SKA wraps up series sweep. March 22 playoffs
Despite trailing 1-3 midway through the third period, SKA found a way to win the game and the series. Four goals in the last 10 minutes turned the game around to wrap up the first series sweep of this year’s playoffs. Victory here puts the regular season champion through to its eighth successive Western Conference final.
Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 SKA St Petersburg 5 (2-1, 0-0, 1-4)
(SKA wins the series 4-0)
With its season on the line, Torpedo made a fast start. Early pressure drew the first penalty of the game in the first minute, with Andrei Pedan taking a high sticking minor. Sergei Goncharuk quickly converted that power play, and the same player doubled the lead in the fifth minute with a fantastic shot as he sped down the right-hand channel.
That prompted an immediate response from SKA, with starting goalie Dmitry Nikolayev making way for Vladislav Podyapolsky. And gradually the visitor forced its way into the game, with Damir Zhafyarov offering the first big test for Ivan Kulbakov in the home net.
Kulbakov found himself with plenty to do as the visitor looked to get back into the game, and he was beaten at last towards the end of the opening frame. SKA held the puck in the Torpedo zone, and a pass along the blue line set up Roman Rukavishnikov for a point shot that flashed over the goalie’s pad.
In the second period, SKA had more of the play but Torpedo created the better chances. Podyapolsky came up big in the 32nd minute, recovering his position at the last moment to make a full-stretch save from Vladislav Firstov when a third goal seemed inevitable. Then the piping frustrated the home team as Maxim Letunov’s redirect sent Mark Marin’s shot flying into the crossbar. Late in the frame, Zhafyarov again came close to scoring on his former club but Kulbakov shut the door on his attempted backhand after a solo rush.
Early in the third period a Torpedo power play gave the home team the chance to extend its lead. SKA killed Igor Ozhiganov’s penalty, but the momentum carried Torpedo to a third goal, scored by young Vasily Atanasov after he forced his way between two defenseman and beat Podyapolsky from close range.
At that point, it looked as if Igor Larionov’s men had prolonged the series. However, SKA had other ideas. Almost immediately, we got a taste of what was coming when Marat Khusnutdinov retrieved the puck from behind the net to set up Mikhail Vorobyov. His shot seemed destined for the top corner, but Kulbakov pulled off a spectacular save to claw it out of the air.
Ultimately, though, Kulbakov’s resistance was not enough. Midway through the frame, the visitor forced a turnover and released Emil Galimov down the left. He was looking to set up Nikolai Prokhorkin at the back door, but a deflection off a Torpedo skate sent the puck into the net and opened a way back into the game.
A couple of minutes later, the scores were level. SKA won a puck battle on the right-hand boards and Khusnutdinov fed Nikita Gusev, centrally placed, for a powerful shot that beat Kulbakov. Now the momentum was clearly with the visitor, which could see a way to wrap up the series in the remaining minutes of play.
Torpedo could do little to stem the tide, offering almost nothing on offense as SKA rolled forward. With three minutes left, Ozhiganov potted the go-ahead goal when he converted the rebound from a Marat Khairullin shot. Then, to wrap up the series in style, Khairullin fired an unstoppable one-timer past the frustrated Kulbakov. SKA’s dominance in the closing stages was such that Torpedo was unable even to call the goalie to the bench for a last desperate attempt at salvation. SKA returns to Petersburg to rest and await the winner of the CSKA vs Lokomotiv series.
