Lokomotiv - SKA

Lokomotiv - SKA - 3:2 OT

21 February 2016

SKA begun their 2015/2016 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs campaign against HC Lokomotiv in Yaroslavl. Head coach Sergei Zubov opted for the Nikita Gusev, Evgeny Dadonov and Vadim Shipachyov combination in the first line, while captain Ilya Kovalchuk was moved down to the first. Mikko Koskinen was in our net, and Alexei Murygin was Lokomotiv’s last line of defence.

Given the match’s status it was a nervy start inside the Arena 2000, and Lokomotiv were the livelier team during the opening stages. Mikko Koskinen made twelve saves in the period overall, and he was being kept busy as our team took two early penalties. Lokomotiv kept on upping the pressure, and we were lucky to see Patrik Hersley’s thundering slap shot fly wide of the right post. SKA were patiently waiting for chances on the counterattack, and as the period wore on we became more confident. Shorthanded Evgeny Dadonov was denied at point blank range blocker side, and after stripping his opponent of possession Evgeny Ketov failed to net clean through. A Lokomotiv penalty helped our cause even further, and that paved the way for SKA to take the lead. A beautiful play ended with Vadim Shipachyov taking aim from a tight angle to the right, and he lashed the puck expertly into the net.

Our players begun the second period on the front foot, however with their first chance of the frame Lokomotiv made it a tied game. The puck was dumped in from the right hand boards, and Denis Mosalyov poked in from the doorstep. Lokomotiv had the wind behind their sails now, and went on to outshoot SKA 10-3. The pressure was incessant, and Mikko Koskinen was making some brilliant saves as the hosts piled the heat on. Our players couldn’t get a firm grip of possession at all, but just as things were getting away from us we found a second goal. Pavel Kraskovsky took an interference call for Lokomotiv, and Jarno Koskiranta made him pay tipping in Anton Belov’s blast. That didn’t kill Lokomotiv’s enthusiasm though, and with the period coming to its closed they equalised for a second time. The puck dropped to the high slot, and Vladislav Gavrikov one timed past Mikko Koskinen’s glove.

Both teams opted to tighten up in the third period, and in contrast to the first two frames it was SKA who had the best openings. Jarno Koskiranta hacked wide of the left corner on an odd man rush, Ilya Kovalchuk wristed off target in a promising position, and Steve Moses backhanded over the bar on the crease. Lokomotiv weren’t causing as many problems as earlier on, and our team managed eight shots on target compared to the hosts’ five. The tension was building with time running down, and with one minute remaining SKA had a golden opportunity to finish it. Nikita Gusev found Evgeny Dadonov alone on the crease, however he failed to get the better of the goaltender.

That miss took the game into overtime, and as well all know, no shootouts are allowed in the playoffs. SKA had an early powerplay chance to take the win, and had Andrei Kuteikin’s one timer been slightly more close to the right corner, we would have taken the spoils. After that chance Lokomotiv slowly began to take charge, and we were lucky to see Yegor Korshkov shave his effort off the left post. Our Steve Moses then had a fantastic backhanded attempt pushed away by the glove as the game opened up, and in the end it was Lokomotiv who scored the crucial goal. Jiri Novotny sped away on a counterattack, took up his own rebound, and batted it beyond Mikko Koskinen’s glove. 2:3, and the second match of the series will take place on Tuesday in Yaroslavl.

Match protocol:

Lokomotiv – SKA – 3:2 OT (0:1, 2:1, 0:0 – 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Shipachyov (Dadonov, Gusev), 15.19

1:1 Mosalyov (Galimov, Kartaev), 24.57

1:2 Koskiranta (Lindstrom, Belov), 30.48

2:2 Gavrikov (Chistov, Loktionov), 39.19

3:2 Novotny (Kronwall, Apalkov), 74.56

Goalkeepers: Murygin – Koskinen

Shots on target: 38 – 30

Penalty minutes: 8 – 6

Faceoffs: 37 – 46