Neftekhimik - SKA

Neftekhimik - SKA - 0:4

25 December 2016

SKA's second game of this KHL away series took place against HC Neftekhimik in Nizhnekamsk. Head coach Oleg Znarok made a few changes, as Pavel Datsyuk, Sergei Plotnikov, Yegor Yakovlev and Anton Belov all returned to the line-up. Mikko Koskinen and Ivan Kasutin were the starting netminders.

In front of their own fans, Neftekhimik came out aggressively. The hosts were catching SKA out on the counterattack, raising the volume inside their stadium. Our players were struggling to get anything going in attack, but, with the opening period drawing to a close, a 2+2 Andrei Sergeev penalty gave us the perfect chance to make the breakthrough. Fortunately, we managed to do just that - hanging at the blue line, Patrik Hersley launched a cannon into the net.

Nevertheless, Neftekhimik weren't willing to throw the towel in. They begun the second stanza on the front foot, creating havoc on our slot. Mikko Koskinen was being tested on a regular basis, and midway through the frame, he pulled off a couple of stunning stops - at point blank range, he somehow got his pads on goalbound Neftekhimik efforts. The home team were pressing, however they were made to pay for their profligacy. Moments after Nikita Gusev had failed to score clean through, Vadim Shipachyov lashed a one timer home between the circles.

An early third goal in the final period killed off Neftekhimik. On another powerplay, Vyacheslav Voynov thumped a stinging slapper high over Ivan Kasutin's glove. Heads dropping, Neftekhimik players contrived to commit a number of fouls, allowing SKA to calmly see the match out. Five minutes before the buzzer, SKA put the icing on the cake - Ilya Kovalchuk beautifully faked a shot, fed Nikita Gusev, and the latter clinically hit the target. 4:0, SKA take three points away from Nizhnekamsk!

Match protocol:

Neftekhimik - SKA - 0:4 (0:1, 0:1, 0:2)

Goals:

0:1 Hersley (Shipachyov, Gusev), 19.07

0:2 Shipachyov (Dadonov, Gusev), 35.16

0:3 Voynov (Plotnikov, Kovalchuk), 42.07

0:4 Gusev (Kovalchuk), 55.43

Goalkeepers: Kasutin - Koskinen

Shots on target: 30 - 32

Penalty minutes: 28 - 10

Faceoffs: 27 - 32

Hits: 11 - 12