Series Preview
Two coaches who hosted the Gagarin Cup in the past two seasons go head to head, and both are tackling their first campaigns as head coach at the highest level. Metallurg’s Ilya Vorobyov worked alongside Mike Keenan during his two seasons as head coach in Magnitogorsk, helping to win the big prize in 2014. Meanwhile the vastly experienced Igor Zakharkin was Vyacheslav Bykov’s right-hand man as SKA won the cup last season, as well as being part of the Salavat Yulaev staff when it claimed the title back in 2011. The similarities don’t end there: both men were given the head coach role during the current season, replacing Keenan and Anatoly Yemelin respectively.
Despite all that common ground, though, this also represents a generation battle. Vorobyov, 41, is part of the hockey generation that saw its professional career begin in the post-Soviet era. Indeed, the Riga native played more hockey in Germany’s DEL than in Russia before taking up his coaching role at Magnitka, one of his former clubs, in 2012. Zakharkin, by contrast, was very much a product of the Soviet hockey system: a youth player at CSKA in the 70s, then a graduate of Moscow’s Central State Institute of Physical Culture before working with SKA and CSKA as an expert in scientific support for hockey clubs. The back stories promise an intriguing clash of styles, on and off the ice.
Salavat Yulaev comes into the series on the back of two gruelling seven-game series with local rival Ak Bars and regular season leader Avangard. Both times the Ufa team opened up a 3-1 lead before getting pegged back and taken to a nerve-jangling showdown. By contrast, Metallurg has been able to relax after dealing with Sibir in five games. Both preparations have their pros and cons. For Salavat, the inevitable physical toll of a demanding schedule is partly offset by the additional confidence that comes from successfully passing through difficult situations. The team also has the advantage of being right up to game speed with no danger of losing any edge during a week of inactivity. Magnitka, meanwhile, has had time to recover from any niggling injuries, assess its future opponent in action and take a short break from the intensity of a playoff campaign – but will that leave the team refreshed or ring-rusty?
Koshechkin vs Svedberg
Perhaps the biggest boost for Metallurg in its win over Sibir was the return of first-choice goalie Vasily Koshechkin. The former Russian international missed several first round games against Avtomobilist through injury, thrusting young Ilya Samsonov into the firing line. While Samsonov performed adequately, the 32-year-old veteran has been in impressive form, giving up just 1.36 goals and stopping 95.3% of shots to top the goalie rankings for this year’s playoffs.
In Ufa things have been a bit different. Niklas Svedberg is the undisputed first choice goalie for Igor Zakharkin but his post-season form has been erratic. The Swede has played almost every minute of his team’s 14 games, starting all of them and being pulled just twice. But he is a disappointing 15th in the playoff goalie rankings with a 90.7% save percentage and a GAA of 2.51. More worryingly, he has shown a propensity to give up soft goals on occasion – something his team cannot afford as the sharp end of the tournament arrives.
Old threats, new threats
Nobody in hockey is surprised to see Sergei Mozyakin leading his team’s scoring yet again, nor is the presence of his partners Jan Kovar and Danis Zaripov at the top of the charts any kind of shock. Those three were the driving force behind Magnitka’s 2014 triumph and there’s no evidence that they are losing any potency. But this is not the Metallurg of 2014. Back then even Mike Keenan admitted that the other three lines could not always generate the production he wanted to see. This time it’s a bit different. During the regular season Wojtek Wolski spent some time on the first line as Vorobyov reshuffled his options. And in post-season Alexander Semin has been a big threat, tying with Mozyakin on five goals as he returns to Russian hockey in some style. Meanwhile, Salavat Yulaev also boasts an offensive outlet that is familiar, yet enjoying some of the best form of his KHL career. Linus Omark first played for Dynamo Moscow in 2009-10 and spent last season at Jokerit Helsinki. But this time round he has reached new heights, posting 57 points in 60 regular season games and adding 5+9=14 to be the third most prolific player in post-season thus far.
Game 1 - Wednesday, March 23
(2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (4) Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (2OT)
Metallurg leads the series 1-0
Sergei Mozyakin produced a game winning goal deep into overtime to give Metallurg Magnitogorsk a winning start in the Eastern Conference final.
The scores were tied at 2-2 as the game went into a second period of overtime but, as so often before, Magnitka’s go-to forward came up with the goods to break the deadlock and give his team a vital edge in the series opener. The goal came on 89:37. Danis Zaripov screened Niklas Svedberg in the Salavat Yulaev goal as Mozyakin collected the puck at the bottom of the circle and swung out in a wide arc to bring himself in front of the net but close to the blue line. With the defense anticipating a pass, Metallurg’s captain went for goal and found a way past the goalie to pocket his fourth game-winning goal of this year’s playoffs.
