Game five. SKA – Spartak

Game five. SKA – Spartak – 2:1

26 March 2022

In the fifth match of the second round of the 2021/2022 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs, SKA outlasted Spartak Moscow at the Ice Palace, claiming a thrilling 2:1 victory to consequently clinch the series by a score of 4-1.

SKA initially made a really slow start to proceedings.

With Spartak coming out with all guns blazing, our players struggled to gain a foothold in the game, losing possession in their own zone with alarming regularity and allowing the opponents to test Lars Johansson from all angles.

Spartak did indeed take the lead in the eighth minute.

From a tight angle on the right wing, Dmitry Kugryshev caught Johansson cold with an accurate rising wrister which flew high into the far corner.

The opponents were presented with plenty of opportunities to double their money on a late powerplay in the frame. Nevertheless, Johansson stood tall to the challenge, making a few tricky stops.

To their credit, SKA made a significant improvement in the second stanza.

In stark contrast to the first period, the hosts were suddenly bossing proceedings, pressing Spartak across the ice and carving open shooting lanes in the attacking zone.

The equalising goal arrived on the powerplay in the 28^th minute.

At the blue line, Mikko Lehtonen decided to chuck the puck towards goal, and Leo Komarov deftly deflected it beyond the flailing Dansk.

That marker allowed SKA to gain momentum and continue to play with the initiative. Dansk was solid in the Spartak goal, though, with the Swede denying the likes of Alexander Volkov, Igor Ozhiganov and Anton Burdasov. A handful of further powerplays were wasted by our team too.

The decisive moment of the match arrived in the third minute of the ensuing third period.

After receiving a superb pass from Oscar Fantenberg, Nikita Gusev cleverly pulled clean through and brilliantly went top-shelf on Dansk.

Not long later, Andrei Kuzmenko had a glorious chance to increase the advantage after he had robbed an opponent of possession on the slot, but he could only wrist against the goaltender’s left arm.

The concluding minutes of the stanza predictably saw Spartak lay siege to our goal. However, with Johansson in superb form and pulling off incredible saves to shut the door, a frustrated Spartak side simply couldn’t find a way through – even after pulling Dansk for the extra skater.

SKA will now prepare to face CSKA Moscow in the semi-finals of the competition. The series will start in Saint Petersburg on April 2 at 17:00 local time.

Match protocol:

SKA – Spartak – 2:1 (0:1, 1:0, 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Kugryshev (Vishnevsky), 07.54

1:1 Komarov (Lehtonen, Gusev), 25.22 PPG

2:1 Gusev (Fantenberg, Vorobyov), 42.42

Goalkeepers: Johansson – Dansk

Shots: 55 - 49

Shots on target: 28 - 26

Faceoffs: 27 - 30

Blocked shots: 12 - 14

Hits: 8 - 10