Players of the Quarters: Koskinen, Alexandrov, Tkachyov and Okulov
To mark the end of the first round of the Gagarin Cup play-offs – the Conference quarter-finals – the Kontinental Hockey League has named the best players of the round in four categories.
– Best goaltender was Mikko Koskinen (SKA), who shut out Lokomotiv in three out of five games, finishing the series with a save percentage of 96.86 and a goals against average of 0.95;
– Best defenseman was Yury Alexandrov (Avangard), with 3 points (2+1) from his 4 appearances against Neftekhimik. Alexandrov did not receive a single minus, earning a +3 for the series;
– Best forward was Vladimir Tkachyov (Ak Bars). Despite being on the losing side, Tkachyov was by far the most lethal forward of the round, scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists in the epic seven-game series with Salavat Yulaev. In the three games the Kazan men won, he contributed all three game-winners and a hat-trick;
– Best rookie was 21-year-old Sibir forward Konstantin Okulov, who after 5 outings against Admiral finished the series with 4 points (2+2), a +5, 8 blocked shots and an average ice time of 11 minutes 5 seconds.
