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After two games of the 2026 Gagarin Cup final, there’s nothing between the teams. After Wednesday’s 5-1 win in Yaroslavl, Ak Bars brings Lokomotiv back to Kazan with the series locked a 1-1.

The opening day of the Gagarin Cup final brought victory for Lokomotiv. Two goals in a minute early in the second period paved the way for a 3-1 success for the defending champion.

The defending champion is back in the Gagarin Cup final for the third year straight. Lokomotiv rallied from 1-3 in Wednesday’s game seven in Yaroslavl to win it in overtime. And that was an echo of the series, with Bob Hartley’s team recovering from 1-3 against Avangard to take a 4-3 verdict.

Two goals for Loko in the last minute of regulation robbed Avangard of a place in this year’s Gagarin Cup final – at least for now. The Hawks blew a 2-0 lead in game six of the series and fell in overtime, ensuring the teams return to Yaroslavl for a game seven showdown.

Ak Bars is going back to the Gagarin Cup final for the sixth time after winning its semi-final series against Metallurg in five games. That equals the record for final appearance, first set by CSKA. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men will face the winner of the Lokomotiv vs Avangard series when the grand final gets underway on May 11.

Two days after failing to score in Omsk, Lokomotiv blanked Avangard in Yaroslavl. Saturday’s 4-0 victory ensures this Gagarin Cup semi-final series will return to Siberia for game six with Loko still in contention at 2-3.

Ak Bars made it back-to-back 4-1 home victories over Metallurg to open a 3-1 lead in the Gagarin Cup semi-final series. Two goals in 66 seconds late in the second period opened a decisive lead for Anvar Gatiyatulin’s men.

Avangard is one game away from ousting the defending champion. A 2-0 win at home to Lokomotiv put the Hawks up 3-1 in the series. Playoff leading scorer Konstantin Okulov moves to 20 points in post season after scoring the second goal in Omsk.

Two goals in the first period from Dmitry Katelevsky proved to be the catalyst for an Ak Bars victory in game three of its Gagarin Cup semi-final series against Metallurg. The Tatar club moves in front 2-1 in the series against the regular season champion.

Down 2-0 in the series, and 2-0 at the first intermission, Lokomotiv’s grip on the Gagarin Cup looked to be down to its fingertips. But a big fightback in game three secured a 4-2 victory in Omsk, reinvigorating Bob Hartley’s hopes of taking his team to the final.

A 4-2 home victory saw Metallurg draw level in its 2026 Gagarin Cup semi-final series against Ak Bars. The Steelmen led 3-0 at the second intermission but the visitor clawed two goals back in the third before Nikita Mikhailis put the game out of reach late on.

Two goals in 68 seconds midway through the second period turned around game two of this Gagarin Cup semi-final series. Vasily Ponomaryov and Damir Sharipzyanov put Avangard in front and the Hawks went on to win a fiery game in Yaroslavl.

A powerful first period saw Ak Bars take control of the opening game of its 2026 Gagarin Cup semi-final series against Metallurg. The visitor took a 5-2 verdict at the regular season champion to enjoy an early advantage in the series.

Defenseman Max Lajoie had two power play goals to open the Gagarin Cup semifinals. His efforts paced a 5-2 win for the Hawks at Lokomotiv.

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.

A narrow 2-1 win over CSKA was enough for Avangard to complete a 4-1 series win. After defeating last season’s Gagarin Cup winning head coach, the Hawks advance to face the defending champion under former Avangard boss Bob Hartley.

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.

Two goals in the last three minutes were not enough for Dinamo Minsk to save the game or the series as Ak Bars moves into the 2026 Gagarin Cup semi-finals.

The Gagarin Cup second round series between Avangard and CSKA is heading back to Omsk for game five after the Muscovites got their first win on Tuesday.

Daniil Isayev’s third shut-out in four games helped Loko steam into the 2026 Gagarin Cup semi-finals.

A first playoff shut-out for goalie Maxim Arefyev helped Ak Bars to a 4-0 win over Dinamo Minsk as this Gagarin Cup second round series moved to Kazan. The Tatars now lead the series 3-0.

A second-period blitz helped Metallurg open a 3-0 lead in its Gagarin Cup second round series against Torpedo.

Konstantin Okulov’s overtime winner saw Avangard take a 3-2 verdict at CSKA. The Hawks now lead the Gagarin Cup second round series 3-0 and can wrap it up in Moscow on Tuesday.