The outcome was tough on the visitor, which showed little sign of fatigue despite completing two seven-game series to get this far. Initially the signs were that Salavat Yulaev’s ‘game face’, something that had barely had time to fade following the end of the previous series against Avangard, was well intact against a Metallurg team that perhaps found itself a beat behind the pace after its week-long lay-off. The first period, although scoreless, saw the visitor have more chances; Niklas Svedberg faced just five shots in the opening exchanges.
The pressure paid off early in the second stanza when Sami Lepisto opened the scoring. Andreas Engqvist created it, collecting the puck behind the net and popping it up into the slot where his Finnish team-mate was unmarked and ready to fire home.
As the midway mark approached Salavat could have made it 2-0. Enver Lisin was off to the races, but after pausing to force Vasily Koshechkin to commit himself the forward’s backhand shot pinged back off the piping. That miss was costly: Magnitka was already raising its game on offense and a power play late in the second was just the chance it needed. Jan Kovar found space out wide, Chris Lee’s pass picked him out and the Czech forward produced a clinical finish from a tight angle to give Svedberg no chance. Critics of the Swedish goalie could find no fault with him on that goal, but when Metallurg took the lead Svedberg was left contemplating just how Alexei Kaigorodov’s low shot from the point found its way through the five-hole. For ex-Ufa man Kaigorodov the goal was his first since returning to his hometown team earlier this season; for his former club it was a frustrating and avoidable blow.
Salavat wasn’t finished, though. Lepisto added an assist to his goal as Igor Grigorenko’s predatory instinct kicked in around the net. Lepisto’s shot from the blue line was padded away by Koshechkin but Grigorenko was first to react and lift the puck over the goalie and into the net, tying the game with 6:47 to play.
As the game went into overtime, Magnitka’s greater fitness began to show. Svedberg had to be at his best to make 17 stops in the first period of the extras, while Salavat struggled to create consistent offense at the other end. In the end, Mozyakin found the answer.
Game 2 - Friday, March 25
(2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 6 (4) Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 Metallurg leads the series 2-0
A powerful second-period display saw Metallurg Magnitogorsk overwhelm Salavat Yulaev to open up a 2-0 series lead. Three unanswered goals from Bogdan Potekhin, Sergei Mozyakin and Alexander Semin gave Magnitka complete control on the night and a commanding advantage to take to Ufa on Sunday. Injuries and suspensions dominated the build-up to the game, with the visitor particularly hard hit by the absence of forwards Andreas Engqvist and Igor Grigorenko, as well as an injury to D-man Denis Bodrov. Magnitka, meanwhile replaced suspended forward Rafael Batyrshin with Denis Osipov … and the stand-in blue liner delivered his team’s opening goal midway through the first period.
It all started with Vladislav Kaletnik bursting through on goal only to be fouled. On a delayed penalty Magnitka got traffic in front of Niklas Svedberg and fed the puck to Osipov on the blue for a powerful shot that gave the unsighted goalie no chance. However, there was little in the game to suggest how dramatically Salavat Yulaev would unravel in the middle stanza. Potekhin started the scoring in the 23rd minute, cashing in as the visitor made an error while changing lines and coughed up the puck to present Magnitka with a four-on-two break.
Then another defensive lapse saw Metallurg steal the puck in the Salavat end. Danis Zaripov fed Mozyakin and the captain tricked his way past Zakhar Arzamastsev before finding the top shelf. A minute later it was 4-0. Magnitka on the power play, Wojtek Wolski with the pass and Alexander Semin left all alone at the far post to snaffle his sixth goal of the playoffs. Salavat was ahead on the shot count, but trailing horribly on the scoreboard. That saw Svedberg replaced with Vladimir Sokhatsky as tempers were raised on the ice. The second period siren brought a bout of pushing and shoving that resulted in four players, two from each team, receiving 2+2 minute roughing penalties.
The final stanza was something of a phoney war for 10 minutes before two quick Magnitka strikes reawakened the game. Semin created the first with his second assist of the night; his beautifully weighted pass across the face of goal left earned a metaphorical doffing of cap from Tomas Filippi as he slotted home goal number five. Moments later Salavat’s misery was all but complete as the home team added a shorthanded goal to add insult to injury. Yaroslavl Kosov saw the chance of a breakaway following a face-off and went clean through to score on Sokhatsky.
