No home comfort as round two concludes. March 30 playoffs
Saturday saw Lokomotiv and Metallurg secure the two remaining spots in the 2024 KHL Playoff Semi-finals. Both teams won on the road, both blanked their opponents and both will move into the last four as the higher-seeded team in their pairing. Lokomotiv, third in the West, will take on Traktor (sixth in the East). Metallurg, first in the East and the highest-ranked surviving team, face Avtomobilist (fifth in the East).
Railwaymen move into last four
Avangard Omsk 0 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (0-1, 0-0, 0-1)
Lokomotiv wins the series 4-3
The first game seven of the 2024 KHL playoffs was also the first ever at Avangard’s G-Drive Arena. The home team looked a long way from taking the series this far after losing 0-7 here in game two, but the Hawks were reinvigorated by interim head coach Sergei Zvyagin and battled back to tie the contest at 3-3.
However, game seven proved a test too far for Omsk. Lokomotiv produced a trademark display of defensive discipline to move into the semi-finals. Igor Nikitin’s team, third seed in the Western Conference, will face Traktor in search of a first Gagarin Cup final appearance since the inaugural edition in 2009.
From the opening shifts, Loko applied a high press and made it hard for Avangard to get the puck out of its zone. The Railwaymen frequently got the puck the net and created anxious moments for Pavel Khomchenko and his defensemen. It wasn’t until midway through the first period that the host began to pose a threat: Nikolai Prokhorkin had an odd-man rush, Reid Boucher and Damir Sharipzyanov had testing shots at Daniil Isayev.
The breakthrough came in the 17th minute, and it went to Lokomotiv. The Hawks gave up possession on their own blue line, Artur Kayumov took it on and sprinted to the net before beating Khomchenko. That ushered in a short spell of Yaroslavl dominance before the intermission, but there were no further goals.
With a lead to defend, Lokomotiv settled into a more controlled pattern of play. No longer obliged to force the pace, the visitor set up a deep defense and invited Avangard to find a way through.
At the other end, the visiting counterattack created chances and in the 34th minute there was a fantastic opportunity to double the lead. After a dump and chase, the puck bounced straight to the slot where Georgy Ivanov had an open goal. However, Khomchenko leapt back across his net to pull off an unbelievable stop. Zvyagin later described it as the “save of the year.”
The goalie’s efforts woke up fans and players alike, with Avangard finishing the middle frame on the front foot. Igor Martynov spun for a shot that almost tied the game before Lokomotiv managed to turn the play away from its net.
Sixteen seconds into the final frame, Lokomotiv grabbed a vital second goal. Another two-on-one rush ended with Maxim Beryozkin doubling the lead. Given the strength of Loko’s defensive display thus far, it was hard to see Avangard getting back. The home team threw everything into its efforts to salvage the game and prolong its season, dominating the third period. Loko was held to just three shots at Khomchenko, but the visitor also withstood the pressure well, only allowing 12 at Isayev at the other end. The goalie produced some big saves, while his defense did a solid job of keeping the puck away from the danger zone. With just over five minutes to go, an Avangard power play offered a great chance to set up a Hollywood finish, but Loko defended with confidence.
Khomchenko left the game with 2:43 to play. However, even with a sixth skater, Avangard struggled to get the puck to Isayev’s net. Rock-solid defense from Lokomotiv drained the hope from the Omsk crowd and the Railwaymen steamed into the semi-final.
Magnitka blanks Spartak, moves to SF
Spartak Moscow 0 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (0-1, 0-1, 0-1)
Metallurg wins the series 4-2
After beginning this series with two shut-out wins, Metallurg wrapped it up with a third. Silencing the most prolific offense of regular season was crucial to securing a semi-final match-up against Avtomobilist and avoiding the threat of a game seven showdown on Monday.
Metallurg was unchanged from its 5-3 win on Thursday. Spartak had some amendments, bringing back Ilya Kovalchuk. The alternate captain had been a marginal figure through the playoffs, with no points in his four previous appearances. However, with so much on the line today, his experience earned him a spot on the third line.
With the chance to wrap up the series today, Metallurg made a bright start. Nikita Mikhailis produced a defense-splitting pass to send Danila Yurov to Andrei Kareyev’s net. On that occasion the home goalie made the save. A few minutes later, Kareyev was beaten but Vladislav Yeryomenko’s shot rebounded off the crossbar to safety.
Spartak also had chances, most notably when German Rubtsov sent Nikolai Goldobin through on Ilya Nabokov’s net. The Red-and-Whites’ leading scorer looked to score on the backhand, but Nabokov read his intentions and stretched out a pad to make the save.
However, Magnitka always had more of the play and got a reward a couple of minutes before the intermission. After forcing a turnover, the Steelmen launched a swift counterattack. Dmitry Silantyev’s pass into the center released Roman Kantserov and the youngster got around his defenseman before beating Kareyev on his short side.
Metallurg began the second period with another good chance, but Mikhailis saw his redirect bounce off the post to safety. After that, Spartak began to dominate the play. Yegor Filin forced Nabokov into a smart save, then fired narrowly wide of the post. And, as the frame progressed Kovalchuk sent Rubtsov into the danger zone, only for Nabokov to make the save once again. The piping came into play again a minute later when Mikhail Maltsev dinged the iron for the home team and Spartak enjoyed a 12-4 advantage on the shot count at the end of the middle frame.
However, the last of those four Metallurg shots found the net: Silantyev was again the architect, his pass launching another counterattack that Denis Zernov converted.
A third goal would surely kill the game, and Metallurg almost got it with the first attack of the final stanza. Silantyev fired the puck to the slot where Zernov’s redirected forced a big, acrobatic save out of Kareyev.
Subsequently, Spartak managed to take control of possession. The home team moved the puck nicely by could not easily parley that into clear-cut chances. Metallurg continued to probe on the counterattack and got a reward midway through the session. A rare attacking face-off saw Yurov win possession. Mikhailis then took on the puck and drove to the net before going top shelf to make it 3-0.
After that, Spartak knew that its season was almost over. The home team kept trying and produced a couple of scoring chances. In the closing minutes, a penalty for Yurov enabled the Muscovites to play six-on-four. However, the closest we came to another goal was at the other end when Daniil Vovchenko won possession and shot narrowly wide of the empty net.