Salavat Yulaev scored its first goals of this 2026 Gagarin Cup playoff second round series but could not avoid a third successive loss to Lokomotiv.

A pulsating game in Minsk saw the teams trade goals in the last 70 seconds of regulation to tie 4-4. Dinamo had recovered from 1-3 to lead on 58:50, but allowed a late equalizer before falling to Nathan Todd in the extras.

Daniil Vovchenko scored for the third game in a row as Metallurg moved a step closer to settling its Gagarin Cup second round series against Torpedo. Saturday brought a 4-1 win on home ice, giving Magnitka a 2-0 lead in the series.

For the second game in a row, Lokomotiv edged a shut-out verdict over Salavat Yulaev. The defending champion now leads its Gagarin Cup second round series 2-0 as the teams head to Ufa for Sunday’s game three.

Game two of this second round series saw Avangard hold on to beat CSKA 3-2. Two goals from Andrew Poturalski, plus two points from Konstantin Okulov, made the difference. The Muscovites got their first goals of the series, but it wasn’t enough.

Dinamo Minsk was the only team to enjoy a sweep in round one. But so far, the Belarusians are the only team to drop a home game in round two, falling 1-2 against Ak Bars on Wednesday evening

Torpedo recovered from 0-2 in the first period of its playoff second round opener in Magnitogorsk. But the outsider could not force an upset against the regular season champ, falling 4-3.

A tight game in Yaroslavl was decided by a single goal as the defending champion made a winning start in round two.

The start of the second round saw 19 saves from Nikita Serebryakov and two goals from Konstantin Okulov lead the Hawks to victory over CSKA.

Salavat Yulaev left it late, but Evgeny Kuznetsov and Sheldon Rempal put the Ufa club into the second round of the playoffs. Kuznetsov tied the game four seconds before the hooter, then assisted on Rempal’s winner in overtime. Salavat Yulaev will now face Lokomotiv in round two, with the series starting in Yaroslavl on April 8.

Despite falling two goals behind at home to Spartak in game five, Lokomotiv recovered to win 3-2 on the night and take it’s KHL playoff first round series 4-1. That means seven of the eight quarter-final spots are now filled, and Salavat Yulaev could complete the set with victory over Avtomobilist in Ufa tomorrow. Should the home team win, it would face Lokomotiv in the second round, starting on April 8. The other three pairings are confirmed: Avangard vs CSKA (April 8), Metallurg vs Torpedo and Dinamo Minsk vs Ak Bars (both April 9).

Daniil Vovchenko and Nikolai Prokhorkin scored the vital goals as two more KHL playff first-round series came to an end on Wednesday. Vovchenko got the only goal of the game as Metallurg edged a 1-0 verdict over Sibir. Then Prokhorkin tied Avangard’s game against Nefetkhimik with just eight seconds to play before potting the winner in overtime. Both winning teams completed their series in five games.

An overtime winner from Dmitrij Jaskin sent Ak Bars into the second round of the 2026 KHL playoffs. His 61st-minute strike earned a 2-1 win over Traktor, settling the series in five games. The series between Avtomobilist and Salavat Yulaev returns to Ufa after Stepan Khripunov lead the Motormen to a 5-2 win. Salavat will hope to finish the job on Thursday, but saw its advantage reduced to 3-2.

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.

We have our first qualifier for the second round of the 2026 KHL playoffs. Dinamo Minsk wrapped up a first-round sweep of Dynamo Moscow after Stanislav Galiyev scored twice in an overtime win. Also in Moscow, defending champion Lokomotiv won 2-0 at Spartak to take a 3-1 lead back to Yaroslavl on Wednesday.

Sibir needed almost five full period to find the opening goal of its game against Metallurg – but Anton Kosolapov’s snipe on 99:59 earned a 1-0 victory to keep that series alive. Magnitka, up 3-1, will look to finish it in Magnitogorsk on Wednesday. Eastern Conference second seed Avangard is also one home win away from round two after a 5-2 success at Neftekhimik put it up 3-1 in the series.

Sunday’s Western Conference action brought drama in Nizhny Novgorod. Torpedo scored twice in the last two minutes to force overtime before Sergei Goncharuk sunk Severstal and gave his team a 3-1 lead in the series. The other game saw Denis Guryanov fire CSKA to victory at SKA, putting the Muscovites up 3-1 before the series returns to the capital.