Spartak - SKA - 1:2

SKA made the trip to Moscow to play HC Spartak at the Luzhniki Arena. Having beaten Sochi on Monday, head coach Oleg Znarok didn’t make many changes to the line-up, keeping Mikko Koskinen in net. Swede Markus Svensson was his opposite number between the pipes for Spartak.

In front of a raucous Moscow crowd, both teams made it a dramatic opening period. Lukas Radil burst clean through within the first minute, however Mikko Koskinen pulled off a stunning right pad save. While SKA were having the majority of puck possession, it was Spartak creating most of the danger on the counterattack, forcing Mikko Koskinen into a few tough point blank range stops. Nevertheless, Anton Belov could have handed SKA a lead in the dying seconds, but he smashed the post with an empty net gaping.

Unfortunately, Spartak did make one of their chances count in the second. The puck took a nasty ricochet off the boards, our defensemen went missing, and Vyacheslav Leschenko slotted in with the backhand. Just like in the first, the hosts were closing down shooting lanes for SKA, intensively pressing our players in all corners of the ice. In desperate need to get something going, a double Spartak penalty, one of which was a 5+20, opened the door for SKA to equalize. Our players didn’t need to be asked twice – alone on the right faceoff circle, Vadim Shipachyov smashed home a powerful one timer. That was the only thing SKA could create on that extended powerplay though, as Spartak confidently cleared their lines.

In such a tight encounter, the next goal was always going to prove crucial. Thankfully, it was SKA who scored it. Minutes into the third period, Pavel Datsyuk swung the puck back to the crease where Ilya Kovalchuk was waiting to pounce – 2:1. Finally in the lead, SKA slowly took full control of proceedings, pinning Spartak deep inside their own zone. Despite failing to take advantage of more late chances, SKA confidently fended off Spartak’s rare advances, earning an important 2:1 victory in Moscow!

Match protocol:

Spartak – SKA – 1:2 (0:0, 1:1, 0:1)

Goals:

1:0 Leschenko (Berdnikov, Mirnov), 27.29

1:1 Shipachyov (Dadonov), 34.05

1:2 Kovalchuk (Datsyuk, Dadonov), 43.14

Goalkeepers: Svensson – Koskinen

Shots on target: 15 – 30

Penalty minutes: 29 – 0

Faceoffs: 22 – 28

Hits: 11 – 7

Referees: Sidorenko, Kulakov

25.01.2017. Luzhniki Arena, Moscow.