MAGNITOGORSK (Interstat) — Igor Nechayev recorded one goal and one assist, and Metallurg Magnitogorsk used a three-goal second period to pull away from Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk for a 6-2 Kontinental Hockey League victory on Sunday at Arena Metallurg. The announced attendance was 6,606. The game was part of the Kontinental Hockey League regular season. Metallurg Magnitogorsk improved to 5-2. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk dropped to 4-3.

Nechayev finished with a goal, an assist and three shots on goal to lead Metallurg. Goaltender Alexander S. Smolin earned the win with 23 saves on 25 shots. Nikita A. Korotkov, listed at 6-foot-0 and 201 pounds, scored once and added two shots and two hits. Dmitry Silantyev recorded a goal, an assist, two shots and three hits. Nathan Todd scored once and had two shots. German Tochilkin scored for Neftekhimik and had two shots. Yegor Korobkin had an assist, three shots and two hits. Andrei E. Kozlov scored and had three shots. Matvei Zaseda scored for Neftekhimik and had three shots. Vladimir E. Tkachyov had two assists and one shot.

Neftekhimik opened the scoring 55 seconds into the first period when Zaseda scored, with Ivan Nikolishin assisting. Metallurg tied the game at 10:30 on Kozlov’s goal. Artyom Minulin was called for high sticking at 10:53, giving Neftekhimik a power-play chance, but the visitors could not convert. It was the only penalty of the opening period. Neftekhimik moved back ahead at 16:46 when Tochilkin scored, sending the visitors into the first intermission with a 2-1 lead.

The decisive stretch came in the second period. Todd tied the game at 20:50 with assists from Valery Orekhov and Nikita Mikhailis. Korotkov put Metallurg ahead at 23:31, assisted by Nechayev. Nechayev then scored at 38:04, with Korobkin and Orekhov assisting, giving Metallurg a 4-2 lead through two periods. Metallurg controlled play after the early tie and kept pressure on Neftekhimik throughout the middle frame.

Metallurg added two more goals in the third. Nikolishin was sent off for hooking at 46:49, and Silantyev scored on the ensuing power play at 47:11, assisted by Tkachyov and Ruslan Iskhakov. Sevastyan Sokolov took a hooking penalty at 57:27, and Iskhakov scored on the power play at 57:55, assisted by Silantyev and Tkachyov, to complete the scoring. Smolin and the Metallurg defense kept Neftekhimik off the scoreboard over the final two periods. The game featured three minor penalties, all two-minute calls. Metallurg scored on both of its third-period power-play opportunities. The home side finished strongly.

The win continued a strong home stretch for Metallurg, which had beaten Barys Astana 3-0 in its previous game. Neftekhimik, which had shut out Sibir Novosibirsk on the road earlier in the week before losing at Salavat Yulaev Ufa, could not sustain its early lead. Metallurg finished with six goals from six different scorers, while Neftekhimik got goals from Zaseda and Tochilkin. Metallurg’s next game is at Salavat Yulaev Ufa on Wednesday. Neftekhimik will host Lada Togliatti on Wednesday.

Neftekhimik had entered the game off a 2-0 road loss at Salavat Yulaev Ufa on Friday. The club had won three of its previous four games, including a 3-0 victory at Sibir Novosibirsk on Wednesday and home wins over Admiral Vladivostok, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and HC Sochi. Metallurg had won its previous game, a 3-0 home victory over Barys Astana on Friday. Before that, Metallurg lost 3-2 to Spartak Moscow at home and 3-2 in overtime at Avangard Omsk.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3, Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Metallurg Magnitogorsk a 76.1 percent probability to win before the game.