Game five. SKA – Torpedo

Game five. SKA – Torpedo – 3:0

9 March 2024

SKA secured progression to the quarter-finals of the 2023/2024 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs in emphatic fashion, calmly defeating Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 3:0 in Saint Petersburg to achieve a 4-1 series triumph!

Caution is the first word which springs to mind when we recall the first period.

Unwilling to take any risks whatsoever, the two sides barely created a single chance with a mere seven shots on target being registered during the frame.

However, SKA drew first blood in the 17^th minute on the counter-attack.

When bursting out of the penalty box, Sergei Tolchinsky gathered possession, powered towards the Torpedo net and beat Ivan Kulbakov with a stinging wrister.

Moments later, Torpedo were suddenly presented with a golden opportunity out of the blue, but Nikolai Kovalenko could only thump his effort against the left post with Nikita Serebryakov beaten. Thankfully for us, Vladislav Firstov failed to gather the rebound as well.

A somewhat nervy opening stanza ended with a short fight between Emil Galimov and Bobby Lynch.

The manner of proceedings didn’t change in the second period. For the away team, Oleg Li, Igor Larionov and Vasily Atanasov all had clear looks at Serebryakov’s net, however our goaltender came up trumps.

We had to wait until the closing stages of the frame to create clear opportunities. While playing shorthanded, Marat Khairullin and Zakhar Bardakov both should have scored, but the former fired into Kulbakov’s glove and the latter whacked wide when 1-on-1.

Nevertheless, we did then subsequently tally our second on the PP.

Alone on the doorstep, gifted 20-year-old forward Grigory Kuzmin carefully went top-shelf on Kulbakov to score his first KHL goal.

Predictably, Torpedo did gradually begin to increase their urgency as the ensuing third period progressed.

The Nizhny Novgorod-based outfit thought that they had cut our lead in half with nine minutes remaining. But, to our relief, Nikita Artamonov’s marker from the slot was chalked off for offside following another successful coach’s challenge; Torpedo had also had a goal disallowed for the same offence in game four.

A flurry of late penalties from SKA allowed Torpedo to play on a 6-on-3 (!) powerplay after pulling Kulbakov for the extra skater. With the goal seemingly at his mercy, 18-year-old Artamonov did appear certain to score this time, but Serebryakov pulled off a stunning save on the line to keep his impressive shutout intact.

SKA went on to seal the deal with Artyom Sergeev grabbing an excellent empty-netter from his own zone shorthanded.

Our opponents in the quarter-finals will become known following the completion of the first phase of the competition.

SKA – Torpedo – 3:0 (1:0, 1:0, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Tolchinsky (Falkovsky, Serebryakov), 16.55

2:0 Kuzmin (Khairullin, Glotov), 38.24 PPG

3:0 Sergeev, 59.16 EN SHG

Goalkeepers: Serebryakov – Kulbakov

Shots: 57 – 43

Shots on target: 28 – 17

Faceoffs: 33 – 21

Blocked shots: 15 – 11