VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Interstat) — CSKA Moscow survived a furious third-period rally by Admiral Vladivostok to escape Fetisov Arena with a 5-4 victory in a Kontinental Hockey League game on Tuesday.

Goaltender Dmitry Gamzin was the cornerstone of the win, making 39 saves on 43 shots to backstop CSKA, which saw an early three-goal lead nearly evaporate in the final frame.

The game began as a potential blowout, with CSKA striking twice in the opening period. Oleg Maistrenko opened the scoring just over two minutes into the contest, and Kirill Dolzhenkov extended the lead to 2-0 midway through the period. Both goals were set up by defenseman Jeremy Roy, who recorded assists on each.

Admiral cut into the deficit before the first intermission, as Stepan Starkov netted his first goal of the game at the 11:22 mark to make it 2-1.

CSKA restored its two-goal advantage early in the second period when Alexander Daryin of Admiral took a delaying the game penalty, and Pavel Karnaukhov capitalized on the ensuing power play to put CSKA ahead 3-1.

The visitors appeared to take control early in the third period. Denis Guryanov scored his fifth goal of the season just over six minutes in, giving CSKA a commanding 4-1 lead and seemingly putting the game out of reach.

Admiral, however, mounted a stunning comeback on home ice. Starkov ignited the rally with his second goal of the night, cutting the lead to 4-2. Just over two minutes later, Kyle Olson scored to bring Admiral within a single goal, setting up a tense finale.

With the momentum fully shifted, Admiral pressed for the equalizer, but Gamzin and the CSKA defense held firm under intense pressure. The seal was finally broken when Rhett Gardner scored an empty-net goal for CSKA with 1:54 remaining, making it 5-3 and seemingly securing the win.

Admiral refused to quit. With Gamzin back in the net, the home team scored again with just 1:30 left on the clock to pull back within a goal at 5-4. Despite pulling their goalie for a second time, Admiral could not find the tying goal in the final seconds.

The victory improved CSKA’s record across all competitions to 4-4, while Admiral fell to 3-4. The result defied a tight projection from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 3-2 CSKA win and gave the Moscow club a 63.7 percent probability of victory based on its ELO rating system.

The game was a penalty-filled affair, with Admiral’s Alexander Daryin taking three minor penalties. CSKA’s Nikita Okhotyuk was whistled for two tripping infractions.

The win gives CSKA a measure of revenge after Admiral defeated them 1-0 in Moscow just 13 days prior. CSKA will continue its road trip with a game against Amur Khabarovsk on Thursday. Admiral, meanwhile, begins a lengthy road stretch with a game at Barys Astana on Monday.