The second installment of the Brotherly Derby this season took place at the VTB Arena. CSKA defenseman Ivan Patrikhaev returned to the lineup, replacing Alex Cotton, who left the game against Salavat Yulaev early due to an injury. Also, 23-year-old CSKA academy graduate Artem Grushnikov played his first KHL game after coming back from across the pond. Alexander Samonov started in goal.
Our team played a confident first period and held the initiative. From the opening, the Army Men pushed forward and started creating scoring chances. The opponents helped with this by taking an unnecessary too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty. CSKA had plenty of power-play chances, but Dynamo was bailed out by goaltender Vladislav Podyapolsky. But even at even strength, our team's advantage was obvious. Marat Khairullin missed a breakaway, but just when it looked like the play was over and the defensemen would clear the puck, things turned in CSKA's favor. Dynamo’s blunder left Prokhor Poltapov wide open, and he made no mistake on the breakaway. ynamo's offensive game was clicking. There was a close call late in the first period when the forward went on a partial breakaway while fighting off Jeremy Roy. Samonov handled it with ease.
The second episode was more eventful and emotionally intense. The second episode was more eventful and emotionally intense. Dynamo was struggling big time until Pavel Shen's goal, which was served up on a silver platter into an empty net by ex-Army man Igor Ozhiganov. But this didn’t inspire the Dynamo players; instead, it seemed to throw them off track. They picked up two minor penalties (one of them again for too many men on the ice) and, in between, were handed a 5-minute major for slashing. For a long time our team couldn't beat the Dynamo goalie, but Maxim Sorkin finally scored our third goal with a one-timer. And 20 seconds later, Maxim Mamin scored his first goal after returning to CSKA. However, Dynamo launched a comeback before the break. Having received a 4-minute power play, they scored a goal and headed into the third period with hopes of a comeback. However, our special squads professionally neutralized the remaining minority and kept the situation under control from then on. In the 51st minute, a defensive blunder by Dynamo in their own zone cost them another goal. The Army Men intercepted the puck, and Marat Khayrullin delivered a superb pass to Maxim Sorkin; all Sorkin had to do was not miss. This goal didn't exactly kill off the opponent, but they no longer had any real chance of a comeback. Ten in a row and take over the top spot in the West.
