Crunch time as series shift: can the trailing teams respond?
The battle for the next round intensifies as all series shift venues for Game three. In the East, top-seeded Traktor looks to build on its OT win as the action moves to Vladivostok, while Salavat Yulaev aims to continue its dominance against Sibir. Over in the West, Lokomotiv’s defensive wall travels to Nizhny Novgorod to face a determined Torpedo, and SKA returns home looking to turn the tide against Dynamo Moscow. With all teams adjusting to new surroundings, the stakes are higher than ever as the Gagarin Cup playoffs heat up.
12:30: Admiral vs Traktor
Series stand
1-1 (5:4, 1:2 ОТ).
About the game
After a shocking home defeat in the series’ first match, Traktor held up and tied the scoring in game two, with a strike by Artyom Blazhiyevsky in extra time to equalize things in another close game ended with a one-goal gap. Head coach Benoit Groulx kept faith in his starting goalie Zach Fucale after a rocky first game of the series, and the choice paid off as the goalie posted a 25-save performance as he returned to usual performance. For the Traktor side, import d-man Steven Kampfer returned to the lineup. Admiral’s Pavel Shen opened the scoring in the middle frame, but Nikita Korostelyov scored his first of this year’s postseason to tie things up short after, then the game went to OT, where the guests found their first win.
Traktor’s forward Alexander Kadeikin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Admiral’s forward Daniil Gutik is on a nine-game scoring streak, with 12 (6+6) points over that stretch.
Injury list
Traktor: Yegor Popov.
Admiral: Leonid Metalikov, Artyom Nikolayev.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s defenseman Artyom Chmykhov may record his 200th KHL game.
Traktor’s forward Vasily Glotov lines up for his 300th league appearance.
15:30: Sibir vs Salavat Yulaev
Series stand
0-2 (0:7, 2:8).
About the game
It was another blowout win for Salavat Yulaev in game two, as the Ufa team romped to an emphatic victory over Sibir. Viktor Kozlov’s team is up 2-0 in the series, with an impressive aggregate score of 15-2. And yet Joshua Leivo is yet to score in the elimination stage. In game two, he had an impressive five assists but failed to score. Instead, fellow Canadian countryman Scott Wilson led today’s scoring with a hat-trick and contributed three assists for six points in total. Despite all this, Sibir started the game up by two goals with a one-two punch by Trevor Murphy and Vladislav Kara, whose goals were separated by fewer than sixty seconds.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Joshua Leivo is on a twelve-game scoring streak, with 22 (8+14) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Scott Wilson is on a five-game scoring streak, with 12 (5+7) points.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Chmelevsky is on a six-game scoring streak, with 10 (4+6) points.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sheldon Rempal is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (4+4) points.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Nathan Todd is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Gleb Kuzmin.
Sibir: Vladimir Butuzov, Pavel Gogolev, Fyodor Gordeyev.
19:30: Torpedo vs Lokomotiv
Series stand
0-2 (1:3, 0:2).
About the game
Lokomotiv locked down Torpedo again with a dominant performance, this time shutting down the opposition as goalie Daniil Isayev posted a 25-save blank. Igor Larionov’s team had a lively start in an attempt to score a fast goal to tie the series up but failed to pierce Lokomotiv’s tight defense. Instead, a penalty to Evgeny Svechnikov proved fatal for the team. With the man advantage, the Railwaymen scored the decisive goal when Maxim Beryozkin had a nice feed to usual suspect Maxim Shalunov who sent it home as Lokomotiv claimed a second win. In the third period, Lokomotiv closed the gates and Georgy Ivanov found a late empty-netter as the series moves to Nizhny Novgorod with Torpedo in a dangerous position.
Lokomotiv’s goalie Daniil Isayev is on a 96:19 shutout streak.
Lokomotiv’s forward Maxim Beryozkin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that stretch.
Lokomotiv’s forward Denis Alexeyev had four assists in his last four matches.
Injury list
Torpedo: Vasily Atanasov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s goalie Alexei Melnichuk may record his tenth KHL shutout.
19:30: SKA vs Dynamo Moscow
Series stand
0-2 (1:3, 1:2 ОТ).
About the game
It’s impossible to say that Dynamo Moscow dominated the series so far, yet the scoring is 2-0 to their advantage. In game two, the contest was even tighter than the first game, and only an OT tally by top-scorer Nikita Gusev – who won the Gagarin Cup earlier with SKA – gave the Blue-and-Whites their second win in the elimination stage. Earlier in the game, hot prospect Ivan Demidov scored the go-ahead goal for SKA, with the St. Petersburg team hoping to grab at least a game in Moscow. However, Dynamo managed to tie things up in the third period with Artyom Chernov. In OT, the Blue-and-Whites had the upper hand for most of the time, and Gusev’s snipe made the difference as the series moves to St. Petersburg with SKA not ready to surrender just yet.
Dynamo Moscow’s top scorer, forward Nikita Gusev, is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (4+5) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Alexander Nikishin.
Milestone alert
SKA’s veteran forward Sergei Andronov lines up for his 150th match in the Gagarin Cup playoffs.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Nikita Gusev may tally his 250th KHL goal (currently at 249).
