VLADIVOSTOK (Interstat) — Nikita Boyarkin stopped all 23 shots he faced, and Admiral Vladivostok scored twice at Fetisov Arena in Primorsky Krai on Monday to beat visiting Salavat Yulaev 2-0 in a Kontinental Hockey League game before an announced attendance of 3,555. Admiral improved to 6-10. Salavat Yulaev dropped to 9-9. The shutout was the centerpiece for an Admiral side that leaned on Boyarkin throughout and protected its goaltender with a disciplined defensive effort. Admiral entered the game after a 5-1 home loss to Spartak Moscow, while Salavat Yulaev was coming off a 4-3 road win at Amur Khabarovsk.

Boyarkin was the top star for Admiral, recording the win with 23 saves on 23 shots. The clean sheet came after a 40-save performance in a 4-3 win over Lada Togliatti in his previous outing, and he carried that form into the game. Ivan Muranov gave the home side a spark with one goal, one assist, four shots on goal and two hits. Borna Rendulic scored once and added two shots and one hit. Yegor Chezganov finished with one assist, three shots and one hit, while Daniel Usmanov had one assist, two shots and one hit. Their combined work around the net helped Admiral turn a tight, penalty-marred game into a two-goal victory.

Libor Sulak put five shots on goal from the blue line. Vladislav Tsitsyura recorded two shots and one hit, Nikita Yefremov had one assist and one shot, and Kyle Olson generated five shots with two hits, matching Sulak for the team lead in shots. For Salavat Yulaev, Matthew Maggio led the attack with four shots on goal. Salavat Yulaev could not solve Boyarkin despite Maggio’s activity and repeated power-play chances, and the visitors were held scoreless. Boyarkin’s rebound control and positioning kept Salavat Yulaev from building momentum during its best stretches, while Sulak and Olson kept pressure on Salavat Yulaev at the other end.

The game was choppy early, with officials calling seven minor penalties across the first two periods. The first period ended scoreless despite the early penalties. Admiral’s Grigory Vashchenko was sent off for high sticking at 2:13 of the first period. Salavat Yulaev’s Ivan Bocharov was called for too many players on the ice at 11:45, and Artyom Nabiyev went off for tripping at 19:21. In the second period, Admiral’s Dzhelal-Ad-Din Amirbekov was penalized for too many players on the ice at 30:27. Salavat Yulaev’s Jack Rodewald went off for tripping at 33:58. Admiral’s Oskar Bulavchuk received a high-sticking minor at 36:46, and Salavat Yulaev’s Yaroslav Tsulygin was called for hooking at 38:56. Neither side converted on the power play, as Admiral finished 0 for 4 and Salavat Yulaev went 0 for 3 with the man advantage. The penalties disrupted flow and limited sustained offense for both sides.

Admiral finally broke through when Rendulic scored at 41:03, with Muranov and Usmanov collecting assists. The goal came 1:03 into the third period and gave the home side the lead it had been building toward. Admiral protected that advantage behind Boyarkin and then added insurance when Muranov scored at 59:08, with Chezganov and Yefremov getting assists. Muranov’s goal came with 52 seconds remaining and capped a strong all-around effort. It rewarded Admiral for its disciplined work in front of Boyarkin, who finished with a 23-save shutout and was rarely beaten cleanly.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Salavat Yulaev 3, Admiral 2. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Salavat Yulaev with a 68.5 percent probability to win. The total score of 2 went over the over/under line of 5.5.