On Wednesday, the 21^st the 8th of March, the eight remaining teams in the knockout stage of the KHL Championship, the Gagarin Cup playoffs, begin competing for a place in the Conference finals. The format is the traditional best-of-seven contest, with the higher-placed team in the Conference standings enjoying home advantage in Game 1, 2, and if necessary, Game 5 and 7. The team with the lower ranking is at home in Game 3, 4, and if necessary, Game 6.

The semi-final pairings (team’s final Conference standing in brackets) and dates are as follows:

Western Conference semi-finals:

CSKA (1) – Lokomotiv (4)

Game 1: Wednesday, March 8 – CSKA vs Lokomotiv – 17:00
Game 2: Friday, March 10 – CSKA vs Lokomotiv – 19:30
Game 3: Sunday, March 12 – Lokomotiv vs CSKA – 17:00
Game 4: Tuesday, March 14 – Lokomotiv vs CSKA – 19:00
*Game 5: Thursday, March 16 – CSKA vs Lokomotiv – 19:30
*Game 6: Saturday, March 18 – Lokomotiv vs CSKA – 17:00
*Game 7: Monday, March 20 – CSKA vs Lokomotiv – 19:30

* If necessary
All times are Moscow time (GMT+3)

SKA (2) – Dynamo Moscow (3)

Eastern Conference semi-finals:

Metallurg Magnitogorsk (1) – Barys (5)

Avangard (2) – Ak Bars (3)