Deja-Two: a second 2-0 verdict over our Kazakh friends this season

19 December 2024

Kunlun Red Star 2 Barys Astana 0

Jeremy Smith got his 10^th Red Star shut-out, backstopping the Dragons to a 2-0 win over Barys. Does that sound familiar? Well, go back to Oct. 29 and you’ll find Jeremy Smith recording another shut-out in a 2-0 win over Barys. The venue changes, the roster changes, but Smitty is as reliable as ever.

After a narrow loss at CSKA, there were changes on the Dragons’ roster. As the club’s injury worries start to ease, it’s nice to have opportunities to rest players, and tonight saw Adam Clendening and Kyle Wood return on defense, with Hudson Elynuik and Austin Wong back in action up front. Jeremy Smith took over in goal from Kyle Keyser. Rourke Chartier and Ian McCoshen, who combined for the opening goal during our trip to Kazakhstan, were both among those who made way.

Smith, not for the first time, was in for a busy evening. He stopped 30 shots through two periods, backstopping Red Star to a 2-0 lead. Eventually, he made 38 saves – exactly twice as many as in Astana earlier this term. While Smitty was taking care of business at one end of the ice, the Dragons fashioned an early chance for Joe Duszak before getting in front midway through the first period on a power play tally from Martin Lefebvre. He exchanged passes with Clendening along the blue line before roasting in a shot just as Damir Zhafyarov was getting back on the ice.

Duszak continued to be a marauding presence. One of the highlights of the game saw him drive over the center line, find an impossible path between two opponents to burst into the Barys zone, then get a shot off between the sticks of two more D-men. On that occasion, Nikita Boyakin got his blocker to it, but Duszak was among the points again when Parker Foo doubled our lead midway through the second. This time, Joey fed Doyle Somerby on the point, Boyarkin couldn’t hold onto his shot and Parker pounced on the slot to make it 2-0.

That lead felt like it might be enough against a Barys offense that has just 50 goals through 38 games this season. That’s 20 fewer than Amur, the second lowest-scoring team in the league, and 41 less than your Dragons. After two periods of open hockey, there was no need for KRS to keep pressing in the third. Now was a time for careful defense to protect that lead. Although Barys kept looking for ways back into contention, our D-core allowed just eight efforts to reach Smith in the final stanza.

At the other end, despite a sensible approach to the game situation, there were still chances to add to the lead. Not surprisingly, as the clock ran down, Barys had to take greater risks in a bid to reduce its arrears and that brought counterattacking opportunities. Danny O’Regan almost had success with a billiard-style play from behind the net, but the rebound off Boyarkin’s skate dribbled just wide. Then Luke Lockhart and Yaroslav Likhachyov launched an odd-man rush that forced a double save out of the visiting goalie.