Spartak's leadership
Spartak pleases its fans again. After a dry defeat in the derby with CSKA, he gave out a series of three victories and returned to the first line of the KHL summary table. The brightest was won in the home confrontation with another army team, SKA (3:2). Moreover, the Red-Whites showed character and managed to score three points, losing twice in the score.
Already in the eighth minute, Marat Khairullin put the visitors in front, but the hosts were helped by a large number of penalties for the opponents - as many as seven in the first half an hour. And when the St. Petersburg team was left with three players after Zakhar Bardakov and Nikita Serebryakov received minor fines, Pavel Poryadin did not miss his chance. In the final segment, the teams again exchanged goals. Alexander Kadeikin's accurate shot was answered by the same Poryadin.
The denouement came when everyone present was already waiting for overtime. Less than two seconds before the end of regular time, the Muscovites earned a faceoff in the opponent's zone. Ansel Galimov won it, and Alexander Belyaev, who had a powerful shot, sent the puck into the near corner. Immediately the final siren sounded.
"We were going for a throw-in, I said to Ansel, 'Come on, what we still have in a second and a half.' It was a bit of a funny situation. Misha Tchaikovsky said to me: "Play for me!" and I was like, "Mish, how will it turn out," the forward shared the details of what happened.
In turn, Roman Rotenberg complained about the individual mistakes of the wards. In his opinion, it was unacceptable to make a pass at such a crucial moment and concede on the faceoff. Also, the club from the banks of the Neva River was dissatisfied with the behavior of Spartak fans and appealed to the KHL because of obscene chants, demanding to fine opponents 1 million rubles.
"At a time when hockey in St. Petersburg has long become an event for the whole family, an atmosphere of hostility is cultivated at the matches of individual teams in Moscow, which does not benefit the popularization of our sport," SKA said in a statement.
Then, the Red-Whites left no chance for Neftekhimik on the road and overtook Dynamo in the table. Finally, Nikolay Goldobin scored, breaking the three-match goalless streak and strengthening the lead in the races of snipers and scorers of the tournament. In the game against Torpedo, he broke his personal scoring record in the KHL, which was 39 points. Now he has 44 (21 + 23), although the regular season has not even reached the equator.
Rotenberg's Complaints and Disqualification
But the situation of St. Petersburg residents leaves much to be desired. The squad, which reached the final of the Gagarin Cup conference last season, is still on the verge of getting into the playoffs. The reason for this is the large-scale changes in the squad that took place in the summer. It's no wonder that the team lacks stability. In the last six meetings, the team has suffered four defeats with two tortured victories.
On November 9, Rotenberg's men interrupted Traktor's six-game winning streak at home. The match was like a seesaw, and the visiting goalkeeper Zach Fukale gave out a great game, making 43 saves. However, at the decisive moment, he could not save the Chelyabinsk team, missing a shootout, which was converted by Sergei Tolchinsky in overtime.
Prior to that, the Army team with great difficulty only in a shootout put the squeeze on modest Vityaz. Moreover, the eminent guests failed at the start and by the ninth minute conceded twice. However, they pulled themselves together and restored the balance in the final period. The decisive shootout was converted by newcomer Alex Galchenyuk.
Before that, SKA lost to Avangard in a tense match, 3-5. This time, St. Petersburg opened the scoring, but then conceded four goals in 16 minutes, including three times from Damir Sharipzyanov. The game was also remembered for a tough fight between Ivan Zinchenko and Mark Verba. At the press conference, Rotenberg lost his nerve and sharply criticized the judges.
"I ask the team not to touch, not to criticize. The guys give everything they can. Work continues. And I want to note here an outrageous case when Zinchenko was almost killed on the ice. How did this happen? There's a fight, a hockey fight. Men's sport. The guys fought, it's all over – the referees arrive. The opponent's player continues to hit him on the head. He has a scar for life," the coach said.
As a result, he was suspended for one match for his words, and the club was fined.
Another reason for the decline is Serebryakov's not very confident actions on the last line. Last season's best goaltender was acquired in the KHL in the hope that he would close the goaltending issue. And he made a great debut in the duel with CSKA, when, having just arrived in the Northern capital, he helped his teammates to get the better of their principal rival. Alas, now Nikita doesn't help out at all. In the last five matches, he has conceded a total of 17 goals. And in the meetings with Avangard and Vityaz, he was replaced after a disastrous debut.
SKA also complains about the difficult calendar and the large number of away confrontations. Fans of the club even sent an official letter to the league's management, in which they expressed dissatisfaction with the schedule.
CSKA Instability
The Moscow army men are still feverish. After CSKA scored eight points in three games, including a stronger than Spartak, it seemed that the current holders of the trophy had regained their former power. However, it quickly became clear that this impression was deceptive.
At first, the Red-Blues lost at home to the main troublemaker in the East - Lada. By the 12th minute, they allowed Troy Josephs and Ivan Romanov to score. And in the middle of the meeting, Sergei Shumakov, who spent the 2017/18 season in it, reminded his former team. The striker scored a brace in 132 seconds. To the credit of the Army team, they did not stop resisting and in the end reduced the gap to a minimum, but it was too late.
The situation in the confrontation with Traktor was repeated. Sergey Fedorov's wards again failed the opening and conceded twice by the middle of the opening period. And when Nikita Soshnikov increased the advantage of Chelyabinsk after the break, the intrigue died completely. Moreover, the Army team failed to upset Zach Fukale and allowed Danil Yurtaikin to hit an empty net – 0:4.
