The Moscow region witnessed a gripping KHL regular season game as Spartak turned a tough start into a dramatic overtime victory against Vityaz near Moscow. The Megasport Arena clash finished 5-4 in favor of Spartak after extra time, a outcome that kept the drama alive late in the season.
Vityaz opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Canadian defender Jeremy Roy found the back of the net. In the second period, the visitors added two more, with 21 year old forward Stanislav Yarovoy recording goals in the 23rd and 38th minutes. As the third period began, Spartak pressed to close the gap and pulled one back at 49 minutes from Andrei Loktionov, only to see Ivan Chekhovich restore a two-goal cushion for Vityaz 40 seconds later. The tone of the game shifted again as Spartak climbed back into contention.
The momentum swung decisively in overtime. Pavel Poryadin opened the extra period at 57 minutes, followed by Georgy Ovchinnikov just a minute later, and Alexander Belyaev added another strike five seconds before the final siren. The decisive moment came five minutes into overtime when Ivan Morozov converted, delivering Sparta a thrilling win.
Spartak sits in second place in the Western Conference standings with 43 points from 29 games, nine points behind the leader Lokomotiv. Vityaz remains in ninth, having collected 29 points across 30 matches, a reflection of a tightly packed Western playoff race.
In broader KHL news, the current league champion is Metallurg Magnitogorsk, who swept Lokomotiv Yaroslavl four straight games to close the Gagarin Cup final, sealing the title in convincing fashion. Earlier in the season, SKA surprised many by signing a foreign player from the KHL, signaling a shift in roster strategies across the league.
Source: KHL