Two go through in the West

CSKA and Torpedo joined Dinamo Minsk in the second round of this year’s playoffs after completing their series in five games. Denis Guryanov again starred for the Muscovites with a hat-trick in a 6-2 win over SKA. Sixth seed Torpedo upset the rankings with a 4-3 win at third seed Severstal, making playoff progress for the first time since 2023.

Guryanov hat-trick sends CSKA through

CSKA Moscow 6 SKA St. Petersburg 2 (2-1, 1-0, 3-1)
CSKA wins the series 4-1

Another big game from Denis Guryanov saw CSKA wrap up its series against SKA in five games. After scoring twice in a 4-2 win in game four in St. Petersburg, the forward went one better today with a hat-trick to steer Igor Nikitin’s men into the second round.

The Muscovites won the 10th playoff series between the teams. CSKA has seven wins in that time and hasn’t lost to its northern rival since 2015, when SKA went on to win its first Gagarin Cup. The Petersburg club, meanwhile, bows out at the first hurdle for the second year in a row.

The home team started the game like it was determined to wrap up the series in double-quick time. The first big chance went to CSKA in the fourth minute when Klim Kostin and Pavel Karnaukhov had a two-on-one rush, but Artemy Pleshkov saved the latter’s one-timer.

But it wasn’t long before pressure brought the opening goal. A mass home attack in the seventh minute had SKA straining to clear its lines. The job was only half done, Jeremy Roy took possession on the point and the started a new play. This one ended with Nikolai Kovalenko’s pass out of the corner turned into the net by Denis Guryanov, a two-goal star in the previous game.

Soon after that SKA got the first power play of the game. The visitor could not take that chance, but did tie the scores in the 12th minute through Andrei Pedan. The defenseman potted his second of the playoffs with a powerful effort from the blue line after young Ignat Lutfullin created the chance.

CSKA came close to regaining the lead on the next shift, but had to be content with a power play after Sergei Plotnikov fouled Dmitry Buchelnikov behind the net. Plotnikov made it out of the box, but only three seconds before Roy made it 2-1 with a forward’s finish off Guryanov’s feed.

In the second period, Igor Nikitin’s hockey came to the fore. CSKA allowed SKA plenty of possession, but little territory. And when the chance came for a counter, the home team was ready to strike. That brought a goal for Sergei Kalinin to make it 3-1 in the 28th minute. And there might have been more: Ivan Drozdov found space to test Pleshkov from a tight angle, then Buchelnikov forced a turnover and went close to converting a chance he created for himself.

The final frame brought more solid defense from the Muscovites. An early penalty for Ruslan Iskhakov, who tripped Lutfullin, gave SKA a chance. However, there was no way past a resolute home PK and the first clear scoring opportunity of the frame went to CSKA’s Prokhor Poltapov as he looked to cash in on a defensive lapse at the other end.

Home goalie Dmitry Gamzin faced his first major test midway through the third period. Nikolai Goldobin sent the puck wide right for Plotnikov to shoot, but Gamzin reacted smartly. Right after that, Joseph Blandisi got into a tussle with Kostin, leading to a CSKA power play that ate up two valuable minutes.

At the end of the home power play, Roy went to the box and SKA had a chance to save the game and the series. The visitor went to six-on-four and fashioned a great chance when its passing game saw Lutfullin get a shooting position from a wide position. Gamzin just about stopped that shot, while Scott Wilson could not reach the loose puck on the follow-up.

Soon, though, CSKA made the game safe. Plotnikov went back to the box and this time the home power play fired immediately. It took just six seconds to create Guryanov’s second goal of the game, making it 4-1 with six to play.

There was plenty of incident in those last minutes, but the outcome was not to be changed. Brennan Menell’s 57th-minute goal gave SKA a faint hope of saving the game, but Kovalenko replied with an empty-netter before Guryanov, appropriately, had the final word on 59:07 to make the final score 6-2.

Isakov advances in first season with Torpedo

Severstal Cherepovets 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 (1-2, 0-1, 2-1)
Torpedo wins the series 4-1

Victory at Severstal sent Torpedo to the second round of the KHL playoffs for the first time since 2023. Alexei Isakov, in his first season as a head coach in this league, has led the Nizhny Novgorod club through the first round for only the fourth time in the KHL era.

Two goals apiece from Vladimir Tkachyov and Sergei Goncharuk secured a 4-3 win amid an action-packed finish in Cherepovets. Severstal, which grabbed an early lead in this game, scored twice in the last five minutes but Goncharuk’s second of the night came in between those tallies and kept the visitor in front.

The home team, down 1-3, needed a good start on its return to familiar ice. And Severstal got the opening goal in the ninth minute thanks to Ilya Reyngardt. After a promising beginning to the game, Vladimir Grudinin pulled play down the boards and fired in a powerful low shot. Denis Kostin padded it away, but Reyngardt was too strong for Anton Silayev and scored from the rebound.

Home joy lasted less than a minute, though. Nikita Kamalov hooked back Torpedo’s Nikita Shavin as he headed to the net, and the visitor was awarded a penalty shot. Up stepped Tkachyov to beat Alexander Samoilov with a cold-blooded move.

Barely 90 seconds later, Tkachyov had his second and Torpedo – barely in the game up to this point – had a 2-1 lead. Robert Nardella’s shot seemed to demand a tip, but instead the forward surprised everyone by controlling the puck, stepping to the side of the net and beating Samoilov.

That 2-1 lead held until the first intermission, and early in the second period Goncharuk added a third. Vladislav Firstov led a counterattack and dished off a beauty of a pass between two opponents to set up his team-mate for an impressive goal.

Now Severstal began to look a little ragged, and defensive errors invited further counterattacks that had Samoilov alert. Towards the end of the middle frame, a fight broke out between Silyaev and Nikolai Chebykin. The visiting defenseman landed a couple of good blows but could not earn a decisive verdict in the bout and both players went to the box on major penalties.

Much of the third period was dominated by Torpedo’s defense. With a two-goal lead and just 20 minutes left, there was little need for Isakov’s team to push for more goals. Chances were rare until the closing stages, when a sudden explosion of action brought the game back to the boil.

Daniil Aimurzin got Severstal right back into contention in the 57th minute when he made it 2-3. The home team had already summoned Samoilov to the bench and its massed six-on-five offense set up a one-timer to halve the deficit.

But it wasn’t a one-goal game for long as Goncharuk found the empty net from center ice to ease Torpedo’s nerves. There was still time for more drama as Adam Liska made it 3-4 at the end, but with just 1:36 left on the clock Severstal ran out of time before it could save the game.