SKA - Metallurg Novokuznetsk

SKA - Metallurg Novokuznetsk - 4:0

19 January 2016

The fifth game of this home series took place for SKA today against HC Metallurg Novokuznetsk. Head coach Sergei Zubov made a number of changes for this fixture, as Steve Moses, Jarno Koskiranta and Joakim Lindstrom were all rested. Yegor Rykov, Alexander Dergachyov and Pavel Buchnevich made up the fourth line, while Mikko Koskinen kept his place in net.

SKA were looking to take points from the fifth match in a row, and made a fantastic start against the KHL’s bottom side. The puck barely left Metallurg’s zone throughout the whole period, and chances were coming with serious regularity. Evgeny Dadonov was shut down at point blank range, and Andrei Kuteikin had a range of slappers stopped. The opening goal seemed only a matter of time, and sure enough it arrived. Vadim Shipachyov took on a sneaky effort from the right hand boards, and it found its way into the near corner. That gave us liftoff, and soon enough the second was scored. Alexander Kadeikin picked out the open Ilya Kovalchuk on the doorstep, and Ilya calmly poked beyond the goaltender’s left pad. At the other end Mikko Koskinen was having very little to do making only four saves in the stanza, and with the period coming to an end our players netted a third. With a man’s advantage Evgeny Dadonov one timed from the doorstep, and this time he hit the jackpot.

All the momentum was with our team moving into the second period, and the players weren’t willing to show any mercy on a struggling Metallurg. Their goal was being peppered from all angles, and luck went against them when replacement goaltender Andrei Kareev, who took Vladislav Podyapolsky's place after the first period, was forced off with an injury. Andrei Kuteikin came close with a thunderbolt which smacked the left post, and on a number of powerplays Nikita Gusev attempted several unexpected shots from the left wing. The volume inside the Ice Palace was growing, and eventually that fourth goal flew into the net. With two Metallurg men in the box Ilya Kovalchuk wound up on the left flank, and the netminder watched it thunder over his glove. Despite our dominance the visitors also had a five on three, but Mikko Koskinen made a stunning stop by the left post.

The game was practically over in the third period, but SKA kept on piling into Metallurg’s zone. The fourth line of Yegor Rykov, Alexander Dergachyov and Pavel Buchnevich were particularly threatening, and Alexander slapped off target when all alone at the high slot. Everyone was trying to get in on the act, and only the heroics of Metallurg goaltender Vladislav Podyapolsky kept the score at four. Metallurg did have a couple of big openings on our crease with young gun Kirill Kaprizov coming close at point blank range, but Mikko Koskinen wasn’t willing to let go of his shutout. SKA calmly saw the game out, and take a huge 4:0 win against HC Metallurg Novokuznetsk at home!

Match protocol:

SKA – Metallurg Novokuznetsk – 4:0 (3:0, 1:0, 0:0)

Goals:

1:0 Shipachyov (Dadonov),

2:0 Kovalchuk (Dadonov, Shipachyov), 12.15

3:0 Dadonov (Shipachyov, Gusev), 15.13

4:0 Kovalchuk (Shipachyov, Kuteikin), 38.15

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Podyapolsky/Kareev

Shots on target: 43 – 20

Penalty minutes: 10 – 16

Faceoffs: 32 – 18

Hits: 7 – 2