Vital victory in game three at home!

31 March 2025

SKA earned a hugely important home victory in game three of the first round of the 2024/2025 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs, defeating Dynamo Moscow 5:3 in a blockbuster showdown!

The Moscow-based organisation were dangerously close to moving three ahead in the match-up, but SKA survived a late comeback and a five-minute penalty taken by Zakhar Bardakov to close the series deficit to 1-2.

Dynamo immediately took the initiative, testing Yegor Zavragin 13 (!) times during the first period alone and creating opportunities with alarming ease.

However, it was SKA who struck first on the powerplay in the fourth minute.

And it was a beauty too, as a wonderful give-and-go between Arseniy Gritsyuk and Ivan Demidov ended with the former calmly tapping into the gaping net.

The remainder of the frame saw Dynamo take the game to SKA with their attacking approach. Jordan Weal smacked the underside of the crossbar with a rasping wrister on the PP, while Pavel Kudryatsev knocked the puck wide with the goal at his mercy and Zavragin denied the clean-through Dylan Sikura.

SKA made a marked improvement in the second period.

Our bright start was rewarded with our second goal, as Evgeny Kuznetsov hooked his wrister into the left corner when unmarked between the circles.

Playing with increased aggression and speed, our team continued pressing the far from watertight Dynamo defence, in particular wasting two big opportunities through Valentin Zykov and Mikhail Vorobyov.

Dynamo punished those misses midway through the period on the PP.

Former SKA defenseman Igor Ozhiganov drew his stick back at the blue line, unleashing a strong slap shot which was just too hot for Zavragin to handle.

Nevertheless, we managed to reinstate our two-goal advantage in the closing stages of the stanza on another powerplay.

Alexander Nikishin marked his return from injury with a crucial marker, smacking a simply unstoppable rocket high over Maxim Motorygin’s flailing blocker.

In the box seat, SKA made a confident start to the third period and managed to keep Dynamo at a reasonably safe distance.

But, with nine minutes remaining in regulation, the Muscovites did once again cut our advantage in half.

Maxime Comtois battled hard for the loose puck at point-blank range, eventually bundling it over the line with Zavragin already down and out.

That goal proved to be the turning point.

Dynamo only had to wait around two minutes for their equaliser. All of a sudden, the lively Sikura found himself skating through 2-on-1, and he ruthlessly lashed beyond the stricken Zavragin to pull the visitors level.

The tide looked to have well and truly turned. SKA, however, had other ideas.

Ilya Karpukhin quickly put SKA in front again in the 54^th minute, sending his rising wrist shot past the unsighted Motorygin who couldn’t see a thing through a sea of players.

A pulsating third frame took another dramatic twist when Bardakov was ordered to sit inside the penalty box for five minutes as a consequence of slashing. Displaying admirable bravery, our players put their bodies on the line and provided Zavragin with much-needed assistance, somehow keeping Dynamo at bay and sealing it through Pavel Akolzin’s empty-netter – with our impressive 19-year-old netminder grabbing an assist on the play.

Game four will take place at the SKA Arena on Wednesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:00 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Dynamo Moscow – 5:3 (1:0, 2:1, 2:2)

Goals:

1:0 Gritsyuk (I. Demidov), 03.54 PPG

2:0 Kuznetsov (Alistrov, Pedan), 24.25

2:1 Ozhiganov (Sikura, Comtois), 30.25 PPG

3:1 Nikishin (Gritsyuk), 38.15 PPG

3:2 Comtois (Pylenkov, Paquette), 50.34

3:3 Sikura, 52.53

4:3 Karpukhin (Khairullin), 53.54

5:3 Akolzin (Zavragin), 58.02 EN SHG