Defending champion strikes first in Conference final. April 2 playoffs
After two blank periods of overtime, CSKA finally forged ahead in the Western Conference final thanks to a Nikita Nesterov goal.
SKA St. Petersburg 2 CSKA Moscow 3 3OT (0-1, 2-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1)
(CSKA leads the series 1-0)
This year’s Western Conference final brings us a familiar battle between SKA and CSKA. Since their first meeting at this stage in the 2014-2015 campaign, these old foes have met in every subsequent playoff except for 2017 (the 2020 playoffs saw both clubs advance through the first round before the tournament was abandoned due to the pandemic).
Familiarity perhaps explains why there was little to choose between the two teams in this game. Indeed, it took more than 100 minutes of play to find a winner in the opening game. The teams tied 2-2 in regulation, with CSKA levelling the scores late in the third period. Then came two goalless periods of overtime before the defending champion finally grabbed the winning goal.
It came from Nikita Nesterov, the Muscovites’ experienced defenseman. He smashed home a one-timer off Mikhail Grigorenko’s feed to the blue line at the start of the third extra period, stopping the clock at 102:24. Thus, CSKA took an early lead in the series, which continues in Petersburg on Tuesday.
CSKA, currently on a remarkable run of four consecutive seven-game playoff series that started at this stage 12 months ago, made the better start to the game. The Muscovites shrugged off any fatigue from their battle with Lokomotiv to tear into SKA from the opening face-off. The home team, by contrast, last played on March 22 and seemed short of game readiness in those early exchanges. As a result, CSKA opened the scoring after just 64 seconds. Darren Dietz set up Grigorenko in the right-hand channel, he moved inside and feinted to shoot before spraying the puck out for Maxim Mamin to score from close range.
It took the home team some time to recover from that early shock. However, by the midway point of the first period, SKA began to test the visiting defense. Dmitrij Jaskin hit the post and gradually Adam Reideborn found himself with more work to do. At the same time, CSKA continued to pose a threat on the counter and the opening frame ended with the game finely-balanced despite the visitor’s slender lead.
That lead was turned upside down early in the second session. In the 24th minute SKA forced a turnover and Nikita Komarov quickly released the pacey Svyatoslav Grebenshchikov into the danger zone. The forward’s finish may not quite have been what he intended, but it proved sufficient to deceive Reideborn and slip through the goalie’s pads. Within three minutes, the Swede was beaten again as SKA took the lead. Nikita Gusev fed the puck to the left point, where Alexander Nikishin’s thunderous slapshot was too good for the netminder. Grebenshchikov was close to adding a third when his pace again took him clear of the defense, but this time his backhand shot was met by a save from Reideborn.
In the third, CSKA enjoyed plenty of puck possession. However, for long periods the SKA defense held firm. But with barely two minutes left on the clock, the defending champion found a tying goal. Prior to a face-off in the SKA zone, Reideborn left the ice to be replaced by a sixth skater. And it took just nine seconds to make the extra man count. CSKA regained possession on the forecheck, got the puck back to Nesterov on the point and his shot was delicately tipped past Dmitry Nikolayev by Vladislav Kamenev in front of the net. For the second day in a row, we had a 2-2 tie and overtime beckoned.
However, while Saturday’s game was settled in a matter of minutes, this one took rather longer. The first period of OT brought the day’s first penalties – Komarov and Dietz both took double minors for roughing in the 70th minute – but no goals. There would be plenty more hockey played before Nesterov finally settled the outcome.
