RIGA — An injury depleted Dinamo Riga could not do enough to upset KHL front-runners Dinamo Moscow going down 4-2 in Riga on Wednesday evening.

Going on their recent form, upstaging the high-flying Dinamo Moscow was always going to be a tough ask for the home side, made all the more difficult when six of their front line players were ruled out of the game with injury, including captain Sandis Ozoliņš and two of their best performers of late, Kristjanis Redlihs and Adrian Foster.

Dinamo Moscow started the game with a flurry of attacking plays giving their large contingent of traveling fans plenty to chant about. However, Martin Prussek was looking sharp in goal and Dinamo Riga were not to end the period without some chances of their own, the best coming in the final minute when Olegs Sorokins could not put the finishing touches on a fine Dinamo Riga attacking play.

Dinamo Riga found themselves with their backs up against the wall in the second period, playing almost the entire first ten minutes of the second period with four or less skaters on the ice as they found themselves at the wrath of the referee.

Dinamo Moscow pounced, scoring three goals in a six minute period through Andrej Plenhanov, Karel Rahunek and Matthias Veinhandl. Following the tirade, Dinamo Riga coach Juliuss Šuplers called a time-out switching up goalie Prussek for Edgars Masalskis. This helped settle things for the remainder of the period but the damage had already been inflicted.

In the final period Dinamo Riga were to get some of their own back. Starting the period with a man up on the ice, they were quick to strike, scoring in just the 57th second through Marcel Hossa, working with the finest of angles.

When Andris Darzins scored ten minutes later, the crowd began to sense a Dinamo Riga comeback. However, any hopes of this were dashed when Veinhandl added his second just two minutes later.

Dinamo Riga put up a strong fight for the rest of the game but try as they might they could not break down the solid Dinamo Moscow defense.

Dinamo Riga now head to Moscow to take on CSKA on Wednesday before returning home to play SKA St. Petersburg on Friday.