Minsk mauls CSKA, Spartak edges OT verdict
In both of Wednesday’s Western Conference games, the visitor opened a 2-0 lead – and ended up losing. CSKA scored twice in three minutes in Minsk, but Dinamo roared back to win it 5-2. In Moscow, Severstal led 2-0 and 4-2 against Spartak only to fall in overtime.
Fast start not enough for CSKA
Dinamo Minsk 5 CSKA Moscow 2 (2-2, 1-0, 2-1)
(Dinamo leads the series 1-0)
For three minutes, CSKA had this game under complete control. For the remaining 57, though, Dinamo was the better team. The Belarusians recovered an early two-goal deficit to post an impressive 5-2 victory at the start of this round one playoff match-up.
CSKA made a flying start to its playoff campaign, scoring two goals in the first 143 seconds of the game in Minsk. The opener came on 1:03. Denis Guryanov won possession on the boards and sent the puck back to Dmitry Samorukov on the blue line. The defenseman moved to a more central position and fired in a powerful shot.
Barely a minute later, it was 2-0. Vasily Demchenko was tested by Nikita Nesterov’s point shot, but Pavel Karnaukhov reacted fastest on the slot to double the lead. The Muscovites seemed to have an early grip on the game, but Minsk had other ideas.
The home team isn’t always highly-rated coming into a playoff, but this season Dmitry Kvartalnov’s men proved they can compete with any opponent. A fourth-placed finish highlighted the qualities of the Belarusian club and after that dreadful start, things began to turn. Dinamo gradually got itself back into the game and found itself level before the intermission.
In the 15th minute, Sergei Kuznetsov did a fine job to halve the deficit. He started by winning possession on the left, then drove to the faceoff circle before firing in a shot that deflection off Christian Jaros and flashed inside the near post. Then came the first power play of the night, and Dinamo took advantage after Stanislav Galiyev tripped Vadim Shipachyov. Vitaly Pinchuk sent Sam Anas clear of the defense and he calmly slotted the puck beyond Pavel Khomchenko to make it 2-2.
At the start of the second period, the teams traded attacks amid open and entertaining hockey. But the next goal went to the home team when Chris Tierney launched a counterattack down the right. His initial shot went wide, but the Dinamo forecheck prevented CSKA from clearing its lines. Tierney regained possession and this time he set up Yegor Borikov to score from close range.
A couple of minutes into this game, with CSKA quickly up 2-0, the arena was shocked into silence. Now, with the scoreboard completely turned around, a capacity Dinamo crowd was jubilant. For a time, the home team rode that wave of emotion, surging forward in search of more goals. It wasn’t until the latter stages of the middle frame that the visitor was able to slow the tide and begin posing a few more questions of Demchenko. The period finished with Dinamo leading 3-2, but with CSKA very much in the game.
The third frame began with CSKA enjoying the bulk of possession, but Dinamo defending calmly and sensibly to protect its narrow lead. And the home team was not afraid to attack when the opportunity presented itself, leading to a fourth goal in the 48th minute. There was a question mark over Vitaly Pinchuk’s positioning when he kept the puck in the CSKA zone: he used his hand to stop it crossing the blue line, but his skates appeared to be in center ice. However, there was no doubt about Alexander Volkov’s mid-range shot. CSKA challenged the play, but a video review ruled no offside and Dinamo was up 4-2 with 11 minutes to play.
In addition, the home team had a power play following the unsuccessful challenge, and the post denied Pinchuk a fifth goal for Dinamo. The home team had to wait until the closing moments to make it five, Volkov scoring into an empty net. Before that, the Bison set up to meet CSKA as its attacks approached the blue line. The high press proved effective, and even a power play for the visitor did not produce much to seriously alarm Demchenko.
Goldobin gives Spartak the edge
Spartak Moscow 5 Severstal Cherepovets 4 OT (2-2, 1-2, 1-0, 1-0)
(Spartak leads the series 1-0)
The first overtime of this year’s playoffs came in Moscow, where Spartak and Severstal served up a typically open game of hockey. There was little sign of cagey playoff hockey here as two teams built to play on the front foot went head to head. The four regular season meetings between these two produced 33 goals, including an epic 8-6 win for Severstal in Cherepovets. Wednesday’s first-round opener continued in that spirit, tying 4-4 before Nikolai Goldobin won it for the host.
The visitor had lost both its games at Spartak this season and looked to put that right with a fast start. Nikolai Chebykin struck first, giving the Steelmen a third-minute lead against one of his former clubs. Severstal then killed a penalty before Alexander Skorenov doubled the lead.
But Spartak also has a potent offense. Ansel Galimov quickly halved the deficit, then young Sergei Lukyantsev marked his first playoff appearance with a tying goal in the 19th minute. Lukyantsev’s rapid rise continues: from JHL Challenge Cup star in February to playoff goalscorer in late March, via an All-Star appearance for the 20-year-old.
In the second period, Severstal again opened a two-goal lead. Andrei Churkin wired a wrister to the top shelf in the 23rd minute, ushering in a spell of dominance for the visitor. Alexei Kruchinin was close to a fourth goal when his shot got behind Dmitry Nikolayev before the home goalie could stop it on the goal line. Then a penalty on Yegor Zaitsev saw Ruslan Abrosimov convert the power play, finishing off a slick combination involving Mikhail Ilyin and Danil Aimurzin.
Moments later, another Severstal power play saw the same players attempt a repeat of that move. This time, Nikolayev had the answer, and Spartak went down the ice to grab a short-handed goal. Great work from German Rubtsov on the left enabled him to feed Alexander Pashin on the slot. Pashin’s quick hands finished off the chance and Spartak was back in the game.
A couple of minutes later, Rubtsov was close to a tying goal when Pashin sent him clear. Goalie Alexander Samoilov seemed beaten, but Rubtsov could not squeeze his shot on target. And the Spartak fightback continued, with Samoilov pulling off a fine save late in the frame to deny Pashin at the back door.
Eventually, the tying goal came in the third period. Once again, Rubtsov and Pashin were involved. Pashin set up Adam Ruzicka for a shot, the rebound went to Rubtsov on the slot and he beat Samoilov to make it 4-4 in the 49th minute.
That goal came slightly against the run of play in the third period, but the closing stages saw Spartak look more likely to find a winner. Samoilov was called into action again, denying Goldobin, Yegor Zaitsev and Pavel Poryadin in the closing moments before the game went to overtime.
In the extras, Spartak lived dangerously. Kirill Pilipenko went close moments after the restart, but his effort met Mikhail Orlov’s skate on the goal line and bounced to safety. Then the home team killed a penalty before finally getting a power play and a chance to attack. The Red-and-Whites could not score with the man advantage, but kept pressing when the teams were back at equal strength, and Goldobin proved to be the game-winner on 68:14.
