SKA – Dynamo Moscow

SKA – Dynamo Moscow – 1:3

15 September 2023

SKA slumped to a fourth successive defeat in the 2023/2024 KHL regular season, suffering a disappointing 1:3 setback to Dynamo Moscow at the Ice Palace.

In stark contrast to the preceding game on Tuesday, SKA came flying out of the blocks.

Our fast start was rewarded by a quick goal in the fifth minute on the powerplay. Unmarked on the right faceoff circle, Arseniy Gritsyuk sent a ripper beyond former SKA representative Konstantin Volkov.

SKA continued piling the pressure on Dynamo. Gritsyuk, Alexander Nikishin and Sergei Tolchinsky were all presented with clear opportunities, but Volkov managed to pull off a series of smart saves to keep Dynamo within one.

A powerplay of their own then opened the door for Dynamo to get back on level terms.

Lurking on the doorstep, Maxim Dzhioshvili knocked Nikita Gusev’s pass in with Johan Mattsson caught out of position. The referees did review the play on video, but they came to the conclusion that no kicking motion was involved.

Buoyed by that goal, Dynamo promptly grabbed their second, with Vladislav Mikhailov escaping his marker and lashing into the near right corner.

Sergei Ivanov replaced Mattsson in the SKA net for the second stanza. However, with Kirill Obyskalov taking the place of the 31-year-old Swede on the bench, there is a feeling that he was only taken off as a result of a sustained injury.

A series of cheap penalties taken by SKA allowed Dynamo to firmly compete on the front foot. To our relief, 19-year-old Ivanov was solid after entering proceedings, but the left post did come to his rescue on one occasion as Brennan Menell’s wrister through traffic struck the pipe with our goaltender stranded.

Sadly, our attempts to get back on level terms in the ensuing third period were thwarted in the 47^th minute.

With Dynamo’s powerplay about to expire, season-debutant Stepan Falkovsky contrived to somehow cough up possession in his own zone, a mistake which allowed Dzhioshvili to skate clean through and go top-shelf on Ivanov.

In the closing stages, SKA pulled Ivanov and threw everything at Dynamo, but very few realistic opportunities were created.

SKA will now prepare to host Sibir Novosibirsk in Saint Petersburg on Sunday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Dynamo Moscow – 1:3 (1:2, 0:0, 0:1)

Goals:

1:0 Gritsyuk (Nikishin), 04.36 PPG

1:1 Dzhioshvili (Gusev, Menell), 13.59 PPG

1:2 Mikhailov (Rashevsky, O’Dell), 16.30

1:3 Dzhioshvili, 46.57

Goalkeepers: Mattsson/Ivanov – Volkov

Shots: 69 – 56

Shots on target: 38 – 29