Metallurg Novokuznetsk - SKA - 0:6

The second match of this Siberian trip took place today against HC Metallurg Novokuznetsk. As promised, head coach Oleg Znarok made plenty of changes to the line-up. While Mikko Koskinen was kept in net, leading figures Pavel Datsyuk, Andrei Zubarev and Sergei Plotnikov were all given a rest. For Metallurg, Vladislav Popyapolsky was between the pipes.

Despite Metallurg being one of the KHL’s real outsiders, SKA have often encountered problems in Novokuznetsk over the past few years. Indeed, our players had similar troubles in the first period, failing to create any real goalscoring chances. Predictably, Metallurg were focused on defending, but they posed a threat on the counterattack. Their best chance came late in the first period, when Alexander Komaristy was twice denied by Mikko Koskinen up close. At the other end, Viktor Tikhonov missed a gaping opportunity on the doorstep.

To the horror of Metallurg’s fans, the match was about to explode into life. SKA came flying out of the blocks in the second stanza, tearing their opponents to shreds. On the powerplay, Vadim Shipachyov opened the floodgates, wristing fantastically into the far right corner. Crushed by that goal, Metallurg contrived to capitulate. Ilya Kablukov caught the goaltender cold with a low wrister, before Steve Moses netted SKA’s 100^th goal of the campaign. Metallurg pulled Vladislav Polyapolsky for Andrei Kareev after that marker, however it made little difference. Vyacheslav Voynov went top shelf over the glove at close range, and Evgeny Dadonov lashed home from the right faceoff circle.

With the game long wrapped up, the intensity took a large drop in the third period. Nevertheless, one goal away from 100 in the KHL, Ilya Kovalchuk was a man on a mission. He notched up his deserved goal eight minutes in – Mark Skutar took a minor for delaying the game, and Ilya beautifully launched an arrowed wrist shot over the glove. The only blotch on the page came during the final minutes, as Evgeny Dadonov was thrown out of the game with a 5+20 penalty. That didn’t prevent Mikko Koskinen from keeping his shutout intact though, and putting on a clinical performance, SKA have beaten Metallurg Novokuznetsk 6:0!

Match protocol:

Metallurg Novokuznetsk – SKA – 0:6 (0:0, 0:5, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Shipachyov (Kovalchuk, Voynov), 23.53

0:2 Kablukov, 24.12

0:3 Moses (Chudinov), 30.03

0:4 Voynov (Gusev), 33.00

0:5 Dadonov (Kovalchuk, Rykov), 35.00

0:6 Kovalchuk (Shipachyov), 47.51

Goalkeepers: Podyapolsky/Kareev - Koskinen

Shots on target: 14 – 48

Penalty minutes: 12 – 27

Faceoffs: 25 – 25

Hits: 17 – 8

Referees: Gusev, Morozov

20.10.2016. Novokuznetsk.