Late turnaround in Moscow, Golyshev hat-trick in Yekaterinburg. March 4 playoffs
Anatoly Golyshev scored the first hat-trick of this year’s playoffs and helped Avtomobilist open a 3-0 series lead over Ak Bars. Dynamo Moscow is also unbeaten after two late goals turned its second game with Dinamo Minsk upside down. Spartak’s offense was back on song at Severstal, winning 7-3, while Traktor moved ahead of Salavat Yulaev with a 3-2 verdict. CSKA recovered from 0-2 to force overtime against Lokomotiv, only to fall in the extras.
Traktor holds on to claim series lead
Traktor Chelyabinsk 3 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (3-1, 0-1, 0-0)
Traktor leads the series 2-1
Traktor regained the lead in its series against Salavat Yulaev after winning the first game between the teams in Chelyabinsk. After splitting the first two games in Ufa, the home team found that demand for tickets greatly outstripped supply, to the point that it arranged a screening of today’s game in a local cinema to accommodate some of those unable to come to the arena.
They saw their favorites make a great start, taking the lead on the first shift. Anton Burdasov got behind Alexander Samonov’s net and his pass picked out defenseman Sergei Telegin as he joined the attack. Telegin’s backhand shot was too good for the visiting goalie and opened the scoring.
Losing an early goal did not seem to hit Salavat Yulaev too hard. The visitor looked to push forward, although from time to time its efforts to create traffic in front of the home net proved insufficient. Once Ufa got a power play, though, Alexander Chmelevski solved that problem to tie the game with a redirect on Ivan Drozdov’s shot. Traktor responded with two more goals in the first period. An error from visiting D-man Pavel Koledov led to Semyon Der-Arguchintsev restoring the lead, then a counterattack saw Vladimir Tkachyov make it 3-1.
After the intermission, Salavat Yulaev stepped up its game and began to dominate the play. Six minutes into the session, we saw a reprise of the fight that grabbed the headlines during the previous game in Ufa. Charles Robinson, who picked up 50 PIMs but no suspension on that occasion, dropped the gloves with Evgeny Timkin in an inconclusive tussle.
Back in the game, the visitor was building up a clear advantage in shots, and eventually pulled a goal back after Vladislav Yefremov outwitted the home defense to set up Drozdov to make it 2-3 before the second intermission.
That persuaded Traktor that it could not afford to sit on its lead. The third period saw the home team try to regain the initiative. This tactic enjoyed some success, with Ufa losing it discipline and ending up reduced to three skaters for a full minute. Although Traktor created a few dangerous moments for Samonov during that power play, the penalty kill held and the game remained in the balance. In the closing stages, perhaps accepting that a fourth goal was not on the way, Traktor played more cautiously and gave Salavat Yulaev few chances to find a tying goal. The final surge was successfully repelled and Traktor claimed a 2-1 lead in the series.
Golyshev hatty pushes Ak Bars to the brink of elimination
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 Ak Bars Kazan 1 (0-0, 1-0, 2-1)
Avtomobilist leads the series 3-0
Anatoly Golyshev’s hat-trick secured a third successive victory for Avtomobilist, putting the Motormen one win away from advancing to the second round. Ak Bars continued to struggle, despite tying the game early in the third period on a goal from Ilya Safonov, and last year’s beaten finalist is on the brink of elimination.
The visitor had to make do without Alexander Radulov as it came to Yekaterinburg seeking to bounce back after a 0-4 loss on Saturday. He and fellow forward Artyom Galimov were serving one-game bans, with Kirill Petrov and Semyon Terekhov replacing them.
Avtomobilist was also without a key player as French center Stephane Da Costa remains out of action.
From the first shifts, Ak Bars tried to dictate the play. The visitor was helped by a power play after 20 seconds, but could not make a breakthrough. A second PP also failed to break the deadlock, despite some good traffic in front of Evgeny Alikin’s net. Gradually, though, the momentum changed hands. Once again, Ak Bars had trouble getting the puck out of its zone. Avtomobilist had a couple of good looks but could not get shots on target at the key moments. However, the Motormen ended the first period looking like the stronger team.
