Pressure on home sides in the East, opposite situation in the West
Avangard collected a road win to open the series against the Gagarin Cup champion, while Ak Bars stunned Avtomobilist as both away teams claimed victory in the Eastern Conference. In the West, Spartak and Dinamo Minsk will try to double their advantage in game two against Severstal and CSKA, respectively.
17:00: Metallurg vs Avangard
Series stand
0-1 (1:4)
About the game
The Hawks made a flying start showcasing an excellent shape and an even better game as they went quickly up by two with Nikolai Prokhorkin and Konstantin Okulov. Magnitka reacted, but Avangard found the third goal with top defenseman Semyon Chistyakov. Daniil Vovchenko netted one for the Gagarin Cup reigning champion, but it wasn’t enough and Damir Sharipzyanov sealed the deal with a last-gasp empty-netter. Nikita Serebryakov had 37 saves for Avangard, while Ilya Nabokov failed to impress with only 20 saves out of 23 shoots.
Metallurg’s forward Roman Kantserov had at least one assist in each of his previous three matches, totaling four helpers.
Avangard’s forward Nail Yakupov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Metallurg: Vladislav Yeryomenko.
Avangard: Sergei Boikov.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Nikita Mikhailis may score his 300th KHL point (currently at 299).
17:00: Avtomobilist vs Ak Bars
Series stand
0-1 (1:4)
About the game
Another game and another road win, with Ak Bars celebrating a 4:1 win in Yekaterinburg with Timur Bilyalov closing out the gates with 36 saves. Alexei Pustozyorov opened the score with the man advantage, but the guest’s goalie was monumental between the piping, allowing his team to go up by three at the midgame mark. Alexander Sharov denied Bilyalov a shutout before top scorer Artyom Galimov sealed the deal on the empty net.
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points over that span.
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitrij Jaskin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Ak Bars’ defenseman Nikita Lyamkin is also on a three-game scoring streak, but with 4 (1+3) points.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Curtis Valk.
Ak Bars: Yegor Babenko.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Nick Merkley and defenseman Nick Ebert are each one point away from reaching 100 career points in the league (both currently at 99).
Ak Bars’ forward Alexander Barabanov may score his 100th league tally (currently at 99).
19:30: Spartak vs Severstal
Series stand
1-0 (5:4 OT).
About the game
Differently from the East, the Western Conference saw two triumphs by the home team. Spartak was down twice by two goals, 0:2 and 2:4, but rallied back and eventually took the game home when Nikolai Goldobin netted the game-winner at the eighth minute of extra time – following a nice feed by d-man Yegor Zaitsev – as the home crowd assisted to an exciting and open game. Forwards German Rubtsov and Alexander Pashin produced three points for the Red-and-Whites, who will be looking to double their advantage today in game two while they celebrate their 1,000th KHL game.
Spartak’s forward Nikolai Goldobin is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 8 (6+2) points over that span.
Spartak’s forward Pavel Poryadin is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (1+7) points.
Severstal’s forward Nikolai Chebykin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 6 (5+1) points over that stretch.
Severstal’s forward Alexei Kruchinin had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
Severstal: Yaroslav Dyblenko, Adam Liska.
Milestone alert
Spartak plays it’s 1,000th game in the KHL.
Spartak’s goalie Dmitry Nikolayev and Artyom Zagidulin may each record their 10th KHL shutout.
19:30: Dinamo Minsk vs CSKA
Series stand
1-0 (5:2).
About the game
A fast start wasn’t enough for CSKA, who lost its first 2025 Gagarin Cup playoffs game after being up by two in the first minutes of the game. Dmitry Samorukov and Minsk-born Pavel Karnaukhov scored for the Muscovites as CSKA celebrated twice in the first four minutes of the first elimination stage clash. However, slowly Dinamo Minsk gained ground, eventually tying things up by the end of the opening frame with Sam Anas, with the home arena going jubilant and helping the home side. CSKA tried pushing the gas, but the Bison patiently waited for their chance and sent another three goals to the Muscovites’ crease, giving the numerous home crowd good reasons to be even louder. It won’t be easy for CSKA in game two today.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Roman Gorbunov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Ilya Usov.
CSKA: Vitaly Abramov
