MOSCOW, December 24 (R-Sport) – Ak Bars Kazan gained a 2-0 victory at Lev Prague on Monday to restore its lead the in KHL's Eastern Conference.
The two-time champion is now one point clear of Avangard Omsk, while the Czechs remain seventh in the West.
The visitors did all the damage in a single minute in the first period.
Latvian wing Lauris Darzins nailed the upper corner of Jakub Stepanek’s goal and Finnish forward Janne Pesonen converted a perfect pass by Evgeni Medvedev, both scoring on a power play.
Ak Bars' 21-year-old goaltender Emil Garipov claimed his first KHL shutout with 23 saves.
Elsewhere, Dinamo Riga suffered a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Yugra Khanty Mansiysk, hitting their chances of making the playoffs.
Yugra sits ninth in the East, five points behind eighth-placed Sibir that currently holds the last playoff spot, while the Latvians are second from the bottom in the West.
Former Columbus Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Giroux gave the hosts early lead, before Yugra top scorer Igor Skorokhodov equalized on 12 minutes with his 17th goal of the season.
Konstantin Glazachev made the score 2-1 in the second period and Anton But sealed it with an empty net goal.