Salavat managed a consolation strike when Sami Lepisto shot from behind the net and fired the puck in off Vasily Koshechkin’s skate, but the team must now look to regroup after a heavy defeat. Igor Zakharkin’s men has done this before – remember how the team bounced back from a 0-8 drubbing in Kazan? – but this time the stakes are higher still.
Game 3 - Sunday, March 27
(4) Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3 (2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 Metallurg leads the series 2-1
Two goals from Sami Lepisto led Salavat Yulaev to a tight 3-2 verdict over Magnitka, and reawakened the Ufa team’s prospects in this play-off series.
The men in green were boosted going into this game by the return of forward Igor Grigorenko, enabling Igor Zakharkin to freshen up his offense after a miserable 1-6 reverse in Magnitogorsk last time out. But it was Finnish defenseman Lepisto who did the damage, opening the scoring early on before bagging the game winner with just over two minutes left to play.
It was a classic blue-liner’s goal, stepping up from the point to smash home a powerful shot as Teemu Hartikainen screened Vasily Koshechkin in the Metallurg net. And it drew a huge ovation from the home fans who, for a significant part of the game, had been forced to contemplate the prospect of a 0-3 deficit after Magnitka wiped out Lepisto’s early goal to lead at the first intermission. It also moved Lepisto up to six goals and 12 points in this post-season, making him the most productive defenseman and tying him for third place among playoff goalscorers this time out, trailing only Sergei Mozyakin and Vadim Shipachyov.
Yesterday’s Western Conference clash needed 112 minutes to produce a goal, but the wait was much shorter here as Lepisto gave Salavat the lead in the eighth minute. The Finnish defenseman scored his team’s consolation goal in that 6-1 defeat in Magnitogorsk last time out and he opened the scoring here with a one timer from the deep slot off Sergei Soin’s pass. But Mozyakin is moving into a hot streak of his own and Magnitka’s captain tied the game on 14 minutes with his eighth marker of the playoffs. Viktor Antipin’s wrestling behind the net drew Salavat’s defense out of position and Jan Kovar’s pass from the left-hand boards found Mozyakin in plenty of space betwen the hash marks and he had time to hold the play, pick his spot and beat Niklas Svedberg.
Mozyakin then set up Kovar to make it 2-1 on the power play late in the first period. He stepped up from the point to feed his Czech team-mate at the near post and Kovar moved onto the slot to score at the second attempt. At that stage the home team was facing a third successive defeat and a huge task to haul itself back into the series, but the second period saw an improved showing from Salavat Yulaev. Nikolai Prokhorkin produced a brilliantly-struck one-timer from the face-off spot to beat Vasily Koshechkin off Teemu Hartikainen’s pass and tie the scores.
The game remained stalemated at 2-2. Hartikainen tested Koshechkin; Svedberg pulled off saves to deny Chris Lee and reprieve Denis Khlystov’s error behind the net. But once Lepisto got his second there was no time for Magnitka to react: even the final six-man surge could not muster a shot on goal as Salavat shut down the visiting offense to claim victory.
Game 4 - Tuesday, March 29(4) Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 (2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 Metallurg leads the series 3-1
Alexander Semin and Sergei Mozyakin were the architects of a victory that puts Metallurg on the brink of its second Gagarin Cup final in three seasons. Semin’s game-winner, snapping a 1-1 tie with 12 minutes left to play, gave Magnitka a 3-1 series lead and means Ilya Vorobyov’s team could wrap it up Thursday on home ice with a repeat of the 4-1 margin it enjoyed over the same opposition on its way to glory in 2014. However, Salavat Yulaev proved in the previous two rounds that it has the stomach for a battle: Igor Zakharkin’s team saw off both Ak Bars and then Avangard in seven games.
Semin, who arrived at Metallurg in mid-season after being waived by Montreal Canadiens in December, has added a new dimension to his team’s offense in the playoffs. His seventh post-season goal was typical of what he does best. Collecting a pass from Chris Lee he paused at the top of the circle, picking his moment to unleash a slap shot just as Wojtek Wolski skated across the front of Niklas Svedberg. Unsighted, the Swedish goalie had no time to react as the puck whistled over his glove and into the net.
