KHL - Playoffs Round 1 - Lokomotiv v Torpedo 4-0

Game 1 - March 3 - Lokomotiv v Torpedo 2-1

The opening exchanges were lively. An early Loko power play gave Jakub Nakladal the chance to test out Stanislav Galimov, before Kaspars Daugavins fired in a powerful effort at the other end. The clearest opening fell to Lokomotiv’s Brandon Kozun, who found himself one-on-one with Galimov but put his shot over the bar. Torpedo punished Kozun’s miss within seconds. Kaspars Daugavins twice fired shots into traffic; the first came back to him, but the second was touched home by Mikhail Zhukov to open the scoring. That lead endured until the first intermission.
The tying goal came on the power play, six minutes into the middle frame. With Gennady Stolyarov sitting out a double minor, Loko had already put together some promising play when Andrei Loktionov found the net. Yegor Averin had the patience to build the play, Denis Mosalyov picked out the vital pass and Loktionov fired into the unguarded corner of Galimov’s net. Stolyarov had just served another penalty when Lokomotiv went in front late in the second period. Georgy Ivanov’s rush took him behind the Torpedo net, from where he found Nikolai Kovalenko on the slot. The 18-year-old, making his playoff debut after just two KHL outings, battled hard under pressure from the visiting defense, and when the puck squirted out to Artyom Ilyenko, the finish was emphatic.
The third period began with a brawl: Grigory Zheldakov’s high hit on Yegor Korshkov drew an angry response from the Lokomotiv players and a four-man fight ensued. Once the dust had settled, Zheldakov had Tomas Kundratek for company in the penalty box, while Loko’s Daniil Apalkov and Pavel Koledov were sent to cool their heels. The remainder of the game saw Torpedo pushing for a tying goal, but failing to put significant pressure on Alexei Murygin’s net as Lokomotiv saw out the victory. However, with the next game in the series due in just 24 hours, game-winner Ilyenko may face a race to recover. He was helped from the ice in the third period after twice blocking shots from Denis Barantsev.
Game 2 - March 4 - Lokomotiv v Torpedo 2-1

On Saturday, Lokomotiv began its playoff campaign by coming from behind to defeat Torpedo. On Sunday, Lokomotiv continued its playoff campaign by … coming from behind to defeat Torpedo. However, the Railwaymen’s journey to their winning destination was rather different this time.
Saturday’s game was settled midway through the second period with two quick goals to cancel out Torpedo’s first-period opener. Today, Loko had to wait until the 59^th minute before snatching the win. Last time, it was youth – in the form of Artyom Ilyenko, missing today through injury – that played the starring role; today, it was experience. Staffan Kronwall’s shot was turned in by Petri Kontiola, sparking jubilant celebrations among the home faithful and leaving Torpedo down in a series where it has more or less matched its opponent.
This time, Torpedo got off to a fine start. Sergei Kostitsyn didn’t have much on when he collected the puck from Geoff Kinrade, but as he advanced into Loko territory the defense made little effort to close him down. Invited to shoot, he did just that, and surprised Alexei Murygin by finding the corner of the net. The Lokomotiv goalie did not let it get to him, though, and pulled off a fantastic save moments later to deny Evgeny Grachyov a second goal for the visitor, and steadily Loko came into the contest.
Nikita Cherepanov tied the scores in the 10^th minute, firing home from the point as Vladislav Kartayev and Georgy Ivanov put up a screen in front of Stanislav Galimov. Then Torpedo’s Stepan Zakharchuk was ejected from the game for a high hit on Pavel Koledov, a moment that echoed the clash between Grigory Zheldakov and Yegor Korshkov in the previous game. Torpedo survived that PK but found itself under pressure for much of the second period, despite a string of penalties against Lokomotiv. Only in the final frame did the game even out, but Kontiola’s late touch settled the matter in the home team’s favor.
Game 3 - March 6 - Torpedo v Lokomotiv v Torpedo 2-3 OT