The middle frame began in similar fashion. But when Ak Bars ran into penalty trouble, Avto got a five-on-three power play and duly took the lead. Brooks Macek should have done better, firing wide of an open net when it seemed easier to score. However, it wasn't long before Sergei Shirokov set up Golyshev on the slot for a routine finish from close range.
The goal rocked Ak Bars, and Avtomobilist looked likely to score again. Timur Bilyalov was the busiest player on the ice, and the visitor’s promising start was long forgotten. The shot count stood 30-9 in Avto’s favor at one point, but it remained a one-goal game.
During the second intermission, Ak Bars switched up its lines and that change brought an immediate reward. Petrov set off on the counter, Safonov moved down the wing and surprised everyone by unleashing a backhand shot that found Alikin’s net. It was only the second Ak Bars goal of the series and it brought today’s visitor back to life.
As the game moved into its closing stages, it felt like both teams were thinking about overtime. However, a somewhat fortuitous goal restored the home lead. Golyshev’s shot to the short side did not seem all that dangerous, but Bilyalov failed to freeze the puck and then inadvertently knocked it into the net with his own pad. Ak Bars responded by charging forward, but there was little structure and too much desperation about the play. In the end, a mistake from Mitchell Miller gifted Golyshev an empty net goal to complete the first hat-trick of this year’s playoffs.
Late penalties cost Minsk dear
Dynamo Moscow 4 Dinamo Minsk 3 (0-0, 2-2, 2-1)
Dynamo leads the series 2-0
For the second time in two games, late goals lifted Dynamo Moscow to victory over a stubborn Dinamo Minsk. Nikita Gusev and Dmitry Rashevsky scored in the 53rd and 54th minutes to wipe out the visitor’s 3-2 lead and claim a narrow verdict.
Although game one of this series finished with a seemingly comfortable 4-1 win for the Muscovites, it was a closer battle than the scoreline might suggest. Minsk was in contention until the final 10 minutes, when Dynamo scored three late goals to canter to victory.
Today, once again, the leading team in the regular season had a tough time against the Belarusians. Minsk had much the better of the first period, outshooting Dynamo 10-3 while the home team had to block a further 10 shots.
The logical conclusion of that pressure was a lead for the visitor, and that arrived in the second period. Daniil Sotishvili opened the scoring in the 25th minute, converting a feed from Andrei Stas after his team-mate drew three home defensemen to him. Midway through the session, Alexander Volkov doubled the lead after magnificent work from Rob Hamilton to create the chance.
Belatedly, the Muscovites stirred. Dmitry Rashevsky quickly pulled a goal back, converting the rebound after Igor Ozhiganov’s shot was saved by Alexei Kolosov. And Kolosov was beaten again in the 36th minute by a point shot from Daniil Pylenkov.
The third period was competitive, but for some time the teams struggled to create chances. However, in the 48th minute Minsk’s players established themselves in Dynamo territory, generating plenty of traffic in front of Maxim Motorygin’s net. The goalie could see little, and Dmitry Korobov’s long shot whipped through the crowd and into the net to restore the Bison’s lead.
It was beginning to look like that would be enough to win it, but penalty trouble undid Dinamo. Stas and Roman Gorbunov went to the box, and the five-on-three power play saved the home team. Gusev tied the scores then, as the PP continued, he set up Rashevsky for his second of the evening. The remaining five minutes saw the visitor desperately trying to find a way back, but the home team closed out the game to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Loko’s OT strike halts CSKA fightback
CSKA Moscow 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 3 OT (0-0, 0-2, 2-0, 0-1)
Lokomotiv leads the series 2-1
Despite blowing a 2-0 lead, the Railwaymen recovered their composure to win in overtime. The result puts Lokomotiv up 2-1 in this series against CSKA, with the defending champion unable to reach the levels its showed when winning the opening game 4-0.
