Too little too late, but victory nonetheless

The only one missing from the regular lineup of the last handful of games was Yegor Martynov. Nikita Zhuldikov, Alexei Kruchinin,Vyacheslav Osnovin and Alexander Sharov got a most important win for Chelmet a day earlier and joined the team for a trip to Magnitogorsk.

Both teams were feeling each other out at the start of the period. It resulted in a couple of weak shots turned aside easily by the goaltenders. As often happens in games like this, a goal came out of nowhere when Gubarev turned the puck over in the attacking zone and found Rybakov with an accurate pass; Alexander rewarded his partner with a blistering shot to the top corner to give the black-and-white the lead. Sometime later, Magnitka got a chance for a power play, but visitors were calm and collected, and pretty much nothing even remotely resembling a scoring chance happened during these two minutes. A 2+10 penalty for Metallurg also resulted in no goal as either Samsonov was confident in the net or Traktor players sent the puck wide of the goal.

Early in the period, Mozyakin and Zaripov skated away for a two-on-one, but the former could not properly place his stick in puck’s way to transfer it into the net. After a little while, hosts acquired another PP chance, and this time Vasili Demchenko was phenomenal on several exchanges, keeping his team in the lead. Shortly thereafter, Yakutsenya had on opportunity to increase the lead, but he sent the puck just wide. Before the break, Vladimir Denisov delivered a couple of his trademark hits, plus the black-and-white survived another shorthanded play, thanks in no small part to Alexander Sharov who blocked two shots during the time of this penalty.

A very hot two minutes opened the program of the third period. Metallurg’s top line was rocking and rolling, but somehow Demchenko was able to fend off this furious assault. As the period rolled on, Vasya made another stunning save, this time robbing Jan Kovar of a goal. Hosts were putting some heavy pressure on the black-and-white, and Chelyabinsk team caved only once when Wojtek Wolski had a breakaway chance, but Demchenko flashed the glove on that one and kept the goal count of Metallurg at zero. Eventually, he was able to slam the door shut on other scoring chances and earned a much-deserved shutout. One nil, a victory that could have propelled Traktor into the playoffs, but alas, too little too late.

Game details

METALLURG Magnitogorsk vs. TRAKTOR – 0:1 (0:1, 0:0, 0:0)
Goal: Rybakov (Gubarev), 6 (0:1).

METALLURG
Samsonov (0:00 – 58:53);
Lee – Biryukov, Mozyakin (C) – Kovar – Zaripov;
Osipov – Batyrshin, Osala – Filippi – Wolski;
Khabarov – Tereshchenko, Potekhin – Kaigorodov – Syomin;
Bereglazov, Platonov – Kaletnik – Timkin;
Boltanov.

TRAKTOR
Demchenko;
Denisov (C) – Novak, Kruchinin – Popov – Yakutsenya;
Borodkin – Quint, Glinkin – Pestunov (A) – Osnovin;
Shinin – Klimontov, Gubarev – Rybakov – Kokuyov;
Petrov (A) – Zhuldikov, Afonasyevsky – Sharov – Zinovyev.

Shots on goal: 31 (6+9+16) – 29 (12+11+6).
Faceoffs won: 37 (10+13+14) – 22 (7+9+6).
PIM: 18 (14+4+0) – 10 (4+4+2).
Shots blocked: 7 (3+2+2) – 13 (1+7+5).
Hits:13 (6+5+2) – 10 (4+2+4).
PP goals: 0-0.
Ice time: Lee (25:50), Kovar (20:34), Mozyakin (20:01) – Zhuldikov (20:59), Novak (20:08), Denisov (19:00).

Referees: Yuri Tsyplakov (Saint-Petersburg), Roman Shchenev (Togliatti).
Linesmen: Alexander Sirotkin, Eduard Metalnikov (both – Samara).

February 16, 2016. Arena Metallurg, Magnitogorsk, Russia. Attendance – 7440.

Photo by Metallurg Press Office