EASTERN CONFERENCE QUARTERFINALS
Game 1 - Monday, February 22
(3) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1 (7) Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Avtomobilist leads the series 1-0
The biggest shock of the opening playoff games came in Magnitogorsk as two goals from Alexander Pankov saw Avtomobilist pull off a sensational come-from-behind win. The Yekaterinburg team had never previously won a road game in KHL post-season and that record seemed set to continue as Metallurg opened the scoring early on. Avto took a bench penalty on 1:55 and 13 seconds later Alexander Semin found plenty of space in the right-hand circle to snaffle a wrister off Jan Kovar’s pass. But Avto did not buckle. Within three minutes the scores were level as Pankov and colleagues conjured a goal out of nothing. Andrei Alexeyev worked hard to win the puck on the boards and send it to Vitaly Popov behind the net. His pass found Pankov, and an instinctive one-timer left Ilya Samsonov with no chance. The winner came in the 25th minute with Alexei Simakov at its heart. He released Alexeyev into the zone then delicately redirected a pass on to Pankov’s stick, giving the forward a clear sight for his second goal of the game. Magnitka tried hard to get back on level terms but Avto’s defense showed great resilience, offering great protection as Jakub Kovar faced just eight shots in the third period.
Game 2 - Wednesday, February 24
(2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (7) Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0
Series tied at 1-1
Metallurg got off the mark in its series against Avtomobilist, but it took a long time for the Steelmen to solve visiting goalie Jakub Kovar. After Monday’s shock defeat, in which Kovar made 27 saves, the pressure was on Magnitka to take the series to Yekaterinburg with the scores tied. Once again, though, they found Kovar in unyielding mood. For 43 minutes he kept the home team at bay, adding 25 saves to his tally in the first two periods before he was finally undone. Oscar Osala got the goal: he was left unmarked in front of the net to shoot the puck home after Yaroslav Kosov battled his way to possession behind the piping. With a lead in place at last, Magnitka tried to lock down the game. Avto managed just three shots in the third period. Even a penalty on Osala did not open the door for the visiting offense to test Vasily Koshechkin, who eventually ended up with 20 saves for his shut-out. Victory was confirmed late on when Jan Kovar found the empty net recently vacated by his brother to make it 2-0.
(7) Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 0 (2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 6
Metallurg leads the series 2-1
Metallurg Magnitogorsk sent out a resounding message to its Eastern Conference playoff rivals with an emphatic win at Avtomobilist. Three goals in three first-period minutes set up a big win for Magnitka, which has completely turned around this series after a shock defeat in game one. Alexander Semin opened the scoring, lazering in a shot from the right-hand circle after Tomas Filippi sliced through the Avto defense. Yaroslav Kosov added a second, turning home the rebound from Wojtek Wolski’s shot from the point. The Kosov turned provider, claiming the assist on Oskar Osala’s goal after a spell of pressure around Jakub Kovar’s net. That was the last action of the night for the Czech goalie; he was replaced by Igor Ustinsky as Magnitka threatened to run riot. The scoring continued in the middle session. Kosov got his second of the game in the 21st minute and Denis Platonov made it 5-0 late on. But it was clear that the visitor was confident that the game was won, after firing in 21 shots in the first period, Metallurg managed just eight in the second. The final stanza was scoreless until the final minute when Avto, inspired by optimism rather than realism, pulled Ustinsky for a final storm on Vasily Koshechkin in the away goal. The plan backfired. Osala fired his second into the empty net and the game finished 6-0. Koshechkin made 29 saves for his shut-out.
