CSKA - SKA

CSKA - SKA - 3:0

22 March 2016

The first match of the 2015/2016 KHL Western Conference final took place today against HC CSKA Moscow away. One major change was made by Sergei Zubov after the series with Dynamo: young defenseman Yegor Rykov made his Gagarin Cup playoffs debut in the fourth line. Mikko Koskinen’s opposite number in net was CSKA’s Ilya Sorokin.

It was a packed LDS CSKA for this match, and we began rather nervously. Our players were reluctant to move forward, and CSKA were allowed to hold the initiative. They should have scored in the opening shift: a loose puck fell to Simon Hjalmarsson, and the Swede hacked off target with the goal at his mercy. That set the tone for the period, and eventually CSKA made their advantage count. Mikko Koskinen couldn’t hold on to a tricky puck, and Roman Lyubimov banked it in blocker side. CSKA continued pressing in our zone as the frame wore on, and Mikko was making plenty of expert glove stops. At the other end we couldn’t get anything going, and the hosts were closing down all open space.

CSKA were fully in control, and they stayed on the front foot in the second period. SKA were struggling to clear their lines, and the hosts were having lots of joy winning back possession. Simon Hjalmarsson had an ideal chance to make it two on an odd man rush, however Mikko Koskinen flashed leather beautifully to thwart him. The pressure was constant, and eventually on a powerplay they did get their second. Stephane Da Costa pulled sharply to the high slot, let a ripper go, and it flew into the left corner. It could have been three moments later, but thankfully Roman Lyubimov fluffed his lines when clean through. Our players were struggling for ideas, and it took until the final minutes to create some chances. Jarno Koskiranta failed to pot a juicy rebound, and Maxim Chudinov launched two slappers inches wide when on a two man advantage.

We had to attack more in the third, and we did begin to put pressure on CSKA’s net. An ideal chance fell to Evgeny Dadonov midway through the stanza: he was awarded a penalty shot after being hooked by Grigory Panin, but he was shut down by Ilya Sorokin’s stick. That proved to be a decisive blow to our team, and despite Nikita Gusev having some excellent opportunities late on, the puck refused to cross the line. Sergei Zubov pulled Mikko Koskinen in the final minute, and that only resulted in CSKA’s Dmitry Kugryshev backhanding into the empty net. 0:3 today, and game two will take place on Thursday in Moscow.

Match protocol:

CSKA – SKA – 3:0 (1:0, 1:0, 1:0)

Goals:

1:0 Lyubimov (Telegin), 10.27

2:0 Da Costa, 29.15

3:0 Kugryshev (Telegin, Lyubimov), 59.35

Goalkeepers: Sorokin – Koskinen

Shots on target: 24 – 27

Penalty minutes: 8 – 6

Faceoffs: 30 – 38

Hits: 30 – 24

Referees: Buturlin, Olenin