Salavat Yulaev - SKA

Salavat Yulaev - SKA - 1:6

4 October 2017

SKA travelled to Ufa for a KHL match against HC Salavat Yulaev. Head coach Oleg Znarok kept the team largely the same for this game, not making any major changes. Igor Shestyorkin and Ben Scrivens were the starting netminders.

Aiming for a record tying 18th consecutive victory, SKA made a strong start against Salavat. Patrik Hersley broke the deadlock midway through the first period, lashing in a trademark one timer on the powerplay. Salavat didn't learn their lesson, and they contrived to take another penalty moments later. Ilya Kovalchuk promptly scored on that second powerplay, firing an arrowed slap shot beyond the flailing Ben Scrivens. In complete control, SKA extended the lead to 3:0 before the period was out. Alexander Barabanov was the scorer, expertly slotting the puck into the net after a fantastic Nikita Gusev pass.

Nikita Gusev got on the scoreboard himself in the second stanza, beating Ben Scrivens with a driven wrister. That prompted Salavat into a goaltending change, with Ben Scrivens making way for the young Ivan Fedotov. Nevertheless, that didn't have any effect on the game. Ilya Kovalchuk scored a third powerplay goal, sending the Ufa faithful into despair. Salavat thought that they had clawed one back when Linus Omark bundled in, but he was found guilty of goaltender interference against Igor Shestyorkin.

Unfortunately, Vyacheslav Voynov inadvertently deflected Teemu Hartikainen's pass over the line at the start of the third period. Salavat gained confidence from that goal, promptly drawing a 5+20 tripping penalty out of Maxim Chudinov. The hosts piled on the pressure, but Igor Shestyorkin refused to let them get back in the game. Salavat's misery was complete late on when defenseman Grigory Panin was given a 5+20 penalty of his own. Ilya Kovalchuk duly completed his hat trick on that extended powerplay, scoring with a powerful attempt. 6:1, SKA thrash Salavat Yulaev and make it 18 wins in the KHL!

Match protocol:

Salavat Yulaev - SKA - 1:6 (0:3, 0:2, 1:1)

Goals:

0:1 Hersley (Koskiranta, Shirokov), 08.43

0:2 Kovalchuk (Datsyuk, Gusev), 11.27

0:3 Barabanov (Prokhorkin, Gusev), 13.17

0:4 Gusev (Rykov, Prokhorkin), 26.48

0:5 Kovalchuk (Shestyorkin), 29.10

1:5 Hartikainen (Kemppainen), 44.19

1:6 Kovalchuk (Datsyuk), 54.32

Goalkeepers: Scrivens/Fedotov - Shestyorkin

Shots on target: 26 - 42