Battling Dragons drop tight verdict to Lokomotiv

26 December 2023

Kunlun Red Star 1 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2

Sometimes, it’s the fine margins that make the difference. This was the fourth time Lokomotiv beat the Dragons this season, yet the third one-goal verdict in that sequence. The Railwaymen’s ability to edge tight games was in evidence once again, while a big call from the officials early on had a huge influence on the game.

The incident in question came after five minutes. Colin Campbell got the puck in the Lokomotiv net after Ryan Merkley dished off the puck for him. However, on the visitor’s bench, Igor Nikitin thought he had spotted an infringement. Nikitin challenged the play, the officials went to look at the video, and the goal was whistled off. A different take might have had the Dragons up 1-0 and looking forward to a two-minute power play. Instead, the game remained goalless, and barely a minute later we found ourselves on the penalty kill.

The PK units did their job, denying Lokomotiv as much as a shot at Alexander Lazushin’s net. Our goalie was on the ice for the first time this season after recovering from injury. He was up against the team where he started his KHL career and produced a big performance, helped by a strong defensive effort from the guys. The second period, in particular, saw our net under intense pressure. However, Lazar made some big saves to keep us in contention.

However, he was powerless to stop Lokomotiv opening the scoring midway through the first period thanks to Nikita Cherepanov. At the other end, our first power play of the game saw good chances for Brandon Yip, Jack Rodewald and new signing Gemel Smith, but no tying goal.

The second stanza brought something of an onslaught on Lazushin’s net. The stats show a 16-3 shot count in Lokomotiv’s failure. However, that ignores Austin Moyle’s effort against the bar. It overlooks a two-on-one rush for Spencer Foo and Brandon McMillan, which broke down due to a lack of communication between the two. And it does not give full value to the significance of Sergei Murashov’s huge save to stop Tyler Graovac in a one-on-one, robbing our man of a tying goal and his first for the Dragons.

On another day, it might have been 1-1. Instead – fine margins again – it was 0-2 at the second intermission after Sergei Andronov doubled the lead on the power play late in the session.

This team is used to battling back from unpromising circumstances, and today was hardly the first time we faced a 0-2 deficit going into the third period. Our guys dug in for another battle and produced some good hockey in the final frame. After 48 minutes, the pressure paid off: Gemel Smith picked up his first point in our colors, sending the puck back to the point for Jason Fram to shoot home through traffic. That made it a one-goal game, with plenty of time to find an equalizer.

However, Lokomotiv is notorious for its ability to suck the life out of games while it defends a lead. Nikitin had his players do exactly that once again – this is the sixth time in nine victories that Loko has edged a single-goal verdict – and Red Star was left frustrated at the end of a battling performance that did not get everything it deserved.

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