SKA grabs vital win, Loko closes on first-round sweep

In St. Petersburg, SKA defeated Dynamo Moscow 5-3 to get its first win of the series. Now, Roman Rotenberg’s team can tie it up on Wednesday before returning to Moscow in a series that looks set to go the distance. Torpedo, meanwhile, had no such joy on home ice. Down 0-2 as the series arrived in Nizhny Novgorod, the home team lost again as Lokomotiv goes up 3-0 and has its eye on a sweep.

Home win reignites first-round battle

SKA St. Petersburg 5 Dynamo Moscow 3 (1-0, 2-1, 2-2)

(Dynamo leads the series 2-1)

This series came roaring back to life in St. Petersburg as SKA grabbed a vital win, cutting the deficit to 1-2. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his first KHL playoff goal since 2013, but Dynamo recovered a two-goal deficit before succumbing.

After an unsuccessful trip to Moscow, SKA had it all to do back on home ice. Down 0-2 in the series, Roman Rotenberg’s team needed to get back into contention here or face an almost impossible deficit to keep its Gagarin Cup hopes alive.

So it was a real boost to see Dynamo’s Dmitry Rashevsky pick up a penalty in the fourth minute, and an even bigger lift to see Arseny Gritsyuk convert the power play right away. It took just five seconds from winning the face-off: Gritsyuk moved down the left and fired the puck to the slot. Ivan Demidov could not get a shot off and the play returned to Gritysuk who, at the second attempt, opened the scoring himself.

That lead held to the first intermission, but only just. SKA ran into penalty trouble and both of Dynamo’s power plays came close to tying the game. First, Jordan Weal cut into the center and flashed a wrister that dinged the iron and flew to safety. Then Nikita Gusev continued to torment his former club, drilling the puck across the face of goal for Pavel Kudryavtsev to attempt a redirect. On this occasion, though, his effort skipped just wide of the target.

In the opening games of the series, we saw little of Kuznetsov. At the start of the second period, though, the 32-year-old was everywhere. He created two good chances early on, then got SKA’s second goal in the 25th minute, collecting Vladimir Alistrov’s feed in the center of the zone and ripping a shot past Maxim Motorygin. That was Kuznetsov’s first KHL playoff goal since 2013, when he netted for Traktor during its Gagarin Cup final series against Dynamo.

For the first time in post season, SKA had a measure of comfort about its game. But this series is destined to be close fought to the very end. Dynamo responded midway through the second period with a power play goal for Igor Ozhiganov. The action remained lively, but as long as SKA stayed out of the box it looked to have the edge over the opposition. And, late in the middle frame, a home power play brought a third goal when Alexander Nikishin buried a one-timer beyond Motorygin.

In the third, SKA tried to shut down the play as far as possible. Dynamo continued to press but found it harder to expose any cracks in the home defense. However, in the 52nd minute Max Comtois set up a grandstand finish when he grabbed a second goal for the visitor. Cedric Paquette sent the puck back to Daniil Pylenkov on the blue line. He stepped forward and fired in a shot that Yegor Zavragin struggled to beat away. Comtois was alive on the slot and quickly put away the rebound.

A game that SKA seemed to have under control was suddenly back to life. And 90 seconds later, Dynamo was level on a goal from Dylan Sikura. Paquette was involved again, releasing his team-mate into the zone to place a wrister in the far corner.

If this was a test of character for the home team, it passed with flying colors. A minute after the tying goal, SKA regained its lead thanks to Ilya Karpukhin’s point shot. Three goals in 3:20 left the home team defending a 4-3 advantage with six minutes on the clock.

The task got harder for SKA when Zakhar Bardakov was handed a slashing major with four minutes to play. Dynamo responded by calling Motorygin to the bench and playing six-on-four in search of a game-saving goal. But, after one dangerous shot from Gusev, SKA gained possession and Pavel Akolzin’s empty-netter sealed a priceless victory for the home team. Battle resumes on Wednesday, with SKA looking to tie the series before returning to the capital.

Kayumov sees Lokomotiv past Torpedo

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 2 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 (1-2, 1-1, 0-1)

(Lokomotiv leads the series 3-0) 

Two goals from Artur Kayumov – his first in this year’s playoffs – led Lokomotiv to victory in game three. He snapped a 2-2 tie in the second period, and sealed the deal with an empty net goal to put the Railwaymen one win away from progress.

Although the visitor made a bright start, Lokomotiv was assessed the first penalty of the game. And that brought the opening goal in the fifth minute when Bogdan Konyushkov’s point shot was too much for Daniil Isayev. Bobby Lynch did a great job of screening the Loko goalie, who had little chance of reacting to Konyushkov’s thunderbolt.

But the lead lasted just a few minutes. Alexander Radulov got behind the net, rolled out along the boards and drilled the puck back across the danger zone. Denis Alexeyev was in position at the back door, having escaped the attentions of Yegor Vinogradov, and he steered home the equalizer.

Three minutes later, the visitor was in front, albeit after a video review. Ivan Kulbakov stopped Maxim Beryozkin’s shot but a huge scramble followed. Kayumov stuffed the puck beneath the home goalie and against the post. It came to rest almost on the goal-line, and Maxim Shalunov just managed to get it over the line before Kirill Steklov could clear.

Once in front, Loko held its lead to the intermission. However, it took some good work from Isayev in the closing minutes to deny Konyushkov and Igor Larionov Jr as the home team pressed on the power play.

Torpedo could not convert the remainder of its power play at the start of the second period. But it wasn’t long before the home team had a man advantage again, and this time it found the net. Slava Voynov exchanged passes on the left with Vinogradov before roasting home a point shot as Maxim Letunov screened Isayev.

However, Loko regained its lead immediately. The visitor turned defense into attack and Shalunov’s pass through center ice released Kayumov and Beryozkin for a two-man rush. The pair exchanged passes before Kayumov beat Kolbakov for his first goal of this year’s playoffs.

The game remained tight, with Loko holding a slender advantage in goals and shots to the second intermission. As the players left the ice, tempers began to fray with Radulov and Lynch exchanging opinions and Torpedo’s back-up goalie Ivan Bocharov having his say before things calmed and the players headed to their respective locker rooms.

Once in those locker rooms, Lokomotiv surely recalled its tradition of closing out tight games in the third period. Torpedo returned with a view to getting forward at every opportunity. Loko responded with solid defense, keeping the home team to the perimeter as far as possible and blocking shots as required. It wasn’t until the 56th minute, when Alexei Bereglazov was assessed a tripping minor, that the home team had a real chance to step up the pressure. Oddly, perhaps, Larionov did not look to play six-on-four, waiting until after the power play was done before calling Kulbakov to the net.

Lokomotiv then had the puck in that empty net, prompting a video review as the officials decided whether Radulov had fouled Abramov in the build-up. After a long check, we got a mixed verdict: no foul, but also no goal since the whistle had gone before the puck hit the net. Thus Torpedo still had a chance of salvation, at least until Kayumov scored a legitimate empty netter in the last minute to make the final score 4-2. Igor Nikitin’s team can wrap up a sweep when the teams meet again on Wednesday.