Play-off round 2: Okulov, Isayev star
The second round of Gagarin Cup playoff action has seen great goaltending in Yaroslavl, thrilling finishes in Minsk, and vital scoring streaks for Avangard and Metallurg. Along the way, Andrei Stas became the fifth man to play 1,000 KHL games. And in the juniors, the first round of the playoffs produced the JHL’s longest-ever game.
Okulov returns to haunt CSKA
The ex-factor is strong in the Avangard vs CSKA series, with several players having represented both clubs. But Avangard forward Konstantin Okulov, who played more than seven seasons with the Muscovites before moving to Omsk last term, is turning into the key figure. The 31-year-old scored twice in a 3-0 win in the opener, following up with a goal and an assist as the Hawks took a 3-2 verdict in game two. Then, when the action moved to Moscow, Okulov’s OT winner gave the 2021 champion a 3-0 lead in the series. Okulov is currently on a five-game hot streak, and leads the playoff scoring race with 13 (8+5) points, five clear of his closest rival. He also potted his 200th goal and collected his 100th point in the playoffs.
Isayev defies Salavat Yulaev
Goaltender Daniil Isayev enjoyed back-to-back shut-outs in Yaroslavl as Lokomotiv took control of its series against Ufa. The 26-year-old made 50 saves in those two games, backstopping 1-0 and 2-0 victories. His shut-out streak was ended in Ufa on Sunday when Sergei Varlov beat him early in the second period, but Isayev once again came out on top in a 3-2 victory. In total, he went 180:25 without allowing a goal, comfortably the longest sequence in this year’s playoffs and 12th in Gagarin Cup history. In eight playoff games, Isayev has a GAA of 1.43% with 93.8% saves and three shut-outs.
Vovchenko hits form
Metallurg forward Daniil Vovchenko is one of head coach Andrei Razin’s unsung heroes. The pair were together at Severstal, and after the coach moved to Magnitogorsk he soon invited the forward to follow him. Since then, he has scored the goal that won the 2024 Gagarin Cup and followed up with the marker that clinched this year’s regular season trophy. He missed much of the first-round series against Sibir after an injury in the opening game, but on his return the 30-year-old has shown why he’s a clutch player. His first game back, he potted the only goal to wrap up the Sibir series in game five. Then he scored in each of the first two games against Torpedo in round two, helping Magnitka to a 2-0 lead before the action goes to Nizhny Novgorod.
Ak Bars upsets seeding
Only one team in the second round has defeated a higher-seeded opponent – and Ak Bars did it twice in Minsk. Both goals delivered late drama: in the opener, the teams traded goals in the last minute as the visitor took a 2-1 verdict. Then, on Saturday, there was even more excitement. Ak Bars jumped to an early two-goal lead and looked comfortable going into the third at 3-1. Dinamo Minsk hit back to tie it, then got in front with 70 seconds left on a Sam Anas power play goal. But Artyom Galimov made it 4-4 with 46 seconds on the clock in regulation, then Nathan Todd won it in overtime. Minsk head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov has a big job to turn the series around when he returns to Kazan, where he worked behind the Ak Bars bench from 2019 to 2022.
1,000 games for Stas
Dinamo Minsk forward Andrei Stas is the fifth man to play 1,000 KHL games. He’s also the first Belarusian player to reach that milestone. His big day arrived on Saturday, when the Bison hosted Ak Bars in game two of their playoff series. Stas made his debut as a 19-year-old on Sep. 2, 2008 in Dinamo’s road game at Metallurg Novokuznetsk. He has played 10 seasons in his homeland, where his 519 games for Minsk are a record by a big margin. Stas also represented CSKA, Avangard, Traktor and Neftekhimik.
Juniors complete round one
The race for the Junior Hockey League’s Kharlamov Cup is underway, and the first round was concluded Sunday. It produced, among others, the longest game in JHL history when Irbis Kazan needed 142 minutes to beat Chayka Nizhny Novgorod in game four. That squared the series, but Chayka recovered to win the game five decider. Sixth seed Chayka was one of four teams to upset the seeding. Also in the East, Avto (5) got past Tolpar (4) in four games. The Western Conference saw Dinamo Shinnik (7) stun Dynamo Moscow (2), while Krasnaya Armiya (5) overcame SKA-1946 (4). Defending champion Spartak (3) is the next opponent for Krasnaya Armiya, while regular season champion Loko (1) faces Shinnik. In the East, Omskiye Yastreby (1) will play Chayka, Magnitogorsk’s Stalniye Lisy (2) go up against Avto.
Coming up …
We could see our first Gagarin Cup semi-finalists confirmed Tuesday as Avangard and Lokomotiv look to complete sweeps at CSKA and Salavat Yulaev respectively. And the whole of round two will be complete on Sunday at the latest.
