Torpedo stays alive in OT

Down 0-2 at the start of the third, it looked like Torpedo’s season was coming to an end. But a big fightback tied the game before Yegor Vinogradov’s power play goal sent the series back to Magnitogorsk for a fifth game on Friday.

Vinogradov grabs winner for Torpedo

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 OT (0-1, 0-1, 2-0, 1-0)
Metallurg leads the series 3-1

With elimination staring Torpedo in the face, it was time for the team’s leaders to step up. And they did. Playoff scoring leader Vladislav Firstov and club captain Alexei Kruchinin stepped up with third-period goals to force overtime. Then Yegor Vinogradov, the team’s regular season top scorer, grabbed a power play winner to force a fifth game in this series.

Firstov started the fightback in spectacular fashion 14 seconds into the final third. Maxim Letunov’s pass sent him beyond the visiting defense and, up close with Alexander Smolin, he dangled the puck through his own legs before lifting it over the goalie’s shoulder with a move more suited to a penalty shot than open play.

Metallurg responded with a shot against the post, but Torpedo kept up the pressure. Like Johnson’s interference brought a home power play, and a misplaced pass from young defenseman Alexander Siryatsky gifted Kruchinin a tying goal in the 47th minute.

From that point on, the game was up for grabs. Both teams had chances in regulation and overtime, but the crucial opportunity arrived when Ruslan Isakhov’s trip after 75 minutes gave Torpedo a power play against tiring opposition.

Fifty-nine seconds later, Vinogradov scored the winner: his first look at Smolin’s net offered little, forcing him to recycle play via Robert Nardella on the blue line. But when the puck came back to the forward, he had a clear shooting lane and picked it out perfectly, beating Smolin and winning the game.

Yet Metallurg will surely feel that this series should already be over. Andrei Razin’s team seemed set for a sweep after opening a 2-0 lead in the second period. The stats suggested the visitor was good value for that lead: 24-11 in shots, 10:41 vs 7:09 attacking possession, and Torpedo forced to block 13 shots.

All that pressure brought a couple of goals. Alexander Petunin made the early breakthrough, rifling home an angle shot from close range after a delicious no-look feed from Iskhakov.

After dominating the first period without adding to the lead, Magnitka struck again at the start of the second period. Nikita Mikhailis collected his second assist of the game, taking a loose puck into the Torpedo zone then teeing up defenseman Artyom Minulin for a goalbound shot as he stepped up from the blue line.

If there was a flaw in the visitor’s performance, it was a failure to further consolidate a strong position. Yet despite the fightback, Torpedo almost bowed out in regulation. The final minute saw Sergei Tolchinsky test Denis Kostin, before Valery Orekhov fired in point shot that clipped the crossbar and flew to safety. And from that reprieve, the home team was able to get into overtime and keep the series alive.