Dynamo Moscow - SKA

Dynamo Moscow - SKA - 4:3 OT

9 March 2016

The second match of this KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs took place against HC Dynamo in Moscow. A couple of changes were made by Sergei Zubov, with Alexei Ponikarovsky replacing Joakim Lindstrom in the second line and Alexander Kadeikin becoming the thirteenth forward. Mikko Koskinen between our pipes, and his opposite number was Dynamo’s Alexander Yeryomenko.

Having lost game one Dynamo were under real pressure in front of their home fans, and they appeared nervy during the opening stages. SKA were creating chances at will, and Jarno Koskiranta should really have scored: in space on the doorstep, he was denied by the goaltender’s right pad. Dynamo were waiting for their chances on the counterattack, and unfortunately they took advantage of their first opportunity. Maxim Karpov cut inside Yegor Yakovlev, and wristed powerfully into the far left corner. That increased the volume inside the arena, and on a powerplay they doubled their money. A juicy rebound fell to Ilya Shipov on the crease, and he made no mistake. Our players had their backs to the wall, however despite Dynamo’s confidence we had clear openings to get into the game. Evgeny Dadonov failed to net when clean through, and Anton Belov couldn’t get a shot way when in a fantastic position.

Despite trailing SKA weren’t disheartened, and pulled one back immediately in the second. Nikita Gusev crept into Dynamo’s zone, let a ferocious wrister go, and it flew over Alexander Yeryomenko’s glove. That breathed new life into our ranks, but in the next play Dynamo shockingly grabbed their third. Our back line got caught out on the counter, and home forward Vladimir Bryukvin slid the puck in by the left post. SKA had no other option than to attack, and amazingly we managed to get back on level terms in that same period. Ilya Kablukov’s deflected dump brought us back to one, and then on a five on three Vadim Shipachyov netted on the right faceoff circle. The tide had well and truly turned, and Dynamo’s net was being peppered from all angles. The hosts were all over the place, and they were lucky to see Ilya Kovalchuk thump against the woodwork. Pavel Buchnevich and Maxim Chudinov also had promising openings up close, and at times it felt that Alexander Yeryomenko was playing SKA by himself.

You could feel the tension in the third period, and SKA opted to sit back and tighten up defensively. Dynamo were making all of the running, and Mikko Koskinen made a total of 14 saves in the period compared to Alexander Yeryomenko’s five. The hosts were taking the heat up inside of our zone, and Mikko made several expert stops off powerful long range drives. The best chance fell to Vladimir Bryukvin, however on an odd man rush he failed to make contact with the puck. Our players weren’t willing to make lengthy advances into Dynamo’s end, and the only real opportunity of note fell to Vadim Shipachyov: on a powerplay Vadim took aim on the right flank, looked sure to score, but the home goalkeeper flashed leather in time.

Overtime it was, and surprisingly it was now SKA who began to dominate. Dynamo weren’t ready for our onslaught, and they got extremely lucky on a number of occasions. Evgeny Dadonov had clear space on the crease, took aim, and ringed his goalbound shot off the left post. That wasn’t the last time that the woodwork would save Dynamo either, as Vadim Shipachyov smacked the goal frame with the goal at his mercy. Such misses are usually punished, and sadly that proved to be the case today. With Ilya Kovalchuk in the penalty box Alexander Osipov wristed from the blue line, and the puck found its way through a crowd of bodies. 3:4 today, and the series will now move to Saint Petersburg level at 1:1.

Match protocol:

Dynamo Moscow – SKA – 4:3 OT (2:0, 1:3, 0:0 – 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Karpov (Robinson), 03.23

2:0 Shipov (Vishnevsky, Igumnov), 12.32

2:1 Gusev (Shipachyov), 23.15

3:1 Bryukvin (Pestushko, Tereschenko), 24.06

3:2 Kablukov, 24.59

3:3 Shipachyov (Gusev, Chudinov), 34.50

4:3 Osipov (Kokarev, Gorovikov), 76.18

Goalkeepers: Yeryomenko – Koskinen

Shots on target: 43 – 35