TOGLIATTI, Russia (Interstat) — CSKA Moscow capitalized on a potent power play and a three-point afternoon from forward Prokhor Poltapov to defeat Lada Togliatti 4-2 in a Kontinental Hockey League game Tuesday at Lada Arena.

The victory, CSKA’s third in its last four games, improved the Moscow club’s record to 16 wins and 19 losses this season. Lada, struggling near the bottom of the KHL standings, fell to 10 wins and 24 losses.

The game’s outcome defied the pregame projection from Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 3-2 win for the home team. However, CSKA entered as a significant favorite according to the same service’s ELO system, which gave the Army Men a 69 percent probability to win.

CSKA set the tone early, striking first on the man advantage. Just 51 seconds into the game’s first power play, Pavel Karnaukhov buried his eighth goal of the season at the 6:21 mark of the opening period. Vitaly Abramov and Poltapov provided the assists.

The visitors doubled their lead before the first intermission, again with a special teams goal. Defenseman Jeremy Roy converted at 18:34, with Maxim Sorkin and Poltapov, collecting his second helper of the afternoon, setting up the play to make it 2-0.

Lada, which has found wins hard to come by this season, pushed back in the second period. CSKA extended its lead to three goals when Poltapov scored his eighth of the year at 20:59, assisted by Nikolai Kovalenko. But the home side responded less than four minutes later. Veteran forward Anton Burdasov netted his third goal of the season at 24:18, with Tyler Graovac earning the primary assist to cut the deficit to 3-1.

The middle frame continued to see special teams play a central role. After Lada killed off a penalty, CSKA restored its three-goal cushion with another power-play marker. Denis Guryanov scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season at 32:56, with Denis Zernov and Kovalenko assisting. The goal came just 24 seconds after Lada’s Maxim Belousov took his second high-sticking penalty of the game.

Lada showed resilience, answering just 54 seconds later. Artur Tyanulin scored his fifth of the year at 33:50, with Burdasov, who finished with a goal and an assist, and Vladislav Syomin assisting to make it 4-2 heading into the third.

The final period saw no scoring, as CSKA goaltender Alexander Samonov shut the door. Samonov secured the win with 28 saves on 30 shots. Lada managed only five shots in the third period as CSKA closed out the road victory.

Penalties were a persistent issue for Lada, which gave CSKA six power-play opportunities. The visitors converted on two of them, while Lada failed to score on its three chances. Burdasov was a bright spot for Lada in the loss, leading his team with six shots on goal to go with his two points.

For CSKA, Poltapov’s goal and two assists paced the offense, while Guryanov added a goal and Roy contributed a goal from the blue line. The win completes a two-game regular-season sweep of Lada, following a 4-2 CSKA victory in Moscow on Nov. 27.

CSKA will look to continue its improved form Thursday when it travels to face Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. Lada begins a lengthy road trip Friday with a game against Red Star Kunlun in Beijing. The two teams are not scheduled to meet again until March 20, 2026, in Moscow.