Avto moves to 2-0, three series deadlocked. March 2 playoffs
Day three of the playoffs saw Salavat Yulaev, Lokomotiv and Severstal hit back to tie their series against Traktor, CSKA and Spartak respectively. Avtomobilist went 2-0 up on Ak Bars before that pairing continues in Yekaterinburg on Monday. The final match-up in the West got underway, with Dynamo Moscow scoring three late goals to sink Dinamo Minsk.
Leivo scores twice as Ufa hits back
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 4 Traktor Chelyabinsk 1 (1-1, 2-0, 1-0)
Series tied at 1-1
After Traktor sprang an unpleasant surprise for Salavat Yulaev in the series opener, the East’s third seed hit back to tie the series in some style. Head coach Viktor Kozlov reshuffled his lines, and scratched the experienced Nikolai Kulemin to make room for Daniil Ogirchuk. Traktor opted not to change a winning team.
Initially, Salavat Yulaev again looked somewhat out of sorts. Traktor had better movement and greater commitment to the physical game. The visitor thought it had the lead early on when Vitaly Kravtsov’s shot deflected into the net, but that effort was called back after a bench challenge for offside.
Success on the TV screen led to success on the ice for the home team. Captain Grigory Panin led from the front with a big hit on the boards that created the opportunity for Alexander Chmelevski to go forward and open the scoring. Salavat Yulaev continued to press, but when defenseman Alexei Vasilevsky’s attempted slapshot ended with a broken stick, Traktor stole the puck away for Kravtsov to claim a legitimate goal on the counter.
In the second period there was an unexpected pause after the media cube – and with it the game clock – stopped working. Once a fix was found, the game resumed and the break seemed to help the host. After getting its first power play of the game, Salavat regained the lead thanks to Josh Leivo’s 28th-minute goal. The Canadian struck again late in the frame, putting away the rebound after Zach Fucale’s initial glove save.
That two-goal lead, underlined by a 32-16 advantage in shots on goal, suggested that Traktor had a long way to travel if it was to save the game. However, Ufa did not sit back. Although there was no further scoring until a last-minute empty-netter for Danil Bashkirov, Salavat Yulaev continued to press. Traktor did not always respond well to this pressure, and the final stanza produced more than 100 penalty minutes. Most of them stemmed from a clash midway through the session between Albert Yarullin and Danil Alalykin. That escalated quickly, and visiting forward Charles Robinson proved to be the most active pugilist. He collected 50 minutes (two majors, two ejections) all by himself as eight players in total went to the overcrowded boxes.
That battle had little impact on the final score and the teams move on to Chelyabinsk for game three with the series level.
Motormen grab second road win
Ak Bars Kazan 0 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 (0-0, 0-2, 0-2)
Avtomobilist leads the series 2-0
Defeat in the opening game of this series meant that Ak Bars needed urgent improvement in the second meeting. For much of the first period, it seemed that Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s team had learned from Thursday’s failings. However, a game-changing penalty just before the first intermission handed the initiative decisively to Avtomobilist.
The home team welcomed back forward Dmitrij Jaskin. The Czech hadn’t played since picking up an injury on Nov. 30, ironically in a game against Avtomobilist. He resumed his partnership with Vadim Shipachyov and Dmitry Kagarlitsky on the second line.
With that extra attacking threat, Ak Bars enjoyed much the better of the first period. In terms of shots and possession, Avtomobilist was clearly second best. However, Evgeny Alikin did his job between the pipes and the opening frame was drifting towards a goalless conclusion when the game roared into life.
It started with Alexander Radulov launching himself into a hit on Alexander Vorobyov. That brought an angry response from Maxim Osipov, then a more considered verdict from the officials: after a video review, Radulov was cited for a check to the head and left the game with his team having to kill a major penalty. Dmitry Yudin soon followed him to the box, picking up a cross-checking minor during a battle on the slot and reducing Ak Bars to three skaters.
