Slovan Bratislava 3 Jokerit Helsinki 2 (1-1, 0-0, 2-1)
Steve Moses got his first goal on his return to Jokerit, but Slovan took the victory in the final KHL game of 2017.
Moses, who set a KHL record with 36 goals in his first regular season with the Finns, rejoins the club after two seasons at SKA and an AHL stint in Rochester this season. The American made his second Jokerit debut in Thursday’s 4-1 win at Vityaz, and re-opened his account in the 53rd minute of this game to tie it up at 2-2. It was a characteristic sniper’s finish from Moses, who snaffled up the rebound from Matt Gilroy’s slap shot and beat Jakub Stepanek.
But he left on the losing team after Patrik Lamper potted his second goal in four games for Slovan two minutes later. After Andrej Stastny wrestled the puck out of the corner and laid on a feed from behind the net, the 24-year-old Czech found the top shelf. In Helsinki, he got Slovan’s game-winner in a 3-2 victory over Jokerit; for the second time this week, Lamper flattened the Finns.
Earlier, the teams traded first-period goals when Niklas Jensen put Jokerit ahead early on and Juraj Mikus tied it up just before the intermission. The middle frame was goalless, but Nick Ebert put Slovan in front for the first time early in the third. Ryan Garbutt got an assist on that tally, marking his third debut of the season after previously featuring for Sochi and Torpedo in his first KHL campaign.