Traktor moves on, Minsk stays alive. March 10 playoffs
Traktor became the sixth team to advance to round two of the 2024 playoffs, completing a 4-2 series win over Salavat Yulaev and eliminating the Eastern Conference third seed. Now there are just two series left unresolved after Dinamo Minsk came from behind to defeat Dynamo Moscow in overtime, denying the regular season champion the chance to progress in game five.
Late goals lead Traktor series victory
Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (0-2, 1-0, 3-0)
Traktor wins the series 4-2
Traktor, ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference, completed its upset win over third seed Salavat Yulaev to advance to the second round of the 2024 KHL playoffs. A 4-2 success in Sunday’s game completed a 4-2 victory in the series and continues Chelyabinsk’s campaign as it returns to post season action after missing out last term.
With his team facing a win-or-bust test, Salavat Yulaev head coach Viktor Kozlov returned to the lines that had brought success in the regular season. Sergei Shmelyov, Alexander Sharov and Yegor Suchkov were reunited, as were Danil Alalykin, Artyom Pimenov and Danil Bashkirov. Traktor made just one change from the team that won in Ufa in game five, with Semyon Der-Arguchintsev returning in place of Artyom Shvaryov.
This series had been notable for its uncompromising physicality and American forward Charles Robinson wasted no time in landing a hit on Ufa captain Grigory Panin in his first shift. A few minutes later, his team-mate Sergei Telegin had to leave the ice after another crunching challenge from Vladislav Yefremov.
The visitor was producing the better hockey in the early stages and after creating some dangerous moments Salavat Yulaev took the lead. A string of defensive errors enabled Ivan Drozdov to open the scoring after 16 minutes. Barely 30 seconds later, it was 2-0: Ufa got on a four-on-two rush and Suchkov finished it off.
Suddenly, thoughts turned to a potential game seven showdown in Ufa on Tuesday. However, there was still a long way to go, and power forward Robinson showed that he’s more than just a physical presence when his shot on the turn pulled a goal back 19 seconds after the intermission. Salavat Yulaev responded with a third goal, scored by Alexander Sharov but cancelled out after Traktor challenged successfully for offside. That was one of many chances for the visitor, which outshot its host 20-8 in the middle frame but could not beat Zach Fucale.
Those misses proved costly. The start of the third period brought another quick goal for Traktor as Vitaly Kravtsov’s shot from a dead angle tied the game on 41:33. Next came a home power play, thwarted by some strong defense from the visitor. Salavat continued to have more possession, but found it harder to create chances and the game seemed destined for overtime. However, after 57 minutes, Der-Arguchintsev’s well-placed shot brought the home crowd to its feet as Traktor went ahead for the first time in the game. Then Robinson scored his second of the game into an empty net to wrap the series and send Traktor motoring on.
Merkley’s goal keeps Minsk in contention
Dynamo Moscow 1 Dinamo Minsk 2 2OT (1-0, 0-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Dynamo leads the series 3-2
Dinamo Minsk came from behind to grab an overtime win in Moscow and keep its season alive. Yegor Petukhov’s early goal looked like it might be enough to secure victory for Dynamo Moscow. However, with 10 minutes to play the visitor tied the scores, and Nick Merkley struck in the extras to send this series back to Minsk for game six on Tuesday.
The vital goal came 49 seconds into a second period of overtime. Ioannis Kaldis took possession of the puck deep into his own zone and fired it down the right-hand boards for Merkley to chase. That opened up a two-on-one attack for the visitor, but Merkley opted not to use Daniil Sotishvili and shot himself, beating Ilya Konovalov to win the game for Dinamo Minsk.
With every hope of completing the series tonight, Dynamo started brightly. The home team had the better of the first period, outshooting Minsk 14-7 and getting an early lead through Yegor Petukhov. He found the net in the seventh minute, converting a quick counterattack.
The Muscovites might have had more in that opening frame. Dinamo Minsk owed much to Ilya Shinkevich in the closing stages, who twice made crucial interventions. First, the defenseman cut out Eric O’Dell’s dangerous feed towards a wide-open Dmitry Rashevsky. Then, on the next play, it was Shinkevich’s quick reactions that saved goalie Alexei Kolosov after the puck dropped behind him and trickled towards the goal line.
After the first intermission, the game changed. Gone was Dynamo’s domination. Instead, the visitor took control of proceedings. Sam Anas was close to tying the scores when he hit the bar on an early power play and more chances followed. However, the home team kept the Bison out to preserve a slender lead through 40 minutes.
Midway through the third period, Minsk got the goal it needed to keep its season alive – at least into overtime. It started with a skirmish in the 49th minute when Ilya Konovalov froze the puck and Kodie Curran tried to dislodge it from under his glove. That sparked a four-way fracas that saw two men from each team sit for roughing. Shortly after, Dynamo’s Andrei Pribylsky failed to clear his lines and the puck found its way to Vadim Moroz at the top of the left-hand circle. He produced a terrific shot to the top corner to tie the game with 10 minutes left.
In the closing stages, both teams had chances to win it inside 60 minutes. Merkley was a consistent threat for the visitor, while Artyom Ilyenko created some dangerous moments at the other end.
Overtime saw Dynamo gain the initiative when the visitor twice gave away penalties. A too many men call in the 68th minute invited pressure, but produced few scoring chances. However, when Rob Hamilton fired the puck over the plexi in the 71st, the Muscovites showed greater intent. Cedric Paquette and Andrei Mironov both had decent looks, but couldn’t keep their efforts on target. Back at equal strength, Dynamo continued to press and Petukhov had a great chance for his second of the game when he went one-on-one with Kolosov. On this occasion, though, the Dinamo netminder came out on top and the game went into a second session of extras.
That session did not last long. Inside a minute, Merkley grabbed his winner to send the teams back to Minsk for game six.
