Cup final fever — the KHL week in review
All three of the KHL’s competitions are in the final stages – and we could know all three of this season’s champions within the next 24 hours. Metallurg can clinch the Gagarin Cup with victory at home to CSKA tomorrow, and KRS Vanke Rays can wrap up its Women’s Hockey League battle with SKIF at the same time. And today, SKA-1946 hosts Krasnaya Armiya needing one more win to lift the Kharlamov Cup.
Magnitka closing on third Gagarin Cup
The 2022 Gagarin Cup final is underway, and after four games Metallurg has a 3-1 lead over CSKA. The Muscovites took the opening game in Magnitogorsk, but then Ilya Vorobyov’s men took charge. Game two produced a roller-coaster 6-4 win for Magnitka and in Moscow Vasily Koshechkin had two shut-outs to put his team in charge of the series. Metallurg can wrap it up on home ice tomorrow; if the Steelmen finish the job, they will become only the second club to win three Gagarin Cups, following Ak Bars.
Metallurg one game from glory. April 24 playoffs
Metallurg sets goal record
Metallurg is still one win away from taking the Gagarin Cup to Magnitogorsk for the third time, but the Steelmen have already engraved their names in the record books this season. So far, Magnitka has 76 goals in the 2022 playoffs, a KHL record.
Yakovlev makes his mark
When Yegor Yakovlev assisted Artyom Zemchyonok’s winner in game four on Sunday, he moved to 15 (2+13) points in this year’s playoffs. That’s the best ever return for a Russian defenseman in KHL post season action. However, Yakovlev still has some way to go to catch Chris Lee – the former Metallurg blue liner put up 21 (1+20) points in 2017.
Back-to-back shut-outs for Koshechkin
Metallurg’s two games in Moscow saw the Urals team blank CSKA twice. Thus, Vasily Koshechkin becomes the third goalie to deliver two shut-outs in a Gagarin Cup final series. Previously, CSKA’s Ilya Sorokin did it in 2019, then Simon Hrubec repeated the feat with Avangard last season. Tellingly, both went on to lift the cup. However, Koshechkin’s achievement has one added bonus: unlike his two predecessors, the Metallurg veteran achieved both his shut-outs on the road.
Loko signs up long-serving forward
Yegor Averin agreed a one-year contract extension with Lokomotiv and is preparing for his 11th year with the team. The 32-year-old forward has been a permanent fixture on the roster since the club returned to the KHL after missing the 2011-2012 season and is a franchise leader in games (572), goals (111) and points (237).
Vanke Rays close to WHL title
In the Women’s Hockey League final, KRS Vanke Rays are just one step away from winning their second title in three seasons. The Chinese franchise had back-to-back wins over SKIF on the road in Nizhny Novgorod. The first game finished 3-1 in the visitor’s favor, with SKIF struggling to make an impression on Noora Raty in the Rays’ net. Game two was very different, with the regular season champion leading twice before falling to a goal from the playoffs’ top scorer Michela Cava on 58:00.
Late show puts Vanke Rays on top
SKA-1946 has the edge in JHL final
The battle for the Kharlamov Trophy, the big prize in the Junior Hockey League, is also well underway. The final series pits Moscow’s Krasnaya Armiya against Petersburg’s SKA-1946 – and the team from the north is up 3-2 after five games. It could all be settled when the teams meet once again in St. Petersburg today, but Krasnaya Armiya has already earned itself one reprieve: four goals in the first 12 minutes, and 52 saves from Kirill Samsonov, helped the Muscovites to a 6-2 victory. The line-up for that game featured defenseman Vladimir Grudinin, who has also played for CSKA in this year’s Gagarin Cup final.
