The revelation of the KHL season Sibir Novosibirsk completed a 3-1 home win over Ak Bars Kazan to go level on points with Eastern Conference leader Traktor Chelyabinsk on Sunday.
Second-placed Sibir has now 34 points after 19 games, while Ak Bars remains third, trailing by two points with one game in hand.
Sibir forward Alexander Nikulin hit the first of the game on seven minutes, before former Pittsburgh Penguins wing Alexey Morozov equalized with a deflected shot at the end of the second period.
Two third-period goals from Sibir’s right wing Anton Malyshev and captain Maxim Krivonozhkin brought the hosts their first KHL victory over the two-time Gagarin Cup winner.
Elsewhere in the East, Metallurg Novokuznetsk snatched a 4-3 comeback win over Salavat Yulaev Ufa to climb to seventh position.
Salavat Yulaev, the 2011 champion, dropped out of the playoff zone to the ninth place.
Anton Lazarev and ex-Vancouver Canucks defenseman Brent Sopel scored for Metallurg before Salavat's Sergei Emelin and Denis Parshin leveled it.
Sergei Zinoviev put the visitors 3-2 up with a powerplay goal at the start of the third period.
But Metallurg had the last word as first Dmitry Kagarlitsky equalized and then Canadian veteran Randy Robitaille scored a winning goal in a piercing counterattack five minutes from the buzzer.
