Back on track：Sibir Novosibirsk 0 Kunlun Red Star 3

18 10月 2017

  After a bunch of games where things did not quite go right, Red Star got
back on form in some style at Sibir.

  Like much of our best hockey of the season, the good things started at the
back. Magnus Hellberg collected his fourth shut-out of the season; more
impressive still, Sibir was limited to 17 shots on target across the 60 minutes.
This was the kind of solid, disciplined performance long associated with Mike
Keenan’s teams. The kind of hockey that has brought unparalleled success on both
sides of the Atlantic is beginning to take root in China as well.

  But this wasn’t just about the defense. Going forward, Kunlun was a potent
force. A few numbers: 75 attempts, 33 on target, 20 instances where Sibir had to
block our shots. And, most important of all, three goals. From start to finish,
this was a display of offensive intent; with each passing period our guys did
better at converting possession and territory into dangerous moments around
Alexander Salak’s net.

  It took patience. For two periods, the game was deadlocked. Then a power
play chance early in the third changed everything. The link-up between Gilbert
Brule and Wojtek Wolski has been developing nicely with every shift, and the two
were involved here to open the scoring. Brule had the shot, Salak pushed it away
to his left, and Wolski collected the puck, slung it back into the danger zone
and watched fortune favor the brave as it ricocheted through the pads and found
the net. The Kunlun power play has not always been as potent as we’d like: this
time, it took just 13 seconds to hit the target.

  Next came Geoff Kinrade, with a fine goal. Down the right, exchanging
passes with Alexei Ponikarovsky in the corner and spot the weak spot in the home
defense. Charge into that gap, and let fly with a wrist shot from the face-off
spot to leave Salak clutching at thin air. Suddenly, it’s not that tight of a
game anymore.

  And, for the finale, how about another power play goal? While we’re at it,
how about Nikita Khlystov’s first for the club? The 24-year-old D-man opened his
account off Andrei Kostitsyn’s feed, firing home at the second attempt after
Ivan Vereshchagin blocked his first shot. Don’t, though, assume that it was as
simple as all that. Once the puck bounced back to our man, there was still
plenty of work to do to fire it through traffic as Salak looked to recover his
position.

  Now it’s time to prepare for a long home stand. Considering how few games
we’ve enjoyed on our own ice, a seventh-place spot in the Eastern Conference is
more than creditable. Now, there’s a great chance to tighten our grip on a
playoff berth and move up the table to get among the big beasts of the East. It
all starts Saturday against Admiral – don’t miss it!