SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (Interstat) — In a wild Kontinental Hockey League contest that defied pregame projections, CSKA Moscow edged SKA Saint Petersburg 4-3 on Wednesday afternoon at Ice Palace Saint Petersburg, overcoming a late tying goal to secure the victory.

The game was a back-and-forth affair that saw CSKA build a multi-goal lead, only for SKA to claw back and level the score late in the third period. The final outcome was not decided until the closing minutes.

The Interstat game simulator had projected a 3-2 win for CSKA, while its ELO system gave SKA a 55.3 percent probability of victory. The actual result delivered a crucial two points to CSKA while extending a difficult start to the season for the home team.

SKA opened the scoring early in the first period. Nikolai Goldobin netted his third goal of the season just 2:58 into the game, with assists from Trevor Murphy and Roссo Grimaldi.

The game remained a tight 1-0 contest until a flurry of action in the second period. CSKA’s Nikolai Kovalenko cut into the lead with his seventh goal of the season at the 20:44 mark, assisted by Dmitry Buchelnikov. CSKA then drew even at 33:14 when Ivan Drozdov scored his third, with helpers from Pavel Karnaukhov and Daniel Sprong.

The third period saw CSKA take its first lead of the afternoon. Colby Williams scored his first goal of the season at 41:53, with Maxim Sorkin earning the assist, making it 3-2.

SKA responded with pressure and was rewarded when Vladislav Y. Romanov scored his first goal of the year at 49:28, tying the game at 3-3. Assists went to Markus Phillips and Valentin Zykov.

The tie was short-lived. Just over a minute later, CSKA’s Daniel Sprong scored his eighth goal of the season, the eventual game-winner, at 51:42. Nikita Nesterov and Denis Guryanov were credited with the assists.

SKA pulled goaltender Yegor Zavragin for an extra attacker in the final minutes but could not find another equalizer.

Zavragin was a standout for SKA in the loss, making 30 saves on 34 shots faced as his team was outshot by CSKA. Defenseman Trevor Murphy recorded two assists for the home side.

The loss drops SKA’s season record to three wins and 10 losses. CSKA improved to 8-9 with the victory.

CSKA’s next game is at home against Amur Khabarovsk on Sunday. SKA will look to rebound when it hosts HC Sochi on Friday.