SKA gets the job done. March 11 playoffs
Saturday’s solitary Western Conference playoff encounter was in Minsk, where SKA’s 4-2 victory wrapped up a high-scoring series in six games.
Dinamo Minsk 2 SKA St. Petersburg 4 (1-2, 1-1, 0-1)
(SKA wins the series 4-2)
Regular season champion SKA completed its first-round playoff series, overcoming Dinamo Minsk in six games. Throughout the contest, though, the Bison put up a brave fight and regularly gave the Petersburg team plenty to think about. Saturday’s game brought six more goals, taking the combined tally to 42 in six games as both teams showed some attacking prowess interspersed with wayward defending.
This game got off to a dramatic start. Dinamo’s Mark Barberio took a cross-checking penalty after 27 seconds, but SKA’s first power play did not go according to plan. Home forward Vladimir Alistrov converted a two-on-one rush to claim a shorthanded goal that delighted an enthusiastic home crowd. However, the lead was shortlived. Even before Barberio left the box, SKA tied it up when Vasily Glotov won the puck in the right hand corner, advanced along the goal line and lifted a shot to the top shelf.
Dinamo then had another chance to assert itself when Alexander Nikishin was cited a double minor for high sticking. However, the home power play was less striking than its penalty kill, and four minutes brought no change in the scoreline. Once back to full strength, SKA moved ahead in the ninth minute when Marat Khairullin’s beautifully timed feed to the back door presented Mikhail Vorobyov with an open net. He made no mistake, and the visitor led 2-1 at the intermission.
In the second stanza, SKA’s power play again went awry. Midway through the session, Andrei Pedan clumsily gave up possession in his own zone and Igor Martynov set up Sergei Sapego to make it 2-1. However, SKA again had a quick response. Pedan atoned for his error by restoring the visitor’s lead with a mighty shot from the blue line.
This time, the lead would not be challenged. Dinamo continued to battle in search of a way back into the game, but struggled to get shots on goal in the third period. Dmitry Nikolayev had just four saves to make in SKA’s net, while the visitor tested Alexei Kolosov on 17 occasions. However, the only goal came after Kolosov went to the bench in the final moments. Khairullin found the empty net to make it 4-2 in both the game and the series, sending SKA through to join Lokomotiv in the next round.
