Sibir - SKA - 0:3

SKA took on HC Sibir in Novosibirsk for the final match of this KHL road trip. Head coach Oleg Znarok made a few changes to the line-up, notably bringing defensemen David Rundblad and Maxim Chudinov back into the squad. Igor Shestyorkin and Alexander Salak were the starting goaltenders.

Riding high on confidence, our players made a strong start in Siberia. Maxim Karpov should have given SKA an early lead, but he failed to make firm contact on the puck with the goalkeeper out of position. Nevertheless, it didn't take SKA long to draw first blood. Sergei Shirokov was the hero, slamming a slap shot past Alexander Salak on the powerplay. Sibir barely tested Igor Shestyorkin in the period, only registering three shots on target.

In the box seat, SKA immediately doubled the advantage in the second stanza. Sergei Shirokov and Maxim Karpov burst into the Sibir zone, put together a beautiful combination play and the latter slid the puck into the net. Holding a 2:0 lead, SKA continued piling the pressure on the Novosibirsk hosts. Nikita Gusev was denied clean through, before Nikolai Prokhorkin failed to score when alone on the doorstep. Sibir threatened on the odd breakaway, however they didn't create any real scoring opportunities.

The one-way traffic didn't show any signs of stopping in the third frame. Patrik Hersley extended SKA's lead to 3:0 on the powerplay, lashing a powerful shot in from the right flank. A deflated Sibir team never threatened to get back into the match, rarely entering SKA's zone. Igor Shestyorkin picked up his third shutout of the season, seeing SKA through to a comfortable 3:0 victory against HC Sibir!

Match protocol:

Sibir - SKA - 0:3 (0:1, 0:1, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Shirokov (Hersley), 14.56

0:2 Karpov (Shirokov), 21.05

0:3 Hersley (Plotnikov, Shirokov), 43.51

Goalkeepers: Salak - Shestyorkin

Shots on target: 15 - 38

Penalty minutes: 6 - 8

Faceoffs: 19 - 31

Hits: 17 - 12

Referees: Sidorenko, Frano

27.09.2017. Novosibirsk.