Contrasting fortunes for Eastern leaders

There was drama in Omsk as second seed Avangard allowed a late equalizer before falling in OT to seventh-ranked Neftekhimik. That ties their Gagarin Cup playoff series at 1-1 before the teams head to Nizhnekamsk. Top seed Metallurg had no such problems, though. Robin Press scored twice in a 5-1 win over Sibir as Andrei Razin’s team opened a 2-0 lead in the series.

Top seed cruises to second win

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5 Sibir Novosibirsk 1 (1-1, 2-0, 2-0)
Metallurg leads the series 2-0

Two goals from Robin Press bookended a convincing win for Metallurg as the regular season champion opened a 2-0 lead in its first round series against Sibir.

For the second time in two days, Andrei Razin’s men proved too strong for the opposition, improving on Tuesday’s 4-1 scoreline.

The visitor welcomed back Sergei Shirokov, who missed the opening game. He was named on a nominal fourth line with Maxim Sushko and Valentin Pyanov. But his return could not inspire an improvement from his team.

Instead, Metallurg got in front early. Press opened the scoring in the fourth minute, firing home a Vladimir Tkachyov pass after Roman Kantserov won an attacking face-off. Subsequently, Magnitka enjoyed slightly the better of the first period play, without ever creating a flurry of big chances. That enabled Sibir to stay in the game, and the visitor surprised the home team with an equalizer late in the frame. An error from Artyom Minulin as he tried to bring the puck out of his zone created an odd-man rush and Anton Kosolapov set up Semyon Koshelev to make it 1-1.

However, that was as good as things got for the visitor. At the start of the second period, Metallurg got the first power play of the game and another fine Tkachyov assist set up Kantserov’s second goal of the playoffs. And midway through the frame, Ruslan Iskhakov’s attack down the right saw him set up Nikita Mikhailis to make it 3-1.

Sibir’s problems were not limited to the score. The visitor mustered just two shots on goal in a tepid middle frame. In truth, Metallurg was giving Anton Krasotkin little more to do: the Steelmen scored twice off six shots to take control of the game.

That grip tightened further when Metallurg scored a quick goal for the third period in a row. This time young Mikhail Fyodorov was on target, whipping home a loose puck from between the hash marks. That’s two in two for the teenager in his first playoff campaign.

The visitor had a chance to hit back right away. Nikita Korotkov’s slash brought Sibir its first power play of the night and Kosolapov set up Koshelev again, only for the shot to hit the post. However, once again, the visiting offense struggled to stretch Alexander Smolin in the Metallurg net. He faced just 13 shots through 60 minutes in a game that was generally light on clear-cut chances.

The best of those opportunities, by some margin, were created by the home team. Press got his second of the night in the 53rd minute when his point shot beat Krasotkin as Yegor Korobkin generated traffic in front of the Sibir net.

That put the seal on Metallurg’s 800th win in the KHL. Now the teams head to Novosibirsk with the top seed firmly in the driving seat.

Nefetkhimik snatches victory from jaws of defeat

Avangard Omsk 3 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 4 2OT (1-0, 0-1, 2-2, 0-0, 0-1)
Series tied at 1-1

It could go down as the decisive moment not just in this game, but in the entire series. As Thursday’s game in Omsk moved into the last two minutes, Avangard was up 3-2 and contemplating arriving in Nizhnekamsk with a 2-0 lead when the action changes places on Saturday.

Then came Ilya Pastukhov. Behind him, goalie Filipp Dolganov was leaving the ice to make way for an extra skater. In front, a crowd was gathering around Nikita Serebryakov’s net. Nikolai Prokhorkin batted the puck out from behind the goal, Pastukhov gathered at the puck and fired in a shot past the unsighted goalie to tie the game in dramatic fashion.

And there was more to come. A goalless, evenly matched period of overtime ended. A second session began, and after 86 minutes, Neftekhimik snatched a winner. Joseph Cecconi twisted and turned in center ice, looking to evade the attentions of Damir Zhafyarov, only to steer into the path of Andrei Belozyorov. He snaffled away the puck, headed to the net and circled behind before forcing in a deflected shot to beat Serebryakov and win the game.

That seemed unlikely after Avangard made a strong start. The home team was eager to build on Tuesday’s 4-2 success and got in front in the seventh minute through Konstantin Okulov. He skated onto Semyon Chistyakov’s cross-ice pass and fired home a wrister from the right-hand channel.
But Giovanni Fiore prevented the Hawks from building on that lead. The home forward had already been involved in a first-minute scuffle with Ivan Nikolishin. And in the ninth minute he was handed a major penalty after a check to Maxim Fedotov’s head that saw the visiting defenseman taken to the locker room by Neftekhimik’s medical staff.

Neftekhimik could not score on that power play, but managed to level up the balance of play. In the second period there was more penalty trouble for Omsk and that led to a tying goal late in the session. With Prokhorkin in the box, Nikita Popugayev redirected Artyom Serikov’s shot past Serebryakov.

There was more to come. Midway through the third, Nikolishin put Neftekhimik ahead for the first time in the game. The lead was short-lived, though. Nail Yakupov quickly tied it up, then made it 3-2 in the 57th minute. But that lead was to last less than two minutes before Pastukhov sent us to overtime – and the final drama brought the Wolves a vital victory before they return to home ice at the weekend.