After that dramatic end to the first period, last year’s beaten Gagarin Cup finalist fell behind at the start of the second. Thirty seconds after the restart, Jesse Blacker converted the five-on-three power play with a one-timer off Curtis Valk’s feed. That returned Yudin to the game, but Radulov’s major continued. Two minutes later, a second power play goal saw Sergei Shirokov tuck away the rebound after a Brooks Macek effort was parried by Timur Bilyalov. Valk collected another helper on the play, while Shirokov added to his assist on Blacker’s opener.
Once back to full strength, Ak Bars again enjoyed a greater share of possession. However, the visiting defense was determined not to relinquish its lead. Avto blocked nine shots in the middle frame, allowing just three efforts to get through to Evgeny Alikin. Nikita Lyamkin had the most dangerous of them, but could not beat the Motormen’s goalie.
At the start of the third period, Avtomobilist scored two quick goals to take the game away. The visitor forced a turnover in Ak Bars territory and Shirokov combined with Valk to set up Macek to make it 3-0. Ninety seconds later it was four. Anatoly Golyshev raced onto an Alexei Makeyev pass and got clear of the home defense before chasing Bilyalov from the game in the 45th minute.
Incoming goalie Amir Miftakhov immediately had to make a good save to deny Valk before, midway through the third, Ak Bars came close to scoring when Maxim Bykov beat Alikin but not the post.
It all added up to a convincing Avtomobilist win, and Nikolai Zavarkhin’s team returns home with a commanding two game advantage in the series.
Advantage Moscow as Dynamic derby gets underway
Dynamo Moscow 4 Dinamo Minsk 1 (1-1, 0-0, 3-0)
Dynamo Moscow leads the series 1-0
This series started two days later than planned due to prior commitments in Minsk that would have disrupted games three and four had they taken place as planned. Regular season champ Dynamo Moscow then faced something of a delay in taking this game away from eighth seed Dinamo Minsk. However, a third period flourish ensured that the final score followed the seeding.
There was no delay in opening the scoring here. Just 87 seconds into the game, Dynamo took the lead through Eric O’Dell. Inspired, the home team looked to dictate the rest of the first period. However, for all its possession and scoring chances, the Muscovites could not build on that rapid opener. O’Dell was denied a second goal when a video review ruled that out due to a high stick. The pause allowed Minsk to regain some composure and, within a minute, the scores were level. Vadim Moroz fired in a shot from a tight angle, the puck hit Maxim Motorygin’s mask and trickled along the line. While the goalie tried to recover, Moroz skated around the net to tap it into the net.
In the second period, Moroz joined O’Dell on one goal scored and one disallowed: after he steered the puck into the net with his hand, the officials did not even require a video review to rule it out. The home team failed to capitalize on three power play chances, and almost paid the price in the final seconds of the session when Alexander Volkov touched Rob Hamilton’s shot against the post with Motorygin beaten.
Dynamo finally got to grips with the game in the third period. Minsk did more than merely hold on until the midway stage, but two quick goals settled the outcome. First, Dmitry Rashevsky finished off a prolonged spell of pressure on Alexei Kolosov’s net, then Artyom Ilyenko gave the home team some vital breathing space. Late on, Dmitry Kvartalnov called Kolosov to the bench as his team chased the game, but Rashevsky put his second of the night into an empty net to wrap up a home win at the start of this series.
Railwaymen bounce back
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 CSKA Moscow 1 (0-1, 2-0, 0-0)
Series tied at 1-1
Lokomotiv bounced back after a heavy loss in the opening game of this series. Despite trailing in the first period, Igor Nikitin’s team rallied to get ahead in the second. A 2-1 scoreline for the Railwaymen sends the action to Moscow with nothing between these teams.
Nikitin was rewarded for his faith in his players. Despite that 0-4 defeat on Thursday, he kept faith with same team and merely switched up some of his combinations. CSKA, unsurprisingly, saw no reason to change the line-up that began so impressively two days earlier.
If the home crowd expected their heroes to gallop forward from the opening face-off, they were disappointed. Georgy Ivanov took a penalty almost immediately and it took some great play from goalie Daniil Isayev to deny CSKA an early goal. Gradually, Loko began to pose questions for Ivan Fedotov and the visiting goalie did well to deny Maxim Beryozkin and Dmitry Simashev, while Daniil But spurned a good opportunity after Ivan Chekhovich opened up the visiting defense.
