Dynamo Moscow - SKA - 0:2. Game Three

SKA travelled to the Russian capital to take on hosts Dynamo Moscow in the third match of this KHL Gagarin Cup second round series. Head coach Vyacheslav Bykov made a few changes to the line-up, with defencemen Roman Rukavishnikov and Dinar Khafizullin returning to the team. Mikko Koskinen was our starting netminder, with Alexander Lazushin between the pipes for Dynamo.

It was a very tactical few minutes inside the Luzhniki Arena, with both teams not willing to give up anything in defence. Dynamo earned the first powerplay, and they came close to scoring as Janne Jalasvaara thumped a fearsome slapper wide of the left post. Minutes later however Dynamo captain Yury Babenko horribly hacked down Yevgeni Ketov, and he was hit with a heavy 5+20 penalty for that offence. Despite that extended powerplay our team couldn’t create much at all, and Dynamo were threatening on the break as Maxim Pestushko was denied by Mikko Koskinen one on one. There were a couple of promising moments for SKA as the minutes ticked down, and a few Maxim Chudinov slap shots went whistling over the goalkeeper’s blocker.

As we move on into the second SKA began to take control of the game, and spent a lot more time inside Dynamo’s zone. Indeed everyone thought that the team had taken the lead, as a huge rebound of the boards was touched in by Jimmie Ericsson. The ghost goal was waved off though after a lengthy look by the referees, as it was ruled as to have not crossed the line. That mattered little however, as not long later Anton Burdasov got free on the left faceoff circle and thumped into the far corner. That gave our team a needed boost, and with a man’s advantage Maxim Chudinov almost scored a wonder goal. He took up the puck behind his own net, cut through the entire Dynamo defence, and was shut down by Alexander Lazushin up close. The hosts had a couple of opportunities after that, as Konstantin Volkov’s stinging drive was brilliantly gloved by Mikko Koskinen.

If we expected a Dynamo surge in the third frame, then we were to be mistaken. Our team showed a complete masterclass of how to hold the puck and not give the opponents any chances, as the hosts were restricted to only seven shots on goal in the period. All the opportunities came at the other end, as Ilya Kovalchuk clean through was stoned before Roman Cervenka saw his effort beaten away from the high slot. As a rather uneventful period came to a close Dynamo did carve out one chance, as free on the doorstep Maxim Pestushko failed to find the left corner. That was as good as it got for the hosts, and with goaltender Alexander Lazushin pulled Ilya Kovalchuk hit the empty net from neutral ice. 2:0 in Moscow, and SKA take a crucial lead in the series 2:1!

Match protocol:

Dynamo Moscow – SKA – 0:2 (0:0, 0:1, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Burdasov (Kalinin, Rukavishnikov), 26.44

0:2 Kovalchuk (Cervenka), 58.50

Goalkeepers: Lazushin – Koskinen

Shots: 27 – 30

Penalty minutes: 29 – 6

Faceoffs: 23 – 33

Blocked shots: 13 – 11

Hits: 19 – 12

Referees: Jerabek, Ravodin

15.03.2015. The Luzhniki Arena, Moscow. Attendance 8024.