West: Jokerit advances with an assured win. March 11 playoffs
Jokerit closed down the Lokomotiv offense to gain a 5-1 victory in Yaroslavl and wrap up its series in game six. The Finns now face a Conference semi-final series against SKA next week.
Cutting counterattacks send Helsinki through
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 1 Jokerit Helsinki 5 (1-2, 0-0, 0-3)
Jokerit wins the series 4-2
Jokerit showed great character in shrugging off back-to-back defeats as it brought this series to a conclusion with a game to spare. After seeing a commanding 3-0 advantage cut to an anxious 3-2 lead, the Finns went back to basics and delivered a devastating display of counterattacking hockey that blunted the home attack and repeatedly sliced through its rearguard. And the team’s leading post-season scorer, Niklas Jensen, moved on to 7 (3+4) points for a share of second place in the overall playoff scoring.
Photo: 11.03.20. KHL Championship 2019-2020. Playoffs. Lokomotiv (Yaroslavl) - Jokerit (Helsinki)
Coming into this game, the momentum was very much with the home team. After losing the first three games in the series, Lokomotiv had rallied to win on home ice then take the next encounter in Helsinki. Three goals without reply in the Finnish capital turned around game five to prolong the series and get Mike Pelino’s men thinking about becoming only the second team in KHL history to overcome a 0-3 deficit in a playoff series.
Jokerit, therefore, needed a fast start to put some doubt into Yaroslavl minds – and Henrik Haapala obliged after just 87 seconds. It was a counterattack play of classic simplicity. Viktor Loov intercepted the puck in his own zone and advanced down the ice. Two passes – Loov to Lepisto, Lepisto to Haapala – and the puck was in the home team’s net.
True, Lokomotiv managed an almost instant response. Stephane Da Costa, the team’s game winner in Finland, tied the scores on a power play within a couple of minutes of Haapala’s effort. But Lokomotiv was already coming off the rails. Although the host had more time on the attack – helped by a couple of other power plays in the opening stanza – it struggled to get shots on Janis Kalnins. Jokerit was more included to test Ilya Konovalov, and also did better at carving out dangerous opportunities on the counter.
And that’s exactly how the second goal arrived late in the first period. Another odd-man rush saw Veli-Matti Savinainen left with the freedom of Yaroslavl as he converted Brian O’Neill’s feed to make it 2-1.
The middle stanza produced no goals and, in all honesty, little evidence of Lokomotiv getting back into the game. The stats strongly favored Jokerit and even when Loko got another power play, the clearest chance fell to the visitor when Antti Pihlstrom had a solo rush that was snuffed out by Konovalov.
The third began with Lokomotiv trying to force the pace but finished up with Jokerit again finding the knock-out punches on the counter. The home team dealt with a penalty early in the session and was steadily laying the foundations for a big push on the Finnish net when, not for the first time, Jokerit leapt out of its zone and went for the jugular midway through the frame. The Lokomotiv defense survived the first wave of offense but Marko Anttila gathered the puck and returned it to the slot where Pihlstrom made it 3-1.
From that point on, Jokerit clearly had one skate safely in the next round. Lokomotiv looked increasingly weary and, when Maxim Osipov turned into trouble on the edge of his own zone, Jensen was on hand to take away the loose puck and beat a visibly frustrated Konovalov. The Danish forward celebrated his third goal and seventh point of the playoffs. That return puts him joint second in post season scoring, tied with Vadim Shipachyov and Sergei Shumakov but still some way behind Salavat Yulaev’s Linus Omark.
The final word went to another Dane, Oliver Lauridsen, who put the fifth goal into the empty net to secure Jokerit’s progress in emphatic style.
Now the Finns can prepare for a second-round playoff series for the third time in six seasons since joining the KHL. And Jokerit can do so with at least one cause for optimism: its two previous journeys to this stage saw it lose out against CSKA; this time, Lauri Marjamaki’s team can look forward to a first ever post season meeting with Baltic neighbor SKA. The other Western Conference semi-final will be a Moscow derby, with CSKA awaiting the winner of the on-going Dynamo vs Spartak series.