CSKA relied on the superpower we’ve seen it use so often this season: soak up pressure, and get goals from limited chances. In the 13th minute, Darren Dietz got clear of the home defense and fired a shot past Isayev to give the visitor the lead. Loko continued to press, but also continued to miss chances and it remained 0-1 until the intermission.
Early in the second period, Alexander Yelesin got into his second skirmish of the game, and this time he took a fighting major alongside Maxim Mamin. While the home defenseman won that bout, his colleagues continued to struggle in front of goal. CSKA diligently blocked shots, while Fedotov was inspired in goal. However, the pressure eventually proved too much: in the final minutes of the second period Lokomotiv turned the scoreline upside down. First, Yelesin demonstrated he could do more than fight when he beat Fedotov for the first time in this series with a long-range effort. Then, 23 seconds before the second intermission, Denis Alexeyev put the home team ahead when he redirected a Stepan Nikulin shot.
It said much for the balance of play that CSKA had just three shots in the second period, and only 11 through 40 minutes. In the third, needing to chase the game, the Muscovites had to push Lokomotiv back. Although the home team continued to press, it found the defending champion was controlling more of the puck.
Forced into a counterattacking game, Lokomotiv focused on eliminating mistakes and making the most of such chances as it could fashion. Midway through the frame, Beryozkin fired narrowly wide then Maxim Shalunov hit the post on the same shift. Late in the game, CSKA attempted to storm the home net, but Loko held on to claim the win and tie the series ahead of next week’s trip to Moscow.
Steelmen close down Spartak’s offense
Spartak Moscow 1 Severstal Cherepovets 2 (0-1, 1-1, 0-0)
Series tied at 1-1
Severstal cancelled out its opening-game loss in Moscow with a hard-fought victory over Spartak to tie the series. Goals from Kirill Pilipenko and Christian Jaros eclipsed Nikolai Goldobin’s first post-season tally to give the Steelmen a boost before the series moves to Cherepovets on Monday.
The visitor could not have wished for a better start. With just 13 seconds played, leading scorer Pilipenko opened the scoring. After compiling 62 (32+30) points in the regular season, Pilipenko has now found the net in both of his playoff appearances to date. Today’s goal was an emphatic one-timer from the top of the left-hand circle after Danil Aimurzin dished the puck off the boards.
Given the prolific scoring from both teams in the regular season, that fast start might have been the trigger for an avalanche of goals. Instead, though, both offenses were oddly circumspect in the remainder of the first period. Spartak, not surprisingly, tried to pick up the pace and substantially outshot its visitor. However, the home team still only forced nine saves from Alexander Samoilov in the first period.
At the start of the second, Spartak did get its tying goal. Goldobin, who shattered club records through the regular season, got his first marker of post season after two assists in the series opener. Not for the first time, it came from an Ivan Morozov helper and finished with a devastating wrist shot from the left-hand channel.
That set up a dominant Spartak display in the second period. The home team held Severstal to just two shots on goal but could not turn its pressure into a lead. Captain Dmitry Vishnevsky came close when he cut out Alexander Skorenov’s attempted pass and advanced to fire a shot against the Severstal crossbar, then Pavel Poryadin forced a big save out of Samoilov in the 34th minute.
If Spartak proved wasteful, Severstal showed impressive efficiency in front of goal. In the final minute of the period, the visitor’s second shot of the frame brought its second goal of the night. David Dumbadze got the puck to Jaros at the top of the circle and the Slovak defenseman powered home a shot.
The third period saw Severstal clamp down on defense. Despite a major penalty for Pilipenko early in the frame, Spartak found it hard to generate big chances. Vishnevsky again dinged the piping, and Poryadin tested Samoilov for a second time. However, the home surge was limited to just eight shots on target as disciplined defense largely limited the Red-and-Whites to the perimeter. Late on, Dmitry Nikolayev denied Skorenov a power play goal that would have sealed the deal for the visitor, but Spartak ran out of time to save the game.
