All square after two games

The first round of the 2025 KHL playoffs was tight, and the second could prove even tighter. Sunday’s action saw Spartak win in overtime at Salavat Yulaev to tie that series, before Lokomotiv cancelled out Avangard’s opening win to level things off before the pairing resumes in Omsk.

Ruzicka’s late show saves Spartak

Salavat Yulaev 4 Spartak Moscow 5 OT (1-1, 2-2, 1-1, 0-1)

(Series tied at 1-1)

Adam Ruzicka completed his hat-trick with goals either side of the 60-minute mark as Spartak snatched victory in game two in Ufa. It’s the first time in this year’s Gagarin Cup playoffs that a road team has won a game involving Salavat Yulaev – but the home team was a second away from going up 2-0 in the series.

The Red-and-Whites led twice early in the game, but fell behind in the second period. Then Danil Alalykin’s 48th-minute marker put Ufa up 4-3 and seemed to have won the game. Ruzicka had other plans.

With Spartak in the last-chance saloon, Andrei Mironov dumped the puck deep. Pavel Poryadin drilled it to the doorstep and Ivan Morozov turned it back for his Slovak colleague to grab that tying goal with 0.2 seconds left on the clock.

That changed the momentum of the game and Spartak rode the tide to victory. The visitor needed just 73 extra seconds to get the winning goal. Ruzicka got on the rush, exchanged passes with Andrei Loktionov on his right, and beat Alexander Samonov to crown a remarkable recovery.

Earlier, Spartak opened the scoring in the first period when Nikolai Goldobin converted a power play following Sheldon Rempal’s foul. However, Salavat always looked lively in the opening frame and tied the scores when Yaroslav Tsulygin’s shot deflected off Vladislav Yefremov and into the net.

An entertaining second period saw Spartak back in front on Loktionov’s power play goal before the home team hit back. Dennis Yan maintained his record of scoring on Spartak every time he has met them this season and that lifted Salavat Yulaev. A couple of minutes later, Dinar Khafizullin put the host up for the first time in in the game. Now the Ufa crowd could dream of opening a 2-0 lead in the series before the action moves to Moscow on Tuesday.

But Ruzicka offered a first hint of what he had planned, tying the game at three in the 37th minute with Loktionov again involved.

The home team responded with a strong start to the third, and Alalykin was particularly prominent. He had two big chances and converted one of them with a long-range shot that caught Artyom Zagidulin by surprise. However, even when it had to chase the game, Spartak struggled to get on top of the play until that last, desperate surge. Then, in a matter of moments, the series pivoted: instead of a comfortable Ufa advantage, we’re heading to Moscow with the teams deadlocked. 

Railwaymen tie it up

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 4 Avangard Omsk 1 (0-0, 3-1, 1-0)

(Series tied at 1-1)

After dropping game one 1-4, Lokomotiv hit back to win game two by the same scoreline. This second-round series heads East with nothing between the teams and everything to play for.

Igor Nikitin made one change to the team that lost the opener, with Daniil But replacing Daniil Tesanov. His opposite number Guy Boucher went with an unchanged roster after a great start on Friday.

The home team had plenty to prove after that disappointment and began the game on the front foot. Lokomotiv was aggressive in the Omsk zone, forechecking hard and trying to knock the visiting defense off its game. There were good chances for Maxim Beryozkin, Yegor Surin and Maxim Shabanov all testing Nikita Serebryakov. However, the visiting goaltender was on top form. The only respite for Avangard came after Andrei Sergeyev fired the puck over the boards to earn a delay of game penalty.

But the opening frame was largely about Avangard’s defensive effort. The Siberians blocked 12 shots and Serebryakov stopped 17 more. And the D-core did a good job of keeping Lokomotiv to the perimeter as far as possible and matching the trial of strength that played out on the ice.

The second period brought a goal right away. Artur Kayumov robbed Semyon Chistyakov. Shalunov collected the puck and set up Beryozkin to score from the slot. It wasn’t long before Alexander Radulov presented Shalunov with an empty net and the score was 2-0.

Once in front, Lokomotiv ran into penalty trouble. Back-to-back Avangard power plays took their toll and Vladimir Tkachyov pulled a goal back. However, at equal strength Avangard rarely looked capable of threatening. Allowing a goal got Loko fired up again and a series of dangerous attacks culminated in Daniil Chayka losing possession in his own zone. Radulov took advantage to make it 3-1 at the second intermission.

There was no way back for the visitor. Although Avangard had a couple of dangerous attacks early in the third period, the Hawks found their wings were clipped. Midway through the frame, Georgy Ivanov found a perfect wrister to make it 4-1 and completely cancel out the game one scoreline. Battle continues in Omsk on Tuesday, and it promises to be intense.