Game one. SKA – Avtomobilist

Game one. SKA – Avtomobilist – 2:3

17 March 2024

SKA came up short in game one of the quarter-finals of the KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs, suffering a slender 2:3 defeat to Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in Saint Petersburg.

Avtomobilist controlled the entirety of the opening stanza.

Shorthanded, Stepan Khripunov should have drawn first blood for the Yekaterinburg-based outfit, but he could only shoot against Nikita Serebryakov’s pads when clean through.

Nevertheless, the visitors did tally their opener in the 13^th minute on another counter-attack.

Serebryakov was equal to Yegor Alexeev’s effort, however he was powerless against the ensuing rebound from Semyon Kizimov.

The fired-up opponents grabbed their second on the counter with three minutes left in the period.

Alone on the doorstep, Alexei Makeev redirected a sharp pass from the right flank over the line.

SKA were really struggling to generate any kind of positive momentum. However, Marat Khairullin provided our team with a well-needed breath of fresh air a mere 82 seconds after Avtomobilist’s second, firing the rebound in from a tight angle on the left.

Our players used Khairullin’s goal as a springboard for the second stanza.

Causing problems for the sturdy Avtomobilist back line with sharp movement and energetic play, SKA began to apply heavy pressure on the away team, registering 16 shots on target during the second frame alone.

Zakhar Bardakov thought that he had equalised in the 37^th minute when gobbling up the rebound on the slot. Unfortunately, though, his goal was disallowed by the referees after Avtomobilist had successfully submitted their coach’s challenge for goaltender interference; Alikin had been clattered by Arseniy Gritsyuk.

Anatoly Golyshev wasted Avtomobilist’s only realistic opportunity of the stanza, shooting firmly against Serebryakov’s glove after becoming the next player to escape the attention of the somewhat shaky SKA defence.

Our equaliser eventually arrived early in the third period.

Not long after Emil Galimov had passed up a glorious opportunity, Sergei Sapego drew SKA level, carefully tapping Bardakov’s intelligent pass high into the net.

SKA were on the front foot. But, in a sucker punch, our team then contrived to concede a ridiculously cheap goal a minute later.

Sergei Tolchinsky was robbed of possession at Avtomobilist’s blue line, Makeev was able to charge unchallenged towards our net before picking out onrushing defenseman Denis Barantsev, who had no trouble in sliding the puck in with Serebryakov already out of the picture.

That proved to be the decisive moment.

SKA threw everything at Avtomobilist in the closing stages after pulling Serebryakov in favour of the extra skater, but the visiting club held firm.

The second match of the series will take place at the SKA Arena on Tuesday. Puck-drop is scheduled for 19:30 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Avtomobilist – 2:3 (1:2, 0:0, 1:1)

Goals:

0:1 Kizimov (Alexeev), 12.11

0:2 Makeev (Romantsev, Golyshev), 16.20

1:2 Khairullin (Zykov, Glotov), 17.42

2:2 Sapego (Bardakov, Galimov), 45.51

2:3 Barantsev (Makeev), 47.01

Goalkeepers: Serebryakov – Alikin