CHEREPOVETS, Russia (Interstat) — Spartak Moscow scored three first-period goals and cruised to a 5-1 victory over Severstal in Kontinental Hockey League play Monday at Ice Palace.

Defenseman Joseph Keane led Spartak with a goal and Brandon Biro added a goal and two assists. Artyom Zagidulin made 39 saves for the win.

Nikita Korostelyov, Danil Pivchulin and German Rubtsov also scored for Spartak, which avenged a November home loss to Severstal. Nikolai Burenov scored the lone goal for the hosts.

Spartak improved to 28-23 across all competitions. Severstal fell to 33-20. The result defied a pregame projection that favored the home team.