A third-period blitz gave two-time KHL champion Ak Bars Kazan a 5-2 home win over CSKA Moscow to take third place in the KHL's Eastern Conference.
Finnish center Jarkko Immonen and localhero Danis Zaripov, in his 11th season with the team, gave the hosts a solid 2-0 lead in the first period before CSKA's Alexander Radulov and Toronto Maple Leafs lockout signing Mikhail Grabovski evened the score.
Ak Bars pulled the victory in the last 10 minutes of the game when Zaripov and Immonen scored their seconds goals and Janne Pesonen added an empty-net goal.
CSKA remains fourth in the Western Conference.
Elsewhere, former Columbus Blue Jackets forward Geoff Platt scored two goals in the third period to bring Dynamo Minsk a 3-1 home victory over Vityaz Chekhov.
The Belarusian team moves to the 11th place in the Western Conference, one point behind Vityaz in 10th.
Ex-San Jose Sharks left wing Alexander Korolyuk put Vityaz in the lead at the start of the second period before Finnish defenseman Janne Niskala equalized with a powerful slapshot seven minutes later.
Then Canadian forward Platt, who accepted Belarusian citizenship this year, struck twice to decide the match.
“This is a well-deserved victory which became possible only due to the immense work we’ve done recently,” Platt said.
The game saw the debut of San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski, who signed a lockout contract with Dynamo on Wednesday.
Elsewhere in the West, Severstal Cherepovets thrashed KHL newcomer Slovan Bratislava on home ice 6-0.
The brightest stars of the game were Denis Kazionov with a double and Finnish forward Mikko Lehtonen, who scored two assists and a third-period goal.
Severstal reached into the playoff zone with the win, moving up to sixth and dropping Slovan to seventh.
