Entering the Moscow derby, CSKA rode a 12-game winning streak while Spartak brought in a four-game run. Following a minor injury in the last game, the coaching staff opted to give Kostin a night off to recover. Aleksei Churkin took the open spot in the lineup, while Nazar Privalov was promoted to the line with Pavel Karnaukhov and Maksim Mamin. The goaltenders continued to alternate starts – this time, Dmitry Gamzin got the nod.
The game opened with Spartak on the attack, earning a power play just five minutes in. But Gamzin's net wasn't tested much. Then our team took control and looked confident, but couldn't find the back of the net in the first period either. The second period didn't see much of a change in the flow of the game. A tight, low-scoring affair with few scoring chances. The Army Men had their chances on the power play, twice using similar passes to set up Marat Khairullin for a shot, but the goalie made a huge save on one, and Marat was shut down on the other. Spartak scored the only goal of the game. Maxime Comtois shot from the point, and it was a pure rocket – virtually impossible to stop. The Army Men stayed in the game until the very end and heavily outshot their opponent, but lacked net-front urgency and finishing touch. At the end of the game, we pulled our goalie for an extra skater but conceded an empty-netter.
