Game five. SKA - CSKA - 0:1

In Saint Petersburg, SKA hosted HC CSKA Moscow for game five of the 2017/2018 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs third round series. Head coach Oleg Znarok made a couple of changes to the line-up, replacing Yegor Yakovlev and Viktor Tikhonov with Andrei Zubarev and Maxim Karpov. Mikko Koskinen and Lars Johansson were the starting goaltenders.

It was a tentative start inside the Ice Palace, with both teams opting for a defensive approach in the match. Jarno Koskiranta had the best couple of chances in the frame, denied by an alert Lars Johansson when taking aim from the high slot. CSKA tried to press inside the attacking zone, but they only managed to test Mikko Koskinen on two occasions in the opening frame.

SKA increased the intensity in the second period, drawing a number of penalties out of CSKA Moscow. Our players piled on the pressure, registering 15 shots on target in the stanza and forcing Lars Johansson into some amazing stops. Vladislav Gavrikov should have broken the deadlock towards the end of the period, but he could only smash his shot against the pipe from point blank range. Nikita Gusev should have found the net, shooting into the goalkeeper's chest on the doorstep.

Unfortunately, our players started getting in penalty trouble in the third period, something which allowed CSKA Moscow to gain an advantage. With only six minutes remaining, the visitors struck first blood. Nikita Nesterov dished a clever pass to Kirill Kaprizov, who thumped a powerful one timer beyond the goalkeeper. Igor Shestyorkin then made his debut 2017/2018 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs appearance when Mikko Koskinen required treatment, but the Finn soon returned to the net.

Mikko Koskinen was pulled for the extra skater in the dying seconds, but Lars Johansson refused to be beaten. 0:1, CSKA Moscow now lead 3:2 in the series.

Match protocol:

SKA - CSKA - 0:1 (0:0, 0:0, 0:1)

Goals:

0:1 Kaprizov (Nesterov), 53.54

Goalkeepers: Koskinen/Shestyorkin - Johansson

Shots on target: 29 - 20

Faceoffs: 24 - 27

Hits: 29 - 15

Penalty minutes: 8 - 10

Referees: Jerabek, Naumov

06.04.2018. Saint Petersburg.