Metallurg completes SF line-up

An overtime victory over Torpedo saw Metallurg finish its second-round series in five games. The Steelmen progress to the semi-finals, where they will start at home to Eastern Conference rival Ak Bars on March 25. The other match-up sees Lokomotiv take on Avangard.

Kantserov settles the series

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3 OT (1-0, 2-1, 0-2, 1-0)
Metallurg wins the series 4-1

A goal 77 seconds before the hooter offered Torpedo an unlikely path to salvation in a must-win game in Magnitogorsk. However, although Maxim Letunov’s marker took this one into overtime, Alexei Isakov’s men bowed out of the playoffs on an OT tally from Roman Kantserov.

The 21-year-old, who led the KHL in regular season goals this term, potted his third of the playoffs in the 66th minute. That snapped a 3-3 tie and gave Magnitka the win it needed to advance to the final four.

In the extras, the home team was always the more active and when Anton Sizov went to the box after 63 minutes, the power play proved decisive. Vladimir Tkachyov was the architect, collecting the rebound from Daniil Vovchenko’s shot and circling around the zone to thread a pass to the slot; Kantserov rifled home his first of the series form between the hash marks.

Thus, Metallurg’s Tkachyov had his say in overcoming his Torpedo namesake. Both finished the series with two points – a slowdown from the first round – but the Vladimir of the Urals will continue in the competition.

Andrei Razin’s team came into the game as a hot favorite to advance. And the host might have progressed more smoothly had it made more of its first-period dominance. Despite outshooting Torpedo 13-5 in the opening frame, Magnitka found Denis Kostin in resilient form: a Robin Press power play marker was all that separated the teams at the intermission.

Torpedo made Metallurg pay at the start of the second period. Alexander Yaremchuk fired the puck in from the boards, and Andrei Belevich got his stick to it to steer home a tying goal in the 23rd minute. The home defense had allowed the forward too much space and was duly punished.

But there was little chance for the visitor to build on that breakthrough. Belevich’s goal was one of just three shots at Ilya Nabokov, preferred to Alexander Smolin today for his first start in this year’s playoffs. Nabokov previously came into the game partway through an overtime victory against Sibir in round one.

At the other end, Metallurg continued to press and this time it built a bigger lead. Press restored the home advantage midway through the second period with another blast from the blue line. Then, 10 seconds before the intermission, Vovchenko made it 3-1. He started the move by slaloming to the net, then put away the rebound after Sergei Tolchinsky tried to score on the follow-up.

After two periods, Torpedo had managed just eight shots on goal – hardly evidence of a team ready to recover a two-goal deficit. But at the start of the third, Metallurg’s defense became unusually hesitant. One error invited Yaremchuk and Yegor Vinogradov onto an unproductive counterattack. A couple of minutes later, Vinogradov was able to steal the puck behind the net and swing round to scored from close range.

The visitor had hope at last and went on to dominate the third period. But Nabokov preserved his team’s lead until the closing moments. Finally, with Torpedo playing six-on-five, the late surge forced a tying goal. Bogdan Konyushkov’s point shot went into a crowd of players, Letunov’s touch took it past the home goalie to tie the game.

But that merely delayed the inevitable: Metallurg recovered in overtime and booked its place in the semi-finals.