If Semin is the new weapon in Magnitka’s arsenal, the tried and trusty firepower of Mozyakin remains as potent as ever. He claimed his 18th point of this year’s playoffs with an impressive assist on the opening goal. Mozyakin spun away from Anton Lazarev and opened up a huge amount of space around the left-hand circle. He drove for the net, looking to score on the wraparound, only to be denied by Filip Metlyuk’s skate as the defenseman got back to cover. Metlyuk was out of luck, though; the puck dropped on to the stick of Viktor Antipin, who fired into the empty net to give Magnitka a sixth-minute lead.
The first period’s other big flashpoint came midway through when Wojtek Wolski chased down a Tomas Filippi shot and ended up with his stick in Niklas Svedberg’s face. Alexander Loginov reacted angrily and both players traded blows before being handed major penalties. That fight proved inconclusive, but Wolski undoubtedly had the last laugh when Loginov’s defensive disaster rubber-stamped Metallurg’s win in the final minute. The Salavat defenseman carelessly pushed the puck behind the empty net, anticipating a team mate would come and collect it. There was no such team-mate; Wolski nipped in to steal the puck and knock it into the net for a simple goal.
That wrapped up a win despite Salavat tying the game early in the third. Just 17 seconds after the restart Igor Grigorenko, who had already gone close in the first period, got the goal. He broke into the Metallurg zone, exchanged passes with Sergei Soin and fired home from the bottom of the circle as Linus Omark made a nuisance of himself in the slot. But Magnitka stood firm and frustrated the home team’s offense before converting its chances to claim the victory.
Game 5 - Thursday, March 31
(2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 3 (4) Salavat Yulaev 2 (2OT)
Metallurg wins the series 4-1
A goal early in the second period of overtime put Metallurg into the Grand Final for the second time in three seasons, but Ilya Vorobyov’s team had to come back from 0-2 down on the night to sink Salavat Yulaev. Yaroslav Kosov got the vital goal on 81:37, lifting the puck over Niklas Svedberg’s leg from close range, but it was a wonderful assist from Bogdan Potekhin that made it. He was well placed at the net as the puck broke for him and had the presence of mind to outfox the goalie with an audacious pass through his own legs to the unmarked Kosov. His team-mate made no mistake with the finish, and Metallurg booked its place in the Gagarin Cup final against CSKA.
Magnitka came into the game with every hope of completing a repeat of the 4-1 margin that took it past Salavat Yulaev at this stage two years ago. The visitor was still contending with injury problems on offense: Andreas Engqvist took part in the team’s morning skate, but was not fit enough to play; captain Igor Grigorenko continued to play through an injury in a bid to save the series. A hint of salvation came for Salavat at the start of the second period. Up to that time the game had been hard-fought with neither team creating many chances. The visitor had just about shaded it, but there was little to choose between the teams until two goals in two minutes put the men from Ufa in charge.
A somewhat needless penalty given up by Wojtek Wolski put Salavat on the power play and Maxim Goncharov needed just 16 seconds to make the advantage count with a wrister from the deep slot off Enver Lisin’s pass. Two minutes later it was 2-0 as Maxim Mayorov got his stick on the end of a Sami Lepisto shot to deflect the puck past Vasily Koshechkin and give the visitor genuine hope of prolonging the series. But Metallurg responded by stepping up a gear. Salavat’s offense faded and a 5-on-3 penalty wore down the defense, enabling Danis Zaripov to claw one back off a perceptive pass from Jan Kovar.
The balance of play had shifted decisively; Metallurg began the third with a flurry of attacks and drew level on a rare goal from Alexei Bereglazov. The 21-year-old defenseman had yet to find the net in 24 previous playoff games dating back to the previous season, but he took his chance in 44th minute to pot the biggest marker of his career to date. Swift passing created the space for the youngster in the right-hand circle and his wrist shot beat Svedberg’s glove to the top corner to tie the game.
Magnitka continued to press until a moment of refereeing controversy enraged the home crowd. Evgeny Biryukov took a double minor for high sticking as Nikolai Prokhorkin left the ice for treatment, but the Metallurg bench was angry that the young former CSKA forward went unpunished for a robust challenge of his own in the same play. Linus Omark led Salavat’s efforts on the power play, but the home team held on despite an anxious moment when Ivan Vishnevsky’s shot resulted in a big rebound that narrowly evaded the forwards sniffing around the slot. Crucially, though, the momentum of the game had shifted once again. Now Salavat’s offense was back in business and it was Magnitka struggling to create chances as the action headed inexorably for overtime.
But in the extras the home team always looked slightly stronger and Kosov’s goal wrapped up the series in five games.
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