A Staffan Kronwall goal 52 seconds into overtime secured another hard-fought victory for Lokomotiv – and after three one-goal games, the Railwaymen are on the verge of arriving in the Conference Semi-Finals.
Lokomotiv allowed Torpedo to claw back a 0-2 deficit and force the extras, but a penalty on Gennady Stolyarov late in regulation proved costly when Kronwall converted the power play in overtime. It wasn’t a characteristic blue line blast from the Swedish D-man – this time he arrived at the back door to complete the passing move created by Petri Kontiola and Max Talbot. The Torpedo bench immediately appealed to the video review, but to no avail. Loko had its win, Torpedo’s playoff prospects are close to ending.
Earlier, Lokomotiv shaded the first period before going in front at the start of the second. However, there was some controversy over that power play opener. Kontiola’s point shot was always rising, and as the puck was deflected into the net, Talbot’s stick looked unfairly high. However, Talbot didn’t make contact with the puck – Brandon Kozun got the vital, and legal, touch to open the scoring in the game. After twice going behind to Torpedo, Lokomotiv now had the first goal of the game for the first time in the series.
The visitor continued to dominate play but could not extend its lead until early in the third stanza. This time, there were no arguments about the legitimacy of Jakub Nakladal’s goal. Denis Barantsev was penalized for holding, and the subsequent power play lasted just four seconds. That was long enough for Loko to win the face-off, feed Nakladal on the blue line and watch his shot deflect of defenseman Yury Sergiyenko to wrong-foot Stanislav Galimov and make it 2-0.
Up to now, though, the team that scored first had not won a game in this series. Torpedo, mindful of extending that statistic, quickly responded with a power play goal of its own. Tomas Kundratek capitalized on the space left open when both sets of players got caught in an arm-wrestle in the corner; the Czech international had time to set himself for a slap shot from between the hash marks that left Alexei Murygin with no chance.
Torpedo’s attempts to save the game seemed to have been hit after a couple of penalties disrupted the momentum of the game. Indeed, Loko had chances to seal the win – most notably when Kozun spearheaded an odd man rush but failed to convert the opportunity. But the host secured a tying goal with three minutes left, and Sergiyenko atoned for his earlier deflection by smashing a Kaspars Daugavins feed into the top corner through heavy traffic.
Game 4 - March 7 - Torpedo v Lokomotiv v Torpedo 2-3 OT

Lokomotiv became the first team to book its place in the second round of the 2018 KHL playoffs, wrapping up a series sweep of Torpedo. But, not for the first time in this series, it was a hard-fought game that ended with Artyom Ilyenko claiming the winner.
The youngster, who got the decisive goal in the first game but also suffered an injury, was back in action and reannounced himself at the perfect time, claiming the overtime winner for Lokomotiv. His goal came in the 85^th minute, and he scored at the second attempt after seeing his first shot blocked. Ilyenko headed around the back of the net to score on the wraparound and wrap up the series. The home bench quickly appealed for goalie interference, having successfully had a third-period effort ruled out, but the video found no evidence and Ilyenko’s effort stood.
An Ilyenko winner was not the only familiar feature to reappear in this game. For the third time in four games, Torpedo took the lead – but was unable to hold on to its advantage. And, for the second game in a row we saw a big goal from Staffan Kronwall – this time getting Loko’s go-ahead goal early in the second period. However, where Tuesday’s overtime winner was the finishing touch on a delicate passing play, Wednesday’s winner was more of a traditional blue-line blast from the Swedish defenseman. Home goalie Ivan Lisutin looked to have a decent view of the shot but was left on his need with his hand out in supplication as the puck whistled into the net. Stanislav Galimov was called off the bench to see out the remaining 36 minutes of play. It was the second time Lisutin had been beaten from long distance: Loko’s first goal, late in the first period, was a point shot from Alexander Yelesin after the defense had scrambled the puck clear of the net.
That cancelled out an impressive opener from Denis Parshin. He collected the puck in his own zone and showed some blistering speed to scorch down the left wing, circle behind the Loko net and emerge to fire a low shot that slithered through Alexei Murygin’s five-hole to the delight of the home crowd.
But after Loko’s rally, it took a Yury Sergiyenko effort early in the third to extend Torpedo’s season – if only by a few minutes. His point shot took the game into overtime but could not help his team escape its fate in the series.