4 November 2024
Kunlun Red Star 2 SKA St. Petersburg 1 OT
For the second time this season, a battling Kunlun performance upset the city slickers from St. Petersburg. Rourke Chartier’s overtime goal earned Red Star a 2-1 victory, moving us two points clear of Sochi at the foot of the table. It also delivered ample revenge for the 0-8 defeat we suffered against SKA a couple of weeks earlier, giving us two wins from three games against a star-studded opponent.
This was much more like the Dragons team we know and love. After that heavy loss last time, today Red Star gave the high-profile Petersburg roster plenty to think about. A defense-splitting Luke Lockhart feed saw Hudson Elynuik give our guys an early lead. Then the KHL’s most prolific attack was held to a solitary goal through 60 minutes as Kunlun forced the game into the extras. Finally, on the power play, the guys got the job done with some flawless execution, potting the winner just six seconds after Evgeny Kuznetsov went to the box.
A welcome return to action for Ryan Merkley undoubted contributed much to that defensive solidity. He missed a full month after picking up an injury at Vityaz on Oct. 3 and immediately played a part here. As well as assisting on Chartier’s winner, Ryan played 17 strong minutes on our third pair alongside Ian McCoshen. Alexei Kozhevnikov was also involved in a seven-man D unit, with Adam Clendening missing out. Forward Nolan Moyle was also absent.
While SKA’s offense has deservedly garnered plenty of attention, less has been noted about the defensive deficiencies of Roman Rotenberg’s team. And those were exposed after seven minutes of this game. A turnover in our zone saw four opposing players converge on Luke Lockhart, hoping to win back the puck. That, of course, created huge gaps all over the ice and Luke’s perceptive pass from blue line to blue line released Hudon Elynuik into the SKA zone unopposed. Advancing to the left-hand circle, Hudson ripped a wrist shot over the glove of Pavel Moisevich. That was Elynuik’s second goal of the season, beating Moisevich early in his first appearance of the season.
And the Dragons were good value for that first-period lead. Although the stats suggested an even game, SKA only really dominated on the sole power play of the opening stanza. A flurry of shots kept Jeremy Smith busy in our net during those two minutes, but otherwise our guys more than matched our…
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