Upon returning from Minsk, CSKA faced Dynamo Moscow. The ‘Brotherly Derby’ was also part of the regular-season Firsts Cup, which CSKA was leading as of early October. The lineup for the game featured the exact same skaters who secured the victory in the Belarusian capital, with the only change being in goal. Alexander Samonov got the start.
Riding a three-game losing streak, Dynamo were highly motivated to snap it and came out as the more active team early on. We spent too much time on our heels and lacked offensive generation. Although we managed to generate a couple of good scoring chances. Nazar Privalov fired a dangerous shot from the slot, and Prokhor Poltapov came close to scoring but was denied at the last second from putting it into an open net. Dynamo didn't have many quality chances, but the Blue-and-Whites capitalized on a power play to open the scoring. With the period winding down, Dmitry Buchelnikov made his presence felt. Receiving a pass from Derek Barach, Dmitry found an opening, sped up, and beautifully deeked the goalie to tie it at 1-1.
The second period was a clear demonstration of how crucial special teams play is. Both teams exchanged opportunities due to undisciplined penalties like tripping, delaying the game, and too many men on the ice, and the power-play units capitalized on them. Dynamo regains the lead thanks to Letunov's second goal of the game, but the Army Men strike right back with a pair of power-play tallies. Marat Khairullin, who is in peak form, buried a great shot off a pass from Prokhor Poltapov, and then Prokhor scored one himself, cleaning up a rebound in the crease. But they failed to protect the lead before the intermission. With 11 seconds left, Dynamo got a lucky bounce on the power play to tie the game. The third period went scoreless, as did overtime, but it was far from boring for the fans. In overtime, the Army Men created two good scoring chances, but then the visitors took control of the game. It was absolute chaos in our zone late in the game, but Samonov stood on his head to keep us in it. It's down to a shootout. The game is going to a shootout. That’s eight wins in a row!
