Dragons suffer from Tigers’ revenge

29 September 2023

Kunlun Red Star 0 Amur Khabarovsk 2

Ten days after a smash-and-grab raid in Khabarovsk wrecked Amur’s home opener, we welcomed the Tigers to Mytishchi for the season’s return encounter. Viktors Ignatjevs rotated Jeremy Smith back into net as expected. That probably caused some dismay for the visiting offense, which saw him make 56 saves in the previous meeting.

That was only part of Amur’s concerns, though. The Tigers arrived on the back of a four-game skid, while Red Star enjoyed a big boost with that thrilling fightback win over high-flying Metallurg in the previous game. Even allowing for the current scarcity of fit forwards, it was no surprise that we went with the same attacking line-up. On defense, Ryan Sproul replaced Turner Ottenbreit.

Buoyed by Wednesday’s win, Kunlun made a lively start. The first big moment of the game saw Ryan Merkley dangle his way into the danger zone before zinging a lazer-like shot against Janis Kalnins’ crossbar. The Latvian netminder was alert again soon after, twice denying Brandon Yip as Red Star probed on the first power play of the game.

It felt like a breakthrough was brewing. Unfortunately, it came at the wrong end. Artur Gizdatullin took advantage of a rare chance for Amur to open the scoring in the 13^th minute.

The Dragons didn’t give up. After all, our last game against this opponent saw us win after trailing, and so did our most recent KHL outing. So a one-goal deficit was nothing to be alarmed about. It might have been level at the first intermission, but Kalnins again came to the rescue with a big stop to deny Luke Lockhart.

However, the start of the second period brought a damaning blow. Kirill Kapustin doubled Amur’s lead and gave the visitor a measure of comfort in the game. There was still plenty of work for the Tigers to do: Kalnins finished the game with 35 saves after a thorough examination from our forwards. But it’s hard to win hockey games without scoring goals and, tonight, that was difference between the teams.

The underlying problem is well known. Injuries have cut a swathe through our offensive options, and while the Dragons remain active in the transfer market it takes time to bring in the caliber of player we need. Today we met a goalie enjoying his best performance of the season (and Kalnins’ stats from the early weeks of the campaign were disappointing by his usual standards) and enjoyed little luck in front of the net.

There’s not much time to dwell on Friday’s game. The Dragons are back in action with back-to-back games on Sunday and Monday. First up, it’s Avangard, beaten 0-6 at Dynamo today. Then, the next day, Western Conference leader Dynamo comes to town.