Lokomotiv - SKA

Lokomotiv - SKA - 2:3

23 February 2016

Game two of the 2015/2016 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs first round series between SKA and HC Lokomotiv took place today in Yaroslavl. A few changes were made by Sergei Zubov, and Alexander Barabanov made an appearance in the third line with Sergei Shirokov and Pavel Buchnevich. Mikko Koskinen was in our net, while Alexei Murygin was his opposite number.

The stakes were high coming into this match, and it was no surprise to see SKA opt for a cautious, counterattacking approach. Our players were happy to sit deep and soak up heavy pressure, and the emphasis was on whether Lokomotiv could break us down. Mikko Koskinen made ten saves within the opening few minutes, and his best came against a powerful Emil Galimov drive from between the circles. Despite having plenty of shots Lokomotiv didn’t have many quality scoring chances, and with our first opportunity of the day we drew first blood. Pavel Buchnevich sped away, cleverly put Alexander Barabanov clean through, and the latter backhanded between Alexei Murygin’s legs. Lokomotiv lost heart with that goal, and on a couple of ensuing powerplays SKA had gaping opportunities to increase the lead. Both Nikita Gusev and Evgeny Dadonov looked sure to score at point blank range, however the home netminder was up to the task.

SKA continued playing with confidence in the second frame, and caught Lokomotiv out on the breakaway time and time again. The hosts were open at the back, and on odd man rushes we ripped them apart. Sergei Shirokov made it two with a thunderbolt from the right wing, and then Finn Jarno Koskiranta increased the lead to three when shooting high into the net on the doorstep. Lokomotiv were rattled, and their fans fell deadly silent. Mikko Koskinen wasn’t having so much work to do in our net, and we saw the frame out with minimal fuss.

It looked to be plain sailing heading into the third, however we were in for a cold shower. In the first shift Lokomotiv’s Daniil Apalkov broke into our zone, took up his own rebound, and backhanded into the left corner. Such an early goal knocked SKA off their stride, and we contrived to make life even more difficult for ourselves: Pavel Buchnevich speared his opponent after being provoked, and he was chucked out of the game with a 5+20 punishment. Lokomotiv smelt blood, and Staffan Kronwall made it a one goal game with a deflected wrister from distance. SKA were in serious trouble, but having seen the rest of that extended penalty out, our players managed to calm the game down. Lokomotiv were being kept on the outside for the large part, and the team didn’t give their opponents any more powerplay chances. The hosts did pull Alexei Murygin for the extra skater late on, however fourtnately that didn’t make any difference. SKA win 3:2 in Yaroslavl, and take the series back to Saint Petersburg level at 1:1!

Match protocol:

Lokomotiv – SKA – 2:3 (0:1, 0:2, 2:0)

Goals:

0:1 Barabanov (Buchnevich), 14.39

0:2 Shirokov (Belov, Barabanov), 27.20

0:3 Koskiranta (Moses), 36.49

1:3 Apalkov (Hersley, Kronwall), 40.31

2:3 Kronwall (Hersley, Apalkov), 45.14

Goalkeepers: Murygin – Koskinen

Shots on target: 41 – 21

Penalty minutes: 16 – 43

Faceoffs: 33 – 27