KHL - Playoffs Round 1 - CSKA Moscow (1) vs Slovan Bratislava (8)

WESTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
Game 1 - Sunday, February 21
(1) CSKA Moscow 2 (8) Slovan Bratislava 0 CSKA leads the series 1-0
It took some time for CSKA to get ahead against Slovan, but after a frustrating 30 minutes the regular season champion eased to a comfortable victory. The first period saw few chances at either end: the Army Men struggled to get inside Slovan’s defenses, despite Antti Pihlstrom hitting the post. At the other end the Slovaks came close when Ladislav Nagy skated clean through but was squeezed out by the defense before he could shoot. But the middle stanza changed everything. CSKA tightened the screws steadily from the off and a combination of powerful home offense and frequent penalties for the visitor opened up the game. Radulov saw his shot rebound off bar and post to safety in the 30th minute but that was the final reprieve for Slovan. In the 32nd minute Gennady Stolyarov destroyed defenseman Tomas Starosta against the boards, headed for goal and picked out Kirill Petrov with his pass. Petrov had all the time in the world to line up a shot beyond Barry Brust as the goalie struggled to regain position. Two minutes later Geoff Platt doubled that advantage after fine work from Stephane da Costa sliced open Slovan’s defense. Platt reacted fastest to the rebound and slid the puck into the net off Brust’s skate. With the outcome of the game more or less decided, tempers began to flare. Two of the KHL’s more colorful characters, Slovan coach Milos Riha and CSKA captain Radulov, exchanged angry words late in the game. That did nothing to distract CSKA’s young goalie Ilya Sorokin, who marked his post-season debut with a 24-save shut-out. This was Slovan’s fifth post-season game overall, and Bratislava men are still to taste victory at this stage. Back in 2013, Dynamo Moscow dispatched Slovaks 4-0 on its way to second successive Gagarin Cup triumph.
Game 2 - Tuesday, February 23

CSKA Moscow 3 Slovan Bratislava 2 (1OT) CSKA leads the series 2-0

CSKA came from 0-2 down to defeat Slovan thanks to Antti Pihlstrom’s overtime winner. The Army Men now take a big advantage to Slovakia for game three of this series on Thursday. It took just two-and-a-half minutes of added time to snap a 2-2 tie as Sergei Andronov’s shot slid across Barry Brust’s pads and dropped perfectly for Pihlstrom to sweep into an empty net and shatter Slovan’s hopes of levelling the series. Slovan, who had never won a KHL play-off game, showed no signs of any hangover from Sunday’s 2-0 defeat and took the lead on the power play in the 14th minute. Vaclav Nederost got the goal, wrestling possession away from Mikhail Naumenkov on the slot after Cam Barker’s shot from the point caused panic in front of Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin’s evening did not improve: with seconds left in the middle session he was beaten again, this time by Tomas Starosta’s shot from the point. The teams were playing 4-on-4, and although Slovan had just won possession from a face-off to the goalie’s right, there seemed to be little about the play that would make the shot unusually challenging. In the third period, however, it was Slovan’s turn to question the goalie. Brust will wonder just how Kirill Petrov’s effort on the wraparound managed to creep between post and skate to halve the arrears in the 45th minute. Stephane da Costa went on to tie the game after Alexander Radulov battled hard from behind the net to pop the puck out on the crease. Ivan Telegin fired into Brust’s pads but da Costa made no mistake with the rebound to take the game into overtime and set up Pihlstrom’s big moment. 

Game 3 - Thursday, February 25

(8) Slovan Bratislava 1 (1) CSKA Moscow 2 CSKA leads the series 3-0
A last-minute CSKA goal completed another come-from-behind win as the clash between the top seed and the outsider in the West continues to prove tighter than the regular season standings would suggest. Slovan had lost both games in Moscow, but was pegged back by two late goals when it seemed close to victory in Game 2, and the pattern repeated here as the action switched to Bratislava. In a tense encounter the home team took the lead just after the midway mark. Marek Viedensky was the scorer, drifting into space at the far post and smashing home a one-timer off Vaclav Nedorost’s pass. But as the game entered the last five minutes CSKA finally found a way past Barry Brust. Alexander Radulov, who had endured some barracking from the home fans during the game, delivered the perfect riposte as he carved through the defense before setting up Kirill Petrov for the equalizing goal. Worse was to come for the Slovaks: a boarding call sent Andrej Stastny to the sin bin in the dying seconds and, with just six seconds of the penalty to kill and 45 seconds left in the game, CSKA grabbed a dramatic winner. Radulov was involved again, but it was Stephane da Costa who got the vital goal, bundling the puck home from the slot after Bogdan Kislevich rushed the net and passed across the crease to the Frenchman to score his second of the play-offs.

Game 4 - Friday, February 27

(8) Slovan Bratislava 1 (1) CSKA Moscow 3 CSKA wins the series 4-0
CSKA quickly followed Dynamo into the next round of the playoffs, coming from behind once again to complete a series sweep of Slovan. In the two previous games the Army Men had needed a third-period fight-back to prevail and so it proved here. Slovan, despite the blow of losing Michal Sersen to a game misconduct penalty for a high check early in the game, once again snatched the lead. The Slovaks only managed four shots in the opening stanza, but Tomas Surovy blasted his chance into the net from the face-off spot after rushing down the left and spotting a gap at the near post. The middle session was goalless, but CSKA has previous when it comes to overturning deficits late on against Slovan. And Alexander Radulov, already unpopular in Bratislava, once again crushed Slovak hopes. He tied the scores in the 43rd minute, getting the vital deflection on Andrei Svetlakov’s shot, then claimed an assist as Stephane da Costa put the Army Men ahead. The French international has endured an injury-disrupted regular season but is clearly enjoying play-off hockey. His close range finish after a sweet passing move involving Radulov and Simon Hjalmarsson made it three goals in the last three games. This was his second game winner among them, with Nikita Zaitsev’s empty-netter merely adding gloss to the finish and helping Radulov to another assist as his post-season tally goes to 1+5=6. Slovan’s second KHL playoff campaign ends in the same manner as its first – a 0-4 sweep in the first round. CSKA will be hoping to reverse recent history and extend its run right to the final.