CSKA - SKA - 3:2 OT. Game Two

28 March 2015

Almost 48 hours after the first match, HC CSKA Moscow and SKA took to the ice in the Russian capital for the second bout of this KHL Gagarin Cup Western Conference final series. Head coach Vyacheslav Bykov was forced into one change, with the injured Dmitry Kalinin being replaced by Andrey Kuteikin. Mikko Koskinen was still in our net, as was Stanislav Galimov for CSKA.

Just like on Thursday it was an extremely quiet start to the game, as no chances were seen at all for virtually the whole first half of the period. CSKA were seeing more of the possession, but it was our team who began to start carving out openings. Roman Cervenka slipped in behind down the left before wristing wide of the far corner, and Artemiy Panarin did exactly the same after showing some silky skills. The turning point of the period came midway through, as CSKA’s young forward Maxim Mamin was handed a 5+20 penalty for a disgusting hit against Dinar Khafizullin. That opened the doors for SKA to break their scoring duck in the series, and the goal duly came as Yevgeni Dadonov tucked home a rebound on the doorstep. As the frame came to an end CSKA put on a bit of pressure, and with a man’s advantage Mikko Koskinen made an alert pad stop from point blank range.

Our players began the second frame on the penalty kill, and as Jimmie Ericsson was also then called for delaying the game CSKA got back on terms. Nikita Zaitsev was left all alone to close down between the circles, and he wristed firmly over Mikko Koskinen’s blocker. That handed the initiative to the hosts, and SKA had a lot of pressure to soak up. Alexander Radulov was buzzing all around SKA’s zone causing an all manner of problems, and Denis Denisov from a great position on the left slapped into the goaltender’s mask. In the last few moments our team got back on their game though, and Patrick Thoresen and Viktor Tikhonov failed to poke in on a goalmouth scramble.

The third period saw SKA boss proceedings in the opening moments, and five minutes in took an important second lead. Artemiy Panarin whipped the puck in from the left, and Vadim Shipachyov appeared to deliberately kick it in. The referees looked over the play for what seemed an age, and in the end they ruled that it cannoned off a CSKA defenceman and not Vadim making it a good goal. Yevgeni Ketov could have made it three not long afterwards, as he wristed over when powering down on a two on one glove side. The hosts wouldn’t go away though, and they made it a tied game again. Alexander Radulov flashed in, and from practically on the goal line Roman Lyubimov poked it. It was a frantic last few minutes with overtime looming, and a few goalmouth scrambles were seen at both ends.

With so much on the line it was understandable that defence was going to be the main priority for everyone on the ice, and chances came and went for both teams. Anton Burdasov came the closest, as he smacked the right post with a harmless looking wrister from distance. After Yevgeni Dadonov and then Roman Rukavishnikov were shut down from up close CSKA took over the game, and had plenty of opportunities to finish the game. Simon Hjalmarsson fired into Mikko Koskinen’s blocker when open, and Igor Makarov one on one couldn’t get the puck out from under his stick.

The second overtime was simply unbelievable, and it’s a real puzzle as to how no one scored. Alexander Radulov of CSKA took the first penalty of overtime, and as those two minutes came to an end SKA were awarded a penalty shot – Roman Cervenka skated up, and wristed agonisingly wide of the left post. That seemed to frustrate our players somewhat, and Tony Martensson took an untimely 5+20 penalty. CSKA passed up a couple of golden opportunities as they had a few odd man rushes, but our team were solid at the back and could have found the net as the siren neared. Andrey Kuteikin thumped into the netminder’s pads from the high slot, and Artemiy Panarin couldn’t beat Stanislav Galimov when alone on the right.

The third overtime unfortunately didn’t last long. Less than a minute after killing another penalty Alexander Radulov spun behind the net, dished to Roman Lyubimov on the slot, and the latter made no mistake. 2:3 today and 0:2 in the series, and SKA will now return to Saint Petersburg to turn the situation around.

Match protocol:

CSKA – SKA – 3:2 OT (0:1, 1:0, 1:1 – 1:0)

Goals:

0:1 Dadonov (Kuteikin, Panarin), 12.15

1:1 Zaitsev (Lyubimov, Grigorenko), 22.00

1:2 Panarin, 45.40

2:2 Lyubimov (Zaitsev, Radulov), 52.22

3:2 Lyubimov (Grigorenko, Radulov), 101.39

Goalkeepers: Galimov – Koskinen

Shots: 46 – 51

Penalty minutes: 35 – 33

Faceoffs: 54 – 55