SKA - CSKA - 4:1. Game Four

1 April 2015

Today on the 1^st of April, SKA and HC CSKA Moscow did battle for the fourth time in this KHL Gagarin Cup Western Conference final series. Vyacheslav Bykov rung the changes for this game, with every line being switched around. Tony Martensson and Patrick Thoresen were paired up with Ilya Kovalchuk in the first line, Nikolai Belov returned to the second, and Alexey Ponikarovsky and Alexander Barabanov made their playoff debuts in the fourth. Mikko Koskinen was still between our pipes, with Stanislav Galimov his opposite number.

With everything riding on this game our players weren’t willing to give up, and they began with serious power. Ilya Kovalchuk had the first chance of the day, as with a man’s advantage he slapped fiercely into the goalkeeper’s chest from the high slot. The puck was being held in CSKA’s zone for a prolonged amount of time, and seven minutes in lift-off arrived. Waiting in the middle Patrick Thoresen was fed from the right, and he neatly poked in. CSKA were feeling the pressure, and on an ensuing powerplay the second came. Artemiy Panarin and Vadim Shipachyov combined brilliantly behind the net, and on the doorstep Yevgeni Dadonov lashed in. The visitors took a timeout after that, however that almost backfired as Alexey Ponikarovsky was denied by an expert right pad save from point blank range.

The second stanza was one that we will remember for a very long time. SKA came flying out of the blocks hard, and kept on forcing CSKA into taking plenty of penalties all over the shop. That wasn't advisable given that our powerplay unit was working perfectly today, and Vadim Shipachyov netted an absolutely stunning third. Artemiy Panarin and Yevgeni Dadonov toyed about with the puck, and to the right of the crease Vadim delicately lifted it over the forlorn Stanislav Galimov. It took another six minutes for the fourth to come, and yet again it was the second line on fire. Yevgeni Dadonov sped down to between the circles, and clinically lashed into the net when all alone on the powerplay. That prompted CSKA into making a well needed goalkeeping change, with Kevin Lalande coming on to replace Stanislav Galimov. It didn’t seem to make too much difference though, as after forty minutes of play CSKA had only a shocking six shots on target.

It was pretty much a forgone conclusion moving on into the third, however CSKA did manage to get on the board. With Jimmie Ericsson in the penalty box Igor Grigorenko twisted on the crease, and slotted into the far left corner. That didn't panic our team at all though, and SKA continued to hold the initiative. Roman Rukavishnikov almost hit his second playoff goal after some flashy skills on the right, and Kevin Lalande had to make some sharp stops as CSKA kept on taking penalties. Despite not scoring any more goals SKA saw out the game with minimal fuss, and take a crucial 4:1 victory to move the series back to Moscow on Friday!

Match protocol:

SKA – CSKA – 4:1 (2:0, 2:0, 0:1)

Goals:

1:0 Thoresen (Kovalchuk), 06.35

2:0 Dadonov (Shipachyov, Dadonov), 10.11

3:0 Shipachyov (Panarin, Dadonov), 26.28

4:0 Dadonov (Shipachyov, Panarin), 32.58

4:1 Grigorenko (Zaitsev, Radulov), 43.13

Goalkeepers: Koskinen – Galimov/Lalande

Shots: 30 – 14

Penalty minutes: 12 – 24

Faceoffs: 35 – 34