete on the front foot without taking any potential risks.

Our players did indeed open the scoring on the break-away.

When powering towards Daniil Isayev’s net on the right flank, Valentin Zykov sent a rasping wrister high into the far corner.

During the quiet opening stanza, Swedish goalkeeper Johan Mattsson was forced into 10 saves for SKA, but the majority of them didn’t pose a particularly high threat. His only serious save was against Pavel Kraskovsky from the doorstep.

A below-par SKA went on to spend practically the entirety of the second stanza inside their own zone.

With our players unable to clear their lines without icing the puck, Lokomotiv pinned them close to Mattsson’s net and unleashed a grand total of 35 shots in the second period alone! Just for comparison, SKA only tallied nine.

The fact that Lokomotiv were dominating on the faceoff front consequently allowed them to protect possession. Although the hosts weren’t displaying much creativity, they did eventually hit the jackpot in the 36^th minute, as Martin Gernat’s wrist shot from a tight angle on the left wing flew past the unsighted Mattsson.

Nevertheless, our first powerplay opened the door for SKA to take the lead again against the run of play.

Completely unmarked on the right circle, Alex Galchenyuk sent a trademark one-timer over the despairing dive of Isayev.

At the start of the third period, Sergei Andronov was presented with a glorious chance to equalise for Lokomotiv on a powerplay of their own, but he contrived to wrist past the left corner with the goal gaping.

SKA were solely focused on defending in the frame. Incredibly, while Lokomotiv tested Mattsson on 19 occasions in the concluding period, Isayev did not face a single SKA shot!

To their credit, SKA defended professionally with Lokomotiv competing in a predictable manner.

But, just when it seemed that SKA had successfully seen the game out, we received a killer blow in the final second.

Rushan Rafikov appeared to grab a dramatic equaliser for Lokomotiv after SKA had yet again iced the puck. However, to the dismay of the Yaroslavl faithful inside the packed Arena 2000, the goal was disallowed as a consequence of Kraskovsky having illegally won the faceoff draw.

SKA will now prepare to host CSKA Moscow in Saint Petersburg on Monday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

Lokomotiv – SKA – 1:2 (0:1, 1:1, 0:0)

Goals:

0:1 Zykov (Polyakov, Nikishin), 14.38

1:1 Gernat (Sergeev, Andronov), 35.11

1:2 Galchenyuk (Zykov, Alistrov), 38.28 PPG

Goalkeepers: Isayev – Mattsson

Shots: 101 – 25

Shots on target: 51 – 12

Faceoffs: 46 – 16

Blocked shots: 7 – 23