CSKA edge SKA 6-5 for sixth straight KHL win
Pavel Karnaukhov scored a hat-trick as CSKA held off SKA in an 11-goal thriller in Moscow, extending their winning run and handing Igor Larionov's side its first loss in five games.
CSKA beat SKA 6-5 at the CSKA Arena in Moscow, their sixth straight win in the KHL.
The sides traded goals for the best part of an hour. Vasily Atanasov put SKA ahead on the 6th minute before Pavel Karnaukhov levelled it on the 11th. Nikolai Kovalenko put CSKA in front on the 14th, Atanasov equalised again on the 22nd, and Kovalenko restored the lead a minute later. Rocco Grimaldi made it 3-3 on the 26th. Karnaukhov then took over, scoring twice more, on the 38th and 40th minutes, for his hat-trick, and Dmitri Buchelnikov added a sixth on the 45th. SKA replied through Nikita Dishkovsky on the 46th and Vladislav Romanov on the 50th, but ran out of time.
Ivan Drozdov set up three of the CSKA goals. Sergei Plotnikov had two assists for SKA.
It was CSKA's sixth win in a row under Igor Nikitin and ended a run of four straight wins for SKA. For Igor Larionov's side, it was the first defeat in five games.
CSKA move to 14 points from 10 matches, second in the Western Conference. SKA also have 14 points, from nine matches, and sit third. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, the reigning Gagarin Cup holders, lead the conference with 16.
CSKA are next in action on 1 October, against Dinamo Minsk. SKA travel to face Admiral on 3 October.
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