Game one. SKA - CSKA

Game one. SKA - CSKA - 4:5 OT

29 March 2018

Game one of the 2017/2018 KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs third round took place between SKA and HC CSKA Moscow in Saint Petersburg. Head coach Oleg Znarok didn't include Patrik Hersley, Yegor Yakovlev or Vadim Shipachyov in the line-up. Mikko Koskinen and Ilya Sorokin were the starting goaltenders.

SKA made a strong start in Saint Petersburg, scoring after seven minutes. A loose puck fell to the stick of Pavel Datsyuk on the doorstep, who slid it under the sprawling Ilya Sorokin. Our players were dominating during the opening stages, but as time rolled on, CSKA Moscow slowly took the initiative with the penalties building up. Mikko Koskinen was the busier goaltender, pulling off 13 saves.

The match burst into life in the second period. Mikhail Grigorenko and Andrei Kuzmenko both scored tricky goals at point blank range to give CSKA a lead, but Nikolai Prokhorkin tapped into the gaping net to make it a 2:2 game. Nevertheless, CSKA continued piling the pressure on SKA, creating numerous chances as SKA's defence fell apart. Eventually, the visitors made it count, with Alexander Popov hitting the jackpot from the slot. CSKA were in control, but SKA once again had an answer. On the powerplay, Nikita Gusev took advantage of a juicy rebound and equalised.

In a tight third period, CSKA moved ahead for the third time in the match. Lurking in front of Mikko Koskinen, Andrei Kuzmenko tipped in and put SKA in a hole with ten minutes remaining. Our team weren't about to wave the white flag though, scoring a fourth within seconds. Sergei Plotnikov lashed a low wrister under Ilya Sorokin's blocker on the doorstep, taking the match to overtime.

Unfortunately, Andrei Kuzmenko completed his hat-trick with a wonderful solo effort, handing CSKA a 5:4 victory and 1:0 lead in the 2017/2018 KHL Western Conference final.

Match protocol:

SKA - CSKA - 4:5 OT (1:0, 2:3, 1:1, 0:1)

Goals:

1:0 Datsyuk (Zub, Gusev), 06.36

1:1 Grigorenko (Popov, Kaprizov), 20.59

1:2 Kuzmenko (Petrov, Nesterov), 25.01

2:2 Prokhorkin (Rykov, Barabanov), 25.13

2:3 Popov (Grigorenko, Kaprizov), 28.39

3:3 Gusev (Datsyuk, Voynov), 32.06

3:4 Kuzmenko (Svetlakov), 49.20

4:4 Plotnikov (Khafizullin, Zub), 50.41

4:5 Kuzmenko (Scott, Kiselevich), 66.35