MOSCOW (Interstat) — Maxim Motorygin stopped all 29 shots he faced to backstop Dynamo Moscow to a decisive 4-0 victory over Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod in Kontinental Hockey League action on Monday at VTB Ice Palace.

The shutout performance anchored a dominant special teams effort from the home side, which capitalized on early power-play chances to build an insurmountable lead and hand Torpedo its second consecutive loss.

Dynamo’s victory, which defied Interstat’s game simulator projection of a 4-3 final, improved its record to 18 wins and 12 losses. Torpedo fell to 18-13. The pregame ELO system gave Dynamo a 65.80 percent probability to win.

The game turned decisively in a 25-second span late in the first period after Torpedo found itself in penalty trouble. With Vladimir Tkachyov already in the box for delay of game, Yegor Vinogradov took a slashing penalty at the 12:16 mark, giving Dynamo a two-man advantage.

The league’s top power-play unit needed only four seconds to strike. Nikita Gusev opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 12:20, assisted by Dylan Sikura and Jordan Weal. Before the first penalty expired, Dynamo doubled its lead. Magomed Sharakanov scored his first of the season at 12:38, firing a shot past Torpedo goaltender Ivan Kulbakov with assists from Anton Slepyshev and Artyom Ilyenko.

Kulbakov’s afternoon ended after that goal, having allowed two on 11 shots. He was replaced by backup Yegor Guskov, who finished the game.

Motorygin was steady throughout, but his most critical work came in the first period to preserve the early lead, including a key stop during a Torpedo power play after a high-sticking penalty to Vladislav Firstov.

Dynamo put the game out of reach with two more goals in a 94-second flurry in the second period. Yegor Rimashevsky made it 3-0 at 24:44, tapping in a feed from Daniil Pylenkov for his second goal. Alexander Kisakov then netted his first KHL goal at 26:18, converting a chance set up by Sergei Artemyev to extend the lead to four.

The physical contest saw tempers flare later in the second, resulting in matching roughing minors to Dynamo’s Sikura and Torpedo’s Anton Sizov. The third period was largely uneventful, with Dynamo content to manage its lead and Torpedo unable to solve Motorygin. The only penalty of the final frame was a slashing call against Dynamo defenseman Igor Ozhiganov.

The loss continued a troubling pattern for Torpedo against Dynamo this season. The teams last met on Oct. 5, with Dynamo earning a 4-1 win in Nizhny Novgorod. Monday’s shutout marked a low point in Torpedo’s recent performance, which had seen them go 5-5-0 in their last ten contests prior to this game, including a 2-1 loss to Dinamo Minsk last Friday.

For Dynamo, the win provided a positive rebound after a 1-0 victory over Lokomotiv Yaroslavl last Wednesday, solidifying their position in the Western Conference playoff race. The team’s defensive corps, including Kirill Adamchuk, played a disciplined game in front of Motorygin.

The schedule offers little respite for Torpedo, which immediately heads back on the road for a challenging back-to-back against CSKA Moscow on Wednesday and Red Star Kunlun on Friday. Their next home game is not until Dec. 16.

Dynamo also hits the road for its next three games, beginning with a trip to Severstal Cherepovets on Wednesday, followed by visits to Lada Togliatti on Friday and Traktor Chelyabinsk on Sunday. The team will not return to VTB Ice Palace until a matchup against Spartak Moscow on Dec. 16.