The SKA Saint Petersburg game played on Thursday, November 16th was a bit more of the same of what we’ve seen from Roman Rotenberg’s group as they have begun to click a bit more in recent times, so it will be covered somewhat briefly. They earned a convincing road victory over Severstal Cherepovets 5-2 today, as they shot a wolf whistle-inducing 17.24% as a team (including Marat Khairullin’s empty net goal to ice the game) on 29 shots on net. While that level of efficiency cannot happen all the time, it is definitely a breath of fresh air contrasted with the many games they have had this year wherein they peppered the opposing netminder but lost and when viewed in tandem with their recent form. There is not really a lot to say about this game other than it was another solid victory for SKA, who are now once again ahead of Army Derby rivals CSKA Moscow in the standings, sitting at 5th place level on points with the same number of games played but ahead via the regulation wins tiebreaker. Further, G Johan Mattsson got the start between the pipes in his first appearance since leaving their matchup against Dinamo Minsk hurt two months ago. He stopped 17 of 19 and wasn’t challenged much (though there was a bit of a scary moment as he endured quite a collision on Severstal F Danil Aimurzin’s breakaway goal to level the score at 1 as the first period was nearing its end; fortunately, though, he shook it off and continued), but elite starter Nikita Serebryakov having a more than capable backup who was performing well individually prior to his injury will aid the team quite significantly. While Mattsson was dressed for a handful of games as the second string prior to today, this was his first time back in action, and it doesn’t look like he’ll need to do much to shake off any potential rust.

At the end of the day’s games, there came HC Sochi’s matchup at home against one of the best teams in the KHL this year, who entered the game second behind only Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the Eastern Conference, Lada Togliatti. They have been something of a revelation this year, as the club who have been twice expelled from the KHL to the VHL have performed well under the structure and system implemented by head coach Oleg Bratash. Despite the visitors’ best efforts to suffocate the Sochi attack, the home team would strike first, as RW Matvei Michkov (PHI, 7th overall, 2023) would get a deflection past Lada G Vladislav Podyapolsky off a blast by D Danila Galenyuk (with the secondary assist going to C/Minnesota Wild 2020 37th overall pick Marat Khusnutdinov). Establishing a presence in front of the net on that goal, his 11th of the season, was one of many ways in which Michkov exhibited some heart and grit in this game. He notably would get into some chippy play (including going to the box to serve minor penalties for roughing and interference as part of a spirited just-stopped-short-of-a-line-brawl exchange occurred between the two teams not long after Galenyuk had fought with Lada C/former Calgary Hitman Mikhail Fisenko) and delivered an amazing hip check (but that happened in a phase of the game we’ll get to soon enough), as well as make some sound defensive plays including being very quick to block a shot in the early goings. Back to the narrative of the game, however, one could get the sense that it boded well for Sochi that they got on the board first 3:46 into the game, but Lada was definitely not going to roll over, as they would tie the game up on a goal by RW Vladislav Chervonenko off the draw just before the first stanza’s end that was relatively soft for Sochi G Mikhail Berdin to be allowing. In the early stages of the ensuing period, Lada would build the lead to 3-1 on power play and even strength goals by D Georgy Solyannikov and LW/former Washington Capitals system player Dmitri Kugryshev, respectively. Sochi C Timur Khafizov would breathe some life into the home team by bringing the score to 3-2 on a power play goal on assists by Michkov and LW Artur Tyanulin, but Kugryshev would grow the score to 4-2 before the second frame’s end.

Down but not out, the comeback began for the home team just under four minutes into the third period. Khusnutdinov would score a goal on a somewhat unusual play for which Michkov would eventually be credited for his second assist of the game to cut the deficit to 1. A bit before the ten minute mark, LW/one-time Maple Leafs prospect Jeremy Bracco would tie the game up on helpers by C Michal Kristof and RW Amir Garayev. This would send the game to overtime. There were some fantastic looks and chances for Sochi to put it away, particularly with Michkov having the game on his stick, but it ended up not happening. That said, he neutralized any last second chance of an OT loss with a ferocious hip check at the edge of the neutral zone, and the game would go to the shootout. Bracco would get one past Podyapolsky first after Khusnutdinov had been stopped and Lada’s first shooter Ivan Romanov, despite two opportunities, was not able to solve Berdin. Kristof and Lada shooter Troy Josephs would both be denied and Michkov would subsequently miss the net. Sergei Shumakov would knot it up at 1, but a combination of a save by Berdin on Ostap Safin and a goal by Kirill Rasskazov would deliver a long-awaited victory for HC Sochi, their first since their latest 5-4 win over SKA Saint Petersburg this season (“weird that it happened twice”) on October 27th, snapping their losing streak at nine games. Bracco would be awarded the Olympic Torch as the player of the game for his heroics.

For bench boss Dmitry Kokorev’s group, this win couldn’t have come at a better time. Not only were they losing ground on the hunt for the last playoff spot, but they also were having Vityaz Moscow Region (who just swept them in a back-to-back) gain ground on them as they won yet again today, 2-1 over Dinamo Minsk. Severstal losing to SKA today also assisted them by keeping them within reach. Sochi’s two closest competitors now sit 2 points behind them (who would have remained ahead on a tiebreaker, but that situation is less preferable) and three points ahead of them, as they maintain their ninth place spot. We will see if they carry any of this confidence into their next game against CSKA Moscow. History and recent results are certainly stacked against them, but maybe, some of that Michkov Magic and the team’s determination will come into play here. The team’s weaknesses did show at times today, but they were not a backbreaker (against a strong opponent, no less) like they were throughout the losing streak, so maybe, this provides just a small amount of room for optimism going forward in the season and looking ahead to this next game.