All square in the East. March 4 playoffs
After two games in each of the four first-round series in the Eastern Conference, every pair is tied at 1-1. Today, Avangard cancelled out Sibir’s OT win with a 4-1 success. Then we had our first double overtime of the season in Yekaterinburg where Metallurg eventually edged a 3-2 verdict despite blowing a 2-0 lead in regulation. Both series continue on Monday with the action moving to Novosibirsk and Magnitogorsk.
Yakupov costs team the lead, then wins the game
Avangard Omsk 4 Sibir Novosibirsk 1 (1-0, 2-1, 1-0)
(Series tied at 1-1)
Avangard responded to Thursday’s overtime loss with a victory over Sibir to tie this series. After a cagey opening encounter, which saw the visitor produce a smash-and-grab to tie the game late before winning it in the extras, the Hawks were determined to put things right. And Mikhail Kravets’ team did just that, easing to a 4-1 victory before the teams travel to Novosibirsk for game three.
Forward Nail Yakupov turned out to be a key figure in proceedings. His needless second-period penalty saw Sibir tie the scores, but he responded by returning to the game to contribute a goal and an assist.
The early stages of the game were even. Sibir got a lift with two power plays in a row before the midpoint of the opening frame but could not make the most of Alex Broadhurst’s and Yakupov’s indiscretions.
However, once the game settled down to 5-on-5 hockey, Avangard began to exert more of a grip. It didn’t take long to turn that into an opening goal, with Nikita Mikhailov conjuring a wonderful no-look pass between his own legs for Ziyat Paigin to strike. That’s Paigin’s first ever playoff goal in his 24th post season appearance. Sibir’s hopes of responding before the intermission were hampered by a penalty on Evgeny Chesalin, but Avangard’s power play was unable to find the target despite a flurry of shots at Denis Kostin.
In the middle frame, Sibir started well and managed to tie the scores on a power play goal from Alexander Sharov. He converted the rebound from a Valentin Pyanov shot to finish off a well-worked move and punish Yakupov’s second foul of the game.
However, the enigmatic Avangard forward soon atoned for the unnecessary penalty that led to the tying goal. In the 33rd minute he restored his team’s advantage, getting away from Timur Akhiyarov and advancing on the net before outwitting Kostin with little space to work with. Then he turned provider with an assist as Sergei Tolchinsky made it 3-1.
In the final stanza, Avangard had few problems protecting the lead. Midway through the session, a defensive lapse at the other end saw the home team force a turnover and Vladimir Zharkov set up Pavel Dedunov to make it 4-1.
Kind bounce puts Metallurg level
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 2OT (0-1, 1-1, 1-0, 0-0, 0-1)
(Series tied at 1-1)
An absorbing battle went to a second period of overtime, only for an outrageous deflection to decide the outcome. Metallurg’s Yegor Yakovlev was the beneficiary, seeing his point shot bounce into the home net to level the series. Avtomobilist will be frustrated after recovering from 0-2 but failing to finish the job in the opening frame of the extras.
Yekaterinburg was the only Eastern Conference city to witness a home victory at the start of the playoffs. Thursday’s 4-2 success against Metallurg was just the start the Motormen wanted, and they began Saturday’s second instalment on the front foot, seeking to secure a 2-0 advantage to take to Magnitogorsk.
From the first minute, the home offense caused problems: Brooks Macek fired narrowly over the top of Eddie Pasquale’s net with the first meaningful chance of the game, and for the first six or seven minutes the play was all heading one way.
Gradually, though, Metallurg improved and midway through the session the visitor came close to edging in front. Denis Zernov’s shot was blocked, Nikita Korostelyov won his battle on the slot and only the timely intervention of a defenseman’s stick stopped the puck crossing the line.
However, a couple of minutes later, Korostelyov got his goal. Maxim Karpov emerged from behind the net and sent the puck back to Yegor Yakovlev at the point. The defenseman moved to the center in search of a better shooting lane and found the perfect angle. Korostelyov was on hand to redirect Yakovlev’s shot beyond Johan Mattsson and open the scoring.
There were no penalties in the first period, but after 14 seconds of the middle frame Andrei Chibisov and Denis Barantsev picked up roughing minors. That set something of a trend: Chibisov earned a second roughing call to give Avto the first power play of the game, but that also ended in scuffles between the home team’s Patrice Cormier and Georgy Belousov and the visitor’s Yegor Korobkin. On Metallurg’s brief power play, Mattsson produced a big save to deny Nikolai Goldobin a second goal.
However, midway through the session, Metallurg made it 2-0 when the powerful Mikhail Fisenko surged into the home zone and set up Brendan Leipsic. The Canadian found the far corner, and the Steelmen could start pondering the prospect of heading home with the series tied.
Not surprisingly, Avtomobilist had other ideas. The home team rallied after that goal. The prolific Macek got his goal in the 33rd minute, finishing off a precise feed from Sergei Shirokov and making it a one-goal game once more. Then Danil Romantsev’s shot, screened by a visiting defenseman, had Pasquale struggling to keep his goal intact as the Motormen pushed for an equalizer.
In the final frame, the home team pushed hard for that goal. Metallurg did not always help its own cause, giving up two power plays one after the other at start of the session and handing Avto the initiative. However, despite all the pressure there were few serious scares for Pasquale as the visitor defended stoutly and largely kept the puck to the outside. That might have contributed to the rising frustration that saw Alexei Vasilevsky risk a major penalty when he delivered a high hit on Goldobin. The officials reviewed the play before deciding a minor would suffice. Avto killed the penalty, but lost two minutes of valuable time to get itself back in the game.
There was still time, though. Stephane Da Costa put a good chance narrowly wide, and with more than three minutes left Avtomobilist withdrew Mattsson in favor of a sixth skater. That gamble paid off, with Macek tying the scores when he fired in a trademark shot from the left-hand circle while playing 6-on-5 hockey.
Rattled, Metallurg took a penalty when Grigory Dronov was called for holding with 63 seconds to play in regulation. The visitor managed to survive that anxious finale, but Avtomobilist continued to have the better of the game through a first, goalless period of overtime. After 16 minutes of the extras, the home team led the shot count 10-1, but Magnitka began to show signs of life towards the end of the session.
And the visitor got the break it needed early in the second OT. Yakovlev thumped in another trademark point shot and this one took a deflection off the luckless Georgy Belousov in front of the Avtomobilist net, beating Mattsson and squaring the series.
