NIZHNEKAMSK, Russia (Interstat) — Amur Khabarovsk delivered a commanding road performance, defeating Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4-1 in a Kontinental Hockey League matchup Thursday at SCC Arena.

The victory gave Amur a split of the two-game series after Neftekhimik secured a 2-1 win on Tuesday. Amur’s offense, which had been held to two or fewer goals in seven of its previous eight games, broke out in a decisive first period.

Matvei Zaseda opened the scoring for the visitors, netting his second goal of the season at the 9-minute mark of the first period with an assist from Viktor Baldayev. Amur doubled its lead less than four minutes later when Ilya Tataluyev scored his first of the campaign, assisted by Alex Broadhurst and Oleg Li.

The game’s physical tone was set early, with Neftekhimik’s Maxim S. Fedotov taking a holding penalty just 6:37 into the contest. The middle frame was marked by a parade to the penalty box, with four minor penalties called, three of them against Amur.

Neftekhimik capitalized on one of those power-play opportunities to get on the board. With Amur’s Yaroslav Dyblenko serving an interference minor, Damir Zhafyarov scored his fifth goal of the season at 31:44 of the second period. Evgeny Mityakin and Fedotov recorded the assists.

Amur responded quickly to restore its two-goal cushion. Zaseda netted his second of the game and third of the season at 35:18, with Broadhurst collecting his second assist of the afternoon and Ivan Mishchenko also helping on the play.

Oleg Li sealed the victory for Amur with an empty-net goal, his sixth of the season, with just 40 seconds remaining in regulation. Tataluyev earned an assist on the play for a multi-point game.

The win improved Amur’s season record to 5-8-0, while Neftekhimik fell to .500 at 7-7-0. The result was an upset according to pregame projections; Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a 3-2 win for Neftekhimik, and its ELO system gave the home team a 60.4 percent probability of victory.

Amur returns home to Khabarovsk to begin a three-game homestand against Spartak Moscow on Oct. 15. Neftekhimik remains at home to host Sibir Novosibirsk on Oct. 12.