MINSK, Belarus (Interstat) — Stanislav Galiyev scored twice in the third period to break open a close game and lead Dinamo Minsk to a 6-1 victory over the Shanghai Dragons in a Kontinental Hockey League match on Saturday night at Minsk-Arena.

The home side dominated from the opening faceoff, needing just 23 seconds to take a lead it would never relinquish. Sam Anas finished a play with assists from Vitaly Pinchuk and Alex Limoges to stun the visiting Dragons. The momentum continued as Daniil Sotishvili made it 2-0 for Dinamo Minsk less than a minute later, capitalizing on passes from Kristian Khenkel and Brady Lyle.

Shanghai, which entered the game with 18 wins and 29 losses across all competitions this season, struggled to generate offense against a structured Dinamo Minsk defense backstopped by goaltender Vasily Demchenko. Demchenko stopped 17 of 18 shots to secure the win.

The Dragons broke through on the power play early in the second period. With Dinamo Minsk’s Andrei Stas in the box for tripping, Nick Merkley converted a chance from Will Reilly and Kevin LaBanc at the 24:07 mark to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The one-goal game was short-lived. Dinamo Minsk responded with a pair of goals before the second intermission to regain control. Defenseman Ty Smith scored at 28:14, followed by a goal from Yegor Borikov at 29:53, with Lyle picking up his second assist of the night on the latter.

Leading 4-1 heading into the final frame, Dinamo Minsk put the game out of reach with two more goals from Galiyev. He scored on the power play at 49:22, assisted by Vadim Shipachyov and Stas, and added an even-strength marker at 55:02, with Shipachyov and Daniil A. Lipsky providing the helpers.

The loss extended a difficult stretch for Shanghai, which has now dropped three of its last four games. Dinamo Minsk, meanwhile, improved its record to 27 wins and 17 losses, solidifying its position in the KHL playoff race. The result was largely in line with pregame projections from Interstat, whose game simulator had predicted a 4-1 Dinamo Minsk win and whose ELO system gave the Belarusian club a 76.9 percent probability of victory.

Dinamo Minsk’s offense was fueled by multi-point performances from Galiyev (two goals), Anas (one goal, one assist), Limoges (two assists), Lyle (two assists) and Lipsky (two assists). Shanghai’s Merkley led his team with a goal and four shots but also took four penalty minutes.

Shanghai continues its road trip with a game at HC Sochi on Monday. Dinamo Minsk remains at home to face Salavat Yulaev Ufa, also on Monday.