CSKA in command, Severstal moves level

Despite allowing a second-minute goal to SKA, CSKA recovered to win 4-2 in Moscow and open a 2-0 lead in its first-round KHL playoff series. In Cherepovets, Severstal bounced back from Monday’s loss to Torpedo, winning 4-0 to tie the series before the action moves to Nizhny Novgorod.

Ilyin’s double paces Severstal’s fightback

Severstal Cherepovets 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 0 (0-0, 2-0, 2-0)
Series tied at 1-1

Severstal bounced back from a home loss in the series opener to outplay Torpedo in game two. A 4-0 final score and a 51-16 shot count highlighted the gap between the teams on a day for forget for the visitor.

The visitor never really got started in Wednesday’s encounter. Early penalties for Mikhail Naumenkov and Anton Silayev handed the home team the initiative and by the middle of the first period the shot count was 11-0 in Severstal’s favor. Alexander Samoilov was first called into action in the 11th minute, denying Andrei Belevich.

However, for all the host’s dominance, there was no way past Denis Kostin in the opening frame. And late in the period, after Danil Veryayev was penalized for a foul on the visiting goalie, Torpedo got a chance to cause some trouble on the power play.

The second period began like the first, with Torpedo in penalty trouble. This time, the Severstal power play found the mark. Adam Liska had already tested Kostin after collecting a feed from the right; this time a similar play saw the Slovak center open the scoring from the slot on 21:47.

Torpedo’s evening did not improve. In the 26th minute, Alexei Kruchinin was ejected from the game after a wild hit on Ilya Ivantsov. The same shift also brought a “too many men” penalty for the visitor, giving Severstal a full two minutes of five-on-three, followed by three more with a one-man advantage.

Although the penalty kill dug deep to keep Severstal at bay, the effort involved was too great. The visitor returned to full strength, but almost immediately allowed a second goal and David Dumbadze set up Ivan Podshivalov to score from the left-hand circle midway through the second period.

A two-goal deficit going into the final frame should not have been something irretrievable for Torpedo. However, the bigger picture suggested that the scoreline rather flattered the visitor. The shot count through 40 minutes was 40-11, Severstal had a huge 16:48 of attacking possession against 3:54. A penalty tally of 4-37 demonstrated where discipline was undermining Torpedo’s chances.

And that problem continued into the third. Sergei Goncharuk went to the box on 40:31 and while he was out again before Mikhail Ilyin made it 3-0, it was once again clear that the energy consumed on repeated penalty kills was wrecking Torpedo’s game. After 48 minutes, Ilyin struck again – this time on the power play – to put the game beyond any doubt.

The one remaining incident of note was a scuffle in the 58th minute which saw five players – three from Torpedo, two from Severstal – sent to the box. But there was no further scoring as the home team closed out the win and heads to Nizhny Novgorod with the series in the balance.

Buchelnikov’s beauty puts game beyond SKA

CSKA Moscow 4 SKA St. Petersburg 2 (1-1, 1-0, 2-1)
CSKA leads the series 2-0

After needing a second period of overtime to decide the opening game of this series, game two was effectively over early in the third period. CSKA shrugged off the loss of an early goal to open a 4-1 lead, and SKA’s late consolation could do little to affect the outcome.

The teams head to Petersburg on Friday with Igor Nikitin’s men in control of the contest. Last year’s Gagarin Cup winning coach finished the regular season well and his team looks to be bringing that momentum into the playoffs.

That said, there was an early stumble for CSKA tonight. Nikita Nesterov, Monday’s overtime hero, took a penalty in the first minute. SKA was happy to make the most of that opportunity and Joseph Blandisi converted the power play when he corralled a much-deflected effort from Yegor Savikov and put away a backhand shot.

The home team was largely unaffected and almost tied the game right away. It took a key intervention from visiting forward Scott Wilson to deny Nikolai Kovalenko a shot at an open net as CSKA sought an instant reply. However, the Muscovites continued to press and enjoyed the better of the play in the first period. With eight seconds left before the intermission, and the teams playing four-on-four, that produced a tying goal. Pavel Karnaukhov was the only man to react to an unexpected bounce off the end board and he calmly stuck it past Artemy Pleshkov.

In the middle frame the game was tighter. SKA was a closer match for CSKA, but could not prevent the home team from getting in front midway through the session. The influential Kovalenko won possession on his own blue line and sent Denis Guryanov clean through on Pleshkov’s net to make it 2-1.

If the game was still alive at the start of the third, CSKA quickly finished it off. Takhir Mingachyov made it 3-1, profiting from good work behind the net from Rhett Gardner and Sergei Kalinin to score from close range. Then came a power play goal for Dmitry Buchelnikov, his first in KHL playoff hockey. He scored it in some style, slipping between two opponents before wiring a wrister past Pleshkov to make it 4-1. Buchelnikov was discarded by SKA after the 2022/2023 season and came to Moscow via Admiral and Vityaz; today he made his point in emphatic fashion.

That was not quite the final word. SKA played with an empty net from the 56th minute and the extra skater helped claw back one goal – Nikita Dishkovsky scoring his first in the playoffs. But there was no way to save the game and SKA heads home with work to do to make this series competitive.