Spartak – SKA

Spartak – SKA – 2:5

12 January 2024

In a memorable showdown, SKA emphatically powered past Spartak in Moscow in the 2023/2024 KHL regular season, earning a statement 5:2 triumph.

We made the breakthrough in the fourth minute of play at the Megasport Arena.

Having escaped his marker between the circles, Mikhail Vorobyov brilliantly tipped Artyom Zemchyonok’s attempt into the left corner with the help of the post.

Both teams competed at a fast, intense tempo throughout the opening stanza. Following a series of sloppy passes, Spartak were presented with a few 2-on-1 opportunities, but Nikita Serebryakov stood tall. He made one particularly tough save with his right pad to shut the door on the lively Pavel Poryadin.

On the counter, SKA also had a handful of promising chances, with Maxim Fedotov notably poking the puck into the goalkeeper’s pads when unmarked on the doorstep. Former SKA goaltender Dmitry Nikolayev was indeed in Spartak’s net, his first appearance against our team since leaving in the autumn.

Serebryakov was the standout figure of the first half of the second period.

Applying almighty pressure on our team, Spartak created a large amount of clear opportunities within a short space of time. Nevertheless, Serebryakov was equal to their advances, remaining calm to make unlikely saves when receiving little help in front of him. His best was witnessed against the clean-through Ansel Galimov, flashing leather in stunning fashion to keep the home forward off the board.

His saves proved to be the turning point.

SKA subsequently put the game to bed with four (!) goals during the concluding six minutes of the stanza.

Not long after Nikolai Polyakov had seen his goal ruled out for offside, Valentin Zykov did double our money, as his tip was inadvertently turned into his own net by Nikolayev after the puck had initially struck the left post.

That goal opened the door for us to really pile the misery on a defensively woeful Spartak.

Sergei Tolchinsky netted two fantastic markers in quick succession. Pouncing on a poor Spartak error, the 28-year-old hit the jackpot when 1-on-1, before he subsequently skated out to the blue line and sent an unstoppable rising wrister over the unsighted Nikolayev.

Nikolayev was swapped for Patrik Rybar in the Spartak net after our fourth, but the Slovak immediately had to pick the puck out of his net.

Alone on the doorstep, Arseniy Gritsyuk turned the bouncing puck in with the goalkeeper already out of the picture.

The outcome of the match was well and truly decided. But, to their credit, Spartak refused to wave the white flag and made a real game of it in the third period.

Former SKA forward Ilya Kovalchuk was the first to beat the impressive Serebryakov, sending the puck between the pads on the PP after escaping his marker on the left wing.

Spartak forced the issue for the vast majority of the stanza. Serebryakov was the star of the show with his smart saves, but, with around five minutes remaining on the clock, he did let in a goal which he’ll certainly want back.

Joey Keane unleashed what appeared to be a harmless wrist shot from the blue line, but Serebryakov misjudged the flight of the puck.

It mattered little, though, as SKA calmly saw the remainder of the match out to deservedly emerge victorious and climb above the Muscovites into third spot of the Western Conference.

Our players will now prepare to face Severstal in Cherepovets on Sunday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

Spartak – SKA – 2:5 (0:1, 0:4, 2:0)

Goals:

0:1 Vorobyov (Zemchyonok), 03.40

0:2 Zykov (Nikishin, Dedunov), 33.51

0:3 Tolchinsky (Vorobyov), 34.30

0:4 Tolchinsky (Polyakov, Vorobyov), 37.52

0:5 Gritsyuk (Zinchenko, Galchenyuk), 38.16

1:5 Kovalchuk (Poryadin, Goldobin), 45.43 PPG

2:5 Keane (Filin), 54.26

Goalkeepers: Nikolayev/Rybar – Serebryakov