Loko ties it up

The regular season champ got back on track in game two of its Gagarin Cup semi-final. A 2-1 verdict over Salavat Yulaev means its all square as the series moves to Ufa.

Shalunov’s strike makes the difference

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (1-0, 1-0, 0-1)

(Series tied at 1-1)

For the second series in a row, Lokomotiv recovered after dropping the opening game. Today’s 2-1 victory over Salavat Yulaev cancels out Sunday’s 1-3 loss in Yaroslavl. In the previous round, the Railwaymen then went to Omsk and won two more; Salavat’s task is to prevent a similar outcome as it heads home for games three and four.

The visitor got a boost ahead of Tuesday’s game with the return of star forward Josh Leivo and reliable defenseman Yaroslav Tsulygin. Loko also made changes with head coach Nikitin shuffling three lines and giving Ilya Nikolayev his first game of the post season.

The early stages saw Salavat looking more comfortable and the visitor had the first chances of the game. In addition, there was an early power play when Maxim Beryozkin was assessed a high sticking minor. Daniil Isayev was called into action more than once to keep the scoreboard blank before his team-mates grew into the game.

Yet Lokomotiv got in front in the 15th minute, scoring seconds after Salavat Yulaev killed its first penalty of the night. Sergei Varlov had just left the box when Alexander Yelesin unleashed a slapshot from the point. Daniil Tesanov did a great job to hold off Tsulygin’s attentions and screen Semyon Vyazovoi in the visitor’s net, and he got the final touch to claim his first playoff goal of the season.

The home team was decent value for its lead at the first intermission after enjoying the better of the first-period play. And the middle frame saw the Railwaymen press home their advantage. Lokomotiv outshot Salavat 21-5 and spent 9:15 on the attack, helped by two more power plays. However, all that pressure garnered just one more goal: Maxim Shalunov doubled the lead in the 34th minute, putting away the rebound after Nikita Cherepanov’s shot cannoned back off the boards.

However, things turned out not to be plain sailing in the third. Salavat Yulaev got back into the game with an early goal. Yegor Suchkov drilled the puck across the front of the net, looking for Alexander Chyornyi at the back door. However, Alexei Bereglazov’s attempt to deflect the pass away from danger ended in disaster as he knocked it beyond Daniil Isayev to make it 1-2.

After that there was little sign of Lokomotiv as an attacking force. The home team was held to just three shots on goal in the final frame as Salavat Yulaev tried to find a way to tie things up. But Igor Nikitin’s team is used to protecting leads and dug deep once again to neutralize the visitor’s attacking effort. Fourteen blocked shots told the story; Salavat had the possession and the territory, but struggled to penetrate the perimeter. In the closing stages Vyazovoi went to the bench and the six skaters of Ufa managed to hit the crossbar. But that was as close as they came to saving the game. The action heads to Bashkortostan on Thursday with the teams deadlocked at 1-1.