Game 1 - Monday, February 22
(1) Avangard Omsk 2 (8) Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1
Avangard leads the series 1-0
Avangard lived up to its seeding and won the opening game of this series, but outsider Neftekhimik pushed the Conference leader harder than many expected.
Evgeny Popikhin’s team had to wait until the final day of the regular season before clinching its play-off spot, but that didn’t stop it making the brighter start in Omsk. Dan Sexton carved out an opening in the first minute and Igor Polygalov was close to forcing home the loose puck. Instead he drew a penalty against Michal Kempny but the power play came to nothing. Gradually the home team improved, though, and finished the period ahead on the shot count but deadlocked at 0-0. It didn’t take long for Avangard to open the scoring in the middle session. Artur Lauta made the breakthrough in the 25th minute, smashing home a one-timer after Yury Petrov’s pass from behind the net was deflected into his path by Alexander Chernikov. Neftekhimik wasn’t finished, though: on the power play Evgeny Grigorenko picked out Dmitry Shchitov on the slot and his one-timer came through a screen to beat Dominik Furch.
Avangard showed their class on offense with a well-worked second goal to go into the second intermission with the lead. Ilya Zubov led the rush and his pass enabled Martin Erat to draw goalie Alexander Sudnitsin to the near post before slipping the puck to his left for Alexander Perezhogin to shoot into the gaping net. However, Neftekhimik remained resolute, staying in contention in a one-goal game until the final hooter sounded.
Game 2 - Wednesday, February 24
(1) Avangard Omsk 4 (8) Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 Avangard leads the series 2-0
Avangard had to withstand a Neftekhimik fightback before claiming a 2-0 lead in this playoff series. For the first half-hour the game was all about the home team: Avangard opened up a 3-0 lead and seemed to be in total control. Yury Petrov gave the host the perfect start, smashing home a one-timer in the fifth minute after Alexander Chernikov did the hard work behind the net. Two goals in barely a minute midway through the middle stanza consolidated that advantage. Ilya Zubov and Martin Erat were the men on target. But Neftekhimik hit back. In the 35th minute Andrei Sergeyev converted a power play when he thumped in a shot from the blue line and Avangard ran into further penalty trouble early in the third as the visitor earned a 5-on-3 power play. Avangard had just managed to get one man back on the ice when Evgeny Grigorenko’s pass from behind the net picked out Jeff Taffe in plenty of space to make the score 3-2. With the home team now feeling the pressure Neftekhimik’s PK worked effectively as Andrei Stas sat out two minutes and the nerves around Arena Omsk increased when Denis Parshin was sent to cool his heels shortly after. But in the dying seconds Avangard secured the win thanks to Nikolai Lemtyugov’s empty net goal.
Game 3 - Friday, February 26
(8) Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 1 (1) Avangard Omsk 2 Avangard leads the series 3-0
Two goals either side of the first intermission set Avangard on the way to a third successive victory in this series and left Neftekhimik’s play-off campaign on the brink of failure. Anton Burdasov claimed the opener in the 19th minute, but the former SKA man enjoyed a slice of good fortune as Maxim Berezin’s attempted clearance dropped right in front of him to present a simple chance. That goal out of nothing sent the teams to the locker rooms with Avangard in the ascendancy and right after the intermission the visitor doubled its lead. Yury Alexandrov got this one, firing in a mighty shot from the blue line. But Neftekhimik, despite staring down the barrel of a third successive defeat, did not crumble. The home team dominated the remainder of the middle session and assumed an even tighter grip on play in the third as Avangard struggled to carve out opportunities to extend its lead. Bogdan Yakimov pulled one goal back on a high-speed breakaway to set up a tense finale but the home team could find no way back in the last 10 minutes. The shot count in the third period was 18-3 in favor of the host, and visiting goalie Dominik Furch finished with 45 saves. Avangard is now just one game away from wrapping up the series.
Game 4 - Sunday, February 28
(8) Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk 2 (1) Avangard Omsk 3 (3OT) Avangard wins the series 4-0
Avangard became the first team to progress to the Eastern Conference semi-final after completing a sweep of Neftekhimik. But the regular season conference leader had to come from 0-2 down in Nizhnekamsk before claiming victory in the longest post-season game to date. Denis Parshin finally got the winner on 102:39 to send Avangard into the next phase. It was a goal out of nothing: Parshin burst down the left-hand channel, swung into the center and slid a low shot past Ivan Lisutin to end Neftekhimik’s resistance and earn his team a long rest before the next stage gets underway. Neftekhimik, playing for its playoff life, opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period. Alexei Sergeyev opened the scoring, picking his spot to put away the rebound from Bogdan Yakimov’s shot in the third minute. Then Evgeny Grigorenko made it two with a one-timer after Igor Polygalov carved out the opportunity from behind the net. But Avangard hit back. Defenseman Yury Alexandrov got one back with a thunderous shot from the point after Czech duo Vladimir Sobotka and Martin Erat sliced through center ice with a couple of passes. Then Alexander Perezhogin, Avangard’s main man on its run to the 2012 Gagarin Cup final, demonstrated his skill on front of goal. Ilya Zubov’s pass sent the forward through on goal and Perezhogin showed some nifty stick handling to ease his way into a shooting position in the deep slot and beat Lisutin.
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