The defending champion played its first home game of post season after dropping a 2-1 verdict in game two, meaning there was nothing between these familiar playoff rivals as the action moved to the capital. Both teams made one change from Saturday’s line-ups. CSKA brought Takhir Mingachyov in place of Yegor Fateyev, while the visitor rested Ivan Chekhovich and gave 21-year-old forward Nikita Kiryanov a game.
On home ice, CSKA made a determined start. The first period saw Lokomotiv struggle from the start. Pressure led to penalties, and only a goalline intervention from Alexander Yelesin denied Konstantin Okulov the opening goal. The Railwaymen almost matched their host for possession, but CSKA always looked the more dangerous team in a goalless first period.
That all began to change after the intermission. Loko’s defense tightened up and CSKA could no longer easily convert time in the visitor’s zone into shots at Daniil Isayev. The Yaroslavl goalie made just three saves in the second period, while his team-mates stumbled into penalty trouble. Late in the session, power play goals just a couple of minutes apart saw Daniil But and Georgy Ivanov open a 2-0 lead for Igor Nikitin’s men.
In the third period, a goal from Pavel Karnaukhov in the 46th minute illuminated a possible pathway to recovery for CSKA. Although Isayev padded away a Yaroslav Dyblenko effort, the rebound fell kindly for Karnaukhov to make it 2-1.
CSKA continued to press and gained a power play when Pavel Kraskovsky tripped Sergei Plotnikov by the boards. The home team made the most of its chance, with Mikhail Grigorenko tying the game when he picked up a loose puck following Nikita Nesterov’s deflected shot.
That took us to overtime, but CSKA’s momentum was not enough to carry it to victory. Karnaukhov took a minor for handling the puck, and although the home team killed the penalty it lost out as soon as Karnaukhov returned. Denis Alexeyev grabbed the winning goal, batting Yelesin’s point shot into the net. The play had to survive a video review before Lokomotiv’s lead in the series was confirmed.
Spartak’s fast start sinks Severstal
Severstal Cherepovets 3 Spartak Moscow 7 (0-4, 2-2, 1-1)
Spartak leads the series 2-1
Spartak’s powerful offense was back to its best on Monday, piling up the goals in Cherepovets to regain the lead in this series. The Steelmen had high hopes in this game after edging a 2-1 verdict in Moscow at the weekend but were blown away at the start.
Spartak responded to Saturday’s defeat by freshening up its offense. The biggest change was Ilya Kovalchuk’s absence, but Shane Prince and Semyon Ruchkin were also scratches. Yegor Filin, Yegor Savikov and Demid Mansurov were the replacements.
And Mansurov played his part in the Red-and-Whites’ fast start. His third-minute shot was redirected into the net by Alexander Belyayev. A minute later, Maxim Tsyplakov doubled the lead, forcing Severstal to call a time-out on 3:22. Andrei Kozyrev could not find a way to calm things down, though, and in the eighth minute Alexander Pashin added a third goal. Then, in the 13th minute, a wayward clearance went straight to Mikhail Maltsev who made it 4-0.
With four goals from nine shots, Spartak was rampant in the first period. Severstal struggled to find answers and the home team’s problems only intensified when Pashin potted his second right after play resumed for the middle frame. That chased Samoilov from his net, with young Grigory Volkov taking his place.
It was an unenviable time for the 19-year-old to make his playoff debut, but he at least helped to slow Spartak’s scoring. Midway through the session, a power play chance saw Severstal get on the scoreboard at last through Kirill Pilipenko. It took the home team’s leading scorer just 13 seconds to convert that man advantage. However, Spartak needed barely a minute at equal strength to get its sixth goal, Belyayev on target again. Late in the frame, that Pilipenko-Aimurzin connection delivered once again for host, with Danil the scorer this time.
The third period saw Volkov produce a highlight reel save to deny Pavel Poryadin, but with the outcome long decided there was a lack of intensity about the closing stages. Yegor Stepanov scored Severstal’s third midway through the session but Andrei Loktionov added a seventh for Spartak almost immediately.
