Streak Vs. Streak

Three straight wins against five. A perfect home record against the top team in the East. And one final game to close out September.

The Shanghai Dragons have spent the past week turning SKA Arena into a home-ice advantage. Now comes the toughest test yet.

Shanghai hosts Metallurg Magnitogorsk on Wednesday, Sept. 30, looking for a fourth consecutive victory and a perfect finish to its first homestand of the season.

Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. Moscow time, 12:30 p.m. ET and 9:30 a.m. PT.

The Dragons are 3-0 at home after beating Avtomobilist, Dinamo Minsk and HC Sochi. Monday’s 4-1 win over Sochi moved Shanghai to 10 points through seven games and extended its overall winning streak to three.

Metallurg arrives with an even hotter hand. Andrei Razin’s team has won five straight, owns 17 points through 10 games, and moved into first place in the Eastern Conference after dismantling Avangard 5-1 in Omsk on Monday.

One streak survives Wednesday. The other does not.

GAME AT A GLANCE

SHANGHAI IS LEARNING HOW TO PLAY FROM AHEAD

The Dragons spent the opening weeks of the season proving they could come back. Now they are beginning to prove they can control games.

Against Sochi, Shanghai needed only 34 seconds to take the lead. Riley Sutter finished a Brett Murray setup on the opening shift, Nikita Alexandrov made it 2-0 later in the first period, and the Dragons never gave the visitors a serious path back into the game.

Sutter added an empty-net goal late to complete a 4-1 victory and Shanghai’s third straight home win.

Earlier in September, Shanghai’s identity was built around survival — rallying from 3-0 down in Nizhnekamsk, forcing overtime late in Minsk, repeatedly playing from behind. At home, the script has changed.

The Dragons are scoring first. They are protecting leads. And they are beginning to dictate the game instead of constantly reacting to it.

Wednesday will show whether that progress holds up against one of the league’s deepest teams.

METALLURG CAN WIN ANY KIND OF GAME

That may be the most dangerous thing about Razin’s team.

Metallurg’s five-game winning streak includes 3-0 vs. Barys, 6-2 vs. Neftekhimik, 4-3 vs. Salavat Yulaev, 2-1 vs. Ak Bars and 5-1 at Avangard.

Different opponents. Different styles. Same result.

Against Avangard, Metallurg scored after just 50 seconds, built a 2-0 lead before the midway point of the first period and never lost control. Nikita Mikhailis scored twice, while Nathan Todd, Ruslan Iskhakov and Nikita Korotkov also found the net.

Razin’s team can play fast. It can grind. It can win 6-2. It can win 2-1. That versatility may be Shanghai’s biggest challenge.

THEY HAVE ALREADY MET

And Shanghai came within two minutes of winning.

On Aug. 14 at the Minsk Cup, the Dragons held a 2-1 lead late in the third period after Nick Cicek and Brett Murray scored.

Then Metallurg did what good teams do. Yegor Zelenov tied the game at 57:59. Igor Nechayev won it on a penalty shot in overtime. Final: Metallurg 3, Shanghai 2 OT.

It was preseason, but the game still matters for one reason: the Dragons already know they can stay with this opponent. They also know what happens if they leave the door open late.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

SHANGHAI DRAGONS

RILEY SUTTER — F

Sutter has wasted little time making an impact since returning to the lineup. He scored twice against Sochi, including the opening goal just 34 seconds into the game, and has quickly developed chemistry with Brett Murray. His size, defensive awareness and willingness to work through traffic give Shanghai another dimension through the middle.

BRENNAN MENELL — D

Menell remains one of the central pieces of Shanghai’s offense from the blue line. He drives transition play, quarterbacks the power play and carries major minutes. Against a Metallurg team that punishes turnovers quickly, his first pass may be just as important as his scoring.

DMITRIJ JASKIN — F

Shanghai’s captain remains the club’s most established interior scoring threat. Wednesday’s matchup may require exactly the kind of game he is built for: heavy, physical and decided around the crease. Metallurg protects the middle well. Jaskin’s job is to make the middle uncomfortable anyway.

METALLURG MAGNITOGORSK

NATHAN TODD — F | 10 GP, 5 G, 3 A

Todd has adapted quickly to Magnitogorsk. Eight points through 10 games and five goals already make him one of Metallurg’s most dangerous finishers.

RUSLAN ISKHAKOV — F | 10 GP, 4 G, 4 A

Iskhakov brings speed, skill and the ability to create in small spaces, making him especially dangerous when defensive coverage begins to stretch.

NIKITA MIKHAILIS — F | 10 GP, 3 G, 4 A

Mikhailis entered Monday with one goal this season and left Omsk with three. His two-goal performance against Avangard included the opening goal after only 50 seconds.

THREE KEYS TO THE GAME

1. START ON TIME

Shanghai scored 34 seconds into its last game. Metallurg scored 50 seconds into its last game. Neither team had to spend the night chasing. Against an opponent this deep, Shanghai cannot afford to return to its early-season habit of needing a comeback.

2. PROTECT THE MIDDLE OF THE ICE

Metallurg has too many forwards capable of turning a neutral-zone mistake into immediate offense. Todd. Iskhakov. Mikhailis. One bad pass can become an odd-man rush before the defense has time to recover.

3. STAY OUT OF THE BOX

Metallurg’s power play has been productive early in the season. Shanghai has looked far more disciplined in recent games. That needs to continue. Against the Eastern Conference leader, free offensive-zone time can turn into goals quickly.

THE FINAL WORD

This is no longer about Shanghai responding to a bad loss. That story is finished.

Three consecutive wins have changed the question. Now the Dragons are protecting something: a winning streak, a perfect home record, and the growing belief that their strong September is becoming something more than a short run of good results.

Metallurg brings the strongest challenge yet: five straight wins, first place in the East, a 5-1 statement in Omsk, and a recent reminder that even a late Shanghai lead may not be enough.

In August, the Dragons were two minutes away. On Wednesday, they get another shot.

Three straight against five.
Perfect at home against first in the East.
For Shanghai, this is the measuring-stick game.

Shanghai Dragons Media Relations