Traktor lost to a KHL newcomer in the first home game of the season

The match with Lada did not promise an easy ride, but turned out to be a loud slap in the face for the Chelyabinsk team: a heavy defeat 1:3, and the loss of the most important player Vitaly Kravtsov. The hosts’ only goal was his account.

The coaching staff did not make changes to the lineup that won the victory over Vityaz. Zach Fucale took his place in goal again.

Traktor opened the scoring very quickly. The second link worked: Vladimir Tkachev started the attack, and Maxim Shabanov, Artem Blazhievsky and Vitaly Kravtsov brought it to a goal. But Lada did not even think of giving up. First, Vitaly Kravtsov was met very harshly in the middle zone, after which the striker was unable to continue the meeting. Artyom Blazhievsky tried to stand up for his partner, for which he received two minutes. Lada converted the majority with its first shot. Scott Kosmachuk put the puck into the goal. After that, Traktor had a canceled goal from Vladimir Zharkov and a double majority, but the score remained a draw.

In the second period, Traktor had to rebuild the game due to the absence of a key player, Vitaly Kravtsov. Solving their problems, the Chelyabinsk team let go of the game, but Lada was also unable to score.

In the third period, something happened that you should always be wary of in matches with such sticky teams as the Tolyatti team. They caught Traktor’s fourth line playing poorly on defense, and striker Troy Josephs put the visitors ahead. The Chelyabinsk team tried to win back, but Lada played with maximum concentration, and in the end they also scored into an empty net. Nikita Popugaev set the final score.

The result was 1:3 and a heavy defeat for the Chelyabinsk team in front of their fans. In this match they lost not only points, but also Vitaly Kravtsov. Already on September 14, Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team welcomes their next opponent on their ice – Dynamo Minsk.