Kuzmenko’s double puts SKA in control. March 4 playoffs
There was no repeat of Nikita Gusev’s free-scoring show, but SKA once again proved too strong for Dinamo Minsk. This time, though, the visitor hung around until the last few minutes before falling to a second successive defeat.
SKA St. Petersburg 3 Dinamo Minsk 1 (0-0, 1-0, 2-1)
(SKA leads the series 2-0)
Game two of this series proved very different from the free-scoring opener. On Wednesday, SKA powered to an 8-3 victory with Nikita Gusev producing a record 6 (1+5) points. Dinamo, though, could point to the fact that it won the first and third periods (and would try to forget the 0-7 collapse in the second) and returned to the ice in Petersburg determined to tighten up its defensive game.
In the first period, that plan worked well enough. SKA was limited to just five shots on goal, and Patrik Rybar stopped all of them. True, there was little danger for Lars Johansson at the other end, but getting to the intermission with the game deadlocked was an encouraging sign for Dinamo.
In the second session, SKA was unable to let rip as it had in the opening game of the series. The home team started to generate more opportunities and the quality of its passing game was notably better. Once again, though, Dinamo’s dogged defense blocked the way to the net until midway through the session. Then came Andrei Kuzmenko. He received Mikko Lehtonen’s pass at the foot of the left-hand circle, spun away from Dmitry Korobov and got to the net to beat Rybar through the five hole.
Dinamo’s defensive resilience was put to the test once again at the start of the third period when a flurry of penalties left the Bison shorthanded for almost a full four minutes and playing 3-on-5 for two of those. The Belarusians withstood another onslaught to stay in the game, with a slap shot from Anton Burdasov producing the greatest danger as it flashed narrowly wide of the target.
SKA was always in control of the game, but with the score at 1-0 there was a danger that Minsk could spring a surprise. It wasn’t until the final moments that the home team finally put the result out of reach. In the 58th minute, Kuzmenko grabbed his second of the game after an exchange of passes with Burdasov. Then, 36 seconds later, Mat Robinson added a third with an emphatic point shot. That wasn’t quite all: Denis Mosalyov got a last-minute consolation goal for Dinamo, robbing Johansson of his shut-out with 34 seconds left to play. However, it was too late to change the outcome and, like last season’s series between these teams, SKA heads to Minsk with a 2-0 lead.
