KHL coach swaps goalies for penalty shot, and it works (Video)
Many baseball rosters are littered with that one lefty relief pitcher whose sole job is to face one or two batters a game: lefties. Managers bring them in late in the game in a strategic attempt to get an out. Sometimes it works and sometimes it fails miserably.
The KHL's Sibir, home of the world's most terrifying mascot, tried a similar tactic last month before a second period penalty shot.
Up 2-0 against Admiral Vladivostok, and about to face a penalty shot by Enver Lisin, Sibir head coach Dmitri Kvartalnov Andrei Skabelka made a change. Out went startig goaltender Alexander Salak and in went backup Nikita Bespalov, who had about 20 seconds to “warm up” before facing the attempt.
The move paid off.
And once Bespalov did his job, back to the bench he went, allowing Salak to return to the game and close out what would end as a 3-0 shutout for Sibir.
You could consider Kvartalnov's Skabelka's decision a bit of a gift for Bespalov. The game fell on his 27th birthday, after all.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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