Evgeni Malkin took his KHL scoring tally to 16 points from 15 games Friday as his Metallurg Magnitogorsk team demolished Spartak Moscow 7-2 on the road.
Malkin scored a goal and an assist, while there was also success for Metallurg’s other lockout signings as Sergei Gonchar grabbed two assists and Nikolai Kulemin scored a goal and set up another.
A fourth win in its last five games takes Metallurg to third in the Eastern Conference, while Spartak’s sixth defeat in its last seven games thwarted the Moscow team’s hopes of a return to the playoff places in the West, as it stays 13th of 14 teams.
Spartak briefly led 1-0 in the first period when Pavel Medvedev showed quick reactions to score from the edge of the crease before Kulemin burst past two Spartak challenges to score an equalizer.
In the second period, Malkin scored on a powerplay from a Gonchar assist before two goals from Dmitry Kazionov put Metallurg in the driving seat at 4-1 up.
Viktor Antipin, 19, scored Metallurg’s fifth before Justin Hodgman made it 6-1.
In the third, Stefan Ruzicka grabbed a consolation for Spartak and ex-New York Rangers player Mats Zuccarello scored Metallurg’s seventh to round off the game with his second point, after earlier laying on an assist for Hodgman.
Elsewhere, Yugra Khanty-Mansiisk continued its recent resurgence with the sixth win in seven games for the Siberian team, beating Vityaz Chekhov 4-3 on penalty shots.
Both teams remain outside the playoff places in their conferences, as Yugra stays 10th in the East and Vityaz ninth in the West.
