Lada Togliatti 3-4 Sochi: 33 shots, 30 saves, no way back

Highlights

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Thirty-three shots, thirty saves, zero reward. Lada Togliatti outshot Sochi 33-31 at Lada Arena and still lost 3-4, undone by two goals in two minutes of the first period and a lead Sochi never gave back.

The evening started well for the hosts. Nikita Setdikov struck at 16:00, Pavel Kudryavtsev assisting, and Tolyatti had the lead on home ice. It lasted sixty seconds. Denis Vengryzhanovsky levelled at 17, Nikita Gusev with the setup, and Ilya Nikolayev pushed Sochi in front at 19 — unassisted, seconds before the first break. Period two brought the same pattern: Artur Gizdatullin stretched it to 1-3 at 38, Nikolayev again the provider, and Alexei Rykmanov's reply at 40 kept Lada within one at the interval. Matvey Guskov restored the two-goal cushion at 46, Gusev involved once more, and although Andrei Altybarmakyan cut it to 3-4 at 52, Mason Millman's assist was the last contribution that mattered. Five two-minute penalties dotted the night, three against the hosts, and Sochi killed the final minutes without drama.

Nikolayev, a defenseman, finished with a goal, an assist and a plus-one — his fingerprints on both goals that turned 1-0 into 1-3. Gusev's two assists made him the quiet architect, and goaltender Pyotr Andreyanov's 30 saves were the wall Lada kept running into. Andrei Mishurov stopped 27 at the other end, beaten once more than his opposite number.

Lada's power play clicked at 50% (1/2) while Sochi converted 1 of 3, and the hosts carried 53% of the possession — none of it enough. Sochi led from the 17th minute to the final horn. In hockey, that is the only streak that counts.