"I won't say that we have fundamental problems in terms of some technical and tactical moments, but the score is on the scoreboard. As strange as it may sound, I don't have any big complaints about the guys. I know for sure that the character is still there, and so is our skill. But so far, we are going through a period where we don't have enough fire and emotions to play for a win," Fedorov explained.
We didn't have enough of them in the next home game against Avangard. And again, there were goals from the opponents in the opening period. In the future, the game went like on a seesaw. Omsk were pulling away in the score, and the Muscovites were closing the gap. And if Sharipzyanov scored a hat-trick in the duel with SKA, then this time it was Reid Boucher. Moreover, twice he managed to distinguish himself in the minority. The Red-Blues, on the other hand, outdid themselves and conceded six goals for the first time this season. Despite this, the headquarters did not change Ivan Fedotov.
The Hawks, on the other hand, gained a terrific momentum. Their winning streak includes five meetings, and four of them were away.
Zavarukhin's Amazing Results
Things also went well for Traktor, although the club did not have a very convincing start to the season. Under the leadership of Anvar Gatiyatulin, Chelyabinsk alternated successes with failures and only four times in 15 matches were stronger than opponents in regular time.
At the beginning of October, the patience of the leadership ran out. After the defeat by Salavat Yulaev, the coach was dismissed, and Alexei Zavarukhin became his replacement on a temporary basis. Moreover, the media reported that the club was considering the candidacies of foreign specialists.
However, there was no need to look for a new one, as the team with Zavarukhin began to give a result - and what a result. Since the end of October, she has won six in a row and soared into the playoff zone. In addition to CSKA, they managed to beat Metallurg, which was the leader in the East at that time, twice.
And before the confrontation with the Army team, Chelyabinsk scored six goals against Admiral – 6:1. The hat-trick was scored by Maksim Shabanov, who flourished under the new helmsman, who distinguished himself in the minority, power play and at even strength. Under the leadership of Zavarukhin, he has already scored ten goals. Nikita Soshnikov scored a double. The only thing is that the team was a little short of not conceding in the second match in a row. And after the game, the specialist was approved as the head coach.
"How did you manage to win six times in a row? It's a secret secret. I can't tell. There are secrets that I don't want to endure. The most important thing is that the guys trust me, and I trust them. People from the fourth line play on the power play," Zavarukhin said.
As already mentioned, Traktor's streak was interrupted by an angry SKA. The teams upset each other three times in regulation time, with Yurtaykin restoring the status quo 26 seconds before the buzzer. And at the end of overtime, luck smiled on the St. Petersburg team, when they earned a penalty for a foul on Sergei Tolchinsky. The victim himself confidently realized it.
The incredible Lada continues to lead in the East. In November, Oleg Bratash's team made another bid for the title of the main discovery of the season, breaking the resistance of the two current finalists of the Gagarin Cup in turn. Following CSKA, Ak Bars suffered – 3:2. Moreover, the Togliatti team approached the final 20 minutes, trailing in the score, but accurate shots by Dmitry Kugryshev and Troy Josephs allowed them to change the situation.
Larionov's complaints about the calendar
In the West, it continues to surprise Torpedo fans. Although Nizhny Novgorod lost to Spartak in a tense match, conceding the decisive goal from Poryadin 36 seconds before the end of regular time, they turned out to be stronger than Kunlun and Vityaz and are in third position in the conference.
In the meeting with the representatives of the Celestial Empire, Igor Larionov's wards showed character, because after the first period they lost - 0:2. But Dennis Yan managed to close the gap in the second quarter, and in the end Kirill Voronin restored the balance. In overtime, a fateful shot was made by Maxim Letunov.
Next, the Avtozavod team broke the resistance of Vityaz thanks to three points by Nikolai Kovalenko. Moreover, his first goal turned out to be quite curious. Having entered the opponent's zone, he seemed to lose his balance, but surrounded by four opponents, he managed to push the puck into the net.
It is surprising that, despite good results, Larionov regularly finds reasons for dissatisfaction. More recently, he complained about the poor quality clubs, and now he has complained about the calendar. It is possible to understand the coach, because after the match in Mytishchi on the evening of November 8, his team will meet with Admiral in Vladivostok on November 10.
"I don't want to talk about difficulties, this has never happened in my career. Tomorrow we will have to get there all day. We will sleep, have a snack and go straight to the playground. The guys will continue to live according to Moscow time. I hope they will show character and hold these meetings with dignity," the specialist said.
Holding the Winter Classics at the Otkritie Arena
Meanwhile, the league continues to discuss the possibility of holding one of the regular season games at a large football stadium. At first, Nizhny Novgorod was named as one of the options. And now there is information that the Winter Classic will be hosted by the Otkritie Arena in Moscow.
Allegedly, Spartak will meet there at the end of December either with Kunlun or with Dinamo Minsk. But it is possible that this match will still take place in January. The club itself has not yet confirmed the rumor. For example, head coach Alexei Zhamnov admitted that he had not heard anything about it. The KHL assured that it is premature to talk about an agreement.
"The issue of organizing HC Spartak meetings at the Otkritie Arena was discussed, but at the moment there are no specific plans to hold games at the stadium," the league's press service explained.
The fans of the red-and-whites themselves are much more waiting for the possible return of Ilya Kovalchuk. In the fall, Zhamnov repeatedly announced the ongoing negotiations with him and promised to put an end to this issue in the near future. In early November, he again announced an imminent meeting with the veteran of domestic hockey.
"Ilya will be back now, I will meet with him. We had one dialogue before his departure. We'll see each other now, and after that it will become clear how things will develop further. But I'm not going to comment on anything else for now, let's wait," the mentor said.