(7) Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 3 (2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 1
Series tied at 2-2
Two days can make a huge difference. On Friday Metallurg won 6-0 here, taking the lead in the series and seemingly demonstrating complete superiority over its opponent. On Sunday, though, Avtomobilist struck back in style with an assured 3-1 victory that ties the series after four games and sends us back to Magnitogorsk with everything to play for. That outcome seemed a long way off when Magnitka opened the scoring through Alexander Semin early in the second period. Chris Lee’s shot from the blue line was blocked, Igor Ustinsky produced a superb stop to deny Sergei Mozyakin on the rebound, but Semin collected the puck behind the net and forced it home on the wraparound. But when Avto got a power play of its own the scores were level. Metallurg’s PK went astray in the final seconds of the penalty and Alexei Vasilevsky was the man to take advantage: given the freedom of the offensive zone he advanced on the net and let fly from between the hatchings to make it 1-1. Another power play soon followed, and another Avtomobilist goal came with it. Vasilevsky supplied the shot from the blue line, Ilya Samsonov blocked it but an almighty scramble on the crease ended with Artyom Gareyev poking the puck home. And yet another power play goal late in the second period saw D-man Vasilevsky get his second goal of the game. This time Avto had a 5-on-3 advantage and Vasilevsky fired Nikolai Timashov’s pass into the top corner to build an uncatchable lead.
(2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 (7) Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 Metallurg leads the series 3-2
Metallurg Magnitogorsk recovered from an early goal to edge Avtomobilist and take a 3-2 lead in the series. The visitor stunned Magnitka with a fifth-minute marker credited to Yegor Zhuravlyov. The Avtomobilist forward fired in a shot and saw a deflection off Vladislav Kaletnik take it past Ilya Samsonov and into the net. That was just reward for an enterprising start from the outsider, with Avto well aware that victory in this game would give it a great chance of wrapping up the series on home ice on Thursday. But steadily Magnitka came back into contention and the home team’s first power play saw Viktor Antipin level the scores from the blue line. As Metallurg splutters through this stage of the playoffs, Sergei Mozyakin has been conspicuous by his absence from the scoresheet but the KHL’s all-time leading goalscorer finally got off the mark for this post-season in the 32nd minute. Avto goalie Igor Ustinsky got a thorough work-out from Metallurg’s top line and when Chris Lee’s shot bounced to Mozyakin in the slot there was only one outcome. Avtomobilist thought it had equalized in the 49th minute as the puck found the net off the skate of Artyom Gareyev. However, the video officials saw it differently and the goal was ruled off due to a kicking motion. Within seconds the game was all but up as Jan Kovar went up the other end of the ice to make it 3-1, forcing the puck home after a storm around Ustinsky’s net. Avtomobilist complained that the goalie was impeded during the play but after checking the video the officials awarded the goal. There was still time for the visitor to reduce the deficit. Alexei Vasilevsky continued his scoring streak with a deceptive wrist shot from the blue line that did enough to deceive Samsonov and set up a tense finale, but Denis Platonov’s empty-netter in the last second wrapped up the win.
Game 6 - Thursday, February 03
(7) Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 2 (2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk 5 Metallurg wins the series 4-2
It was a more challenging series than many anticipated, but Metallurg finally got past Avtomobilist thanks to an emphatic third-period display in Yekaterinburg to win game six. Four unanswered goals in the final stanza ended the Motormen’s resistance, but Magnitka had to dig deep to recover a two-goal first-period deficit. Anatoly Golyshev, Avto’s scoring leader in regular season, had failed to make a big impression in the playoffs so far but he opened his post-season account to give his team a 1-0 lead after 12 minutes. Sergei Yemelin doubled that lead before the intermission, giving the home team every hope of setting up a game seven decider in Magnitogorsk on Saturday. That was as good as it got for Avto, though. Sergei Tereshchenko pulled on back for the visitor just after midway and from that point on the tide turned decisively. Magnitka took almost complete control of the action and produced a dominant display in the final stanza to romp into the next stage and set up a clash with Sibir. Bogdan Poteikhin tied the game in the 43rd minute before Jan Kovar struck on the power play to give his team the lead for the first time in the game with less than 15 minutes to play. His well-tied thrust of the stick deflected Sergei Mozyakin’s shot past Igor Ustinsky for what proved to be the game, and series, winner. There was more to come: Tomas Filippi added two more goals, his first of the playoffs, to set a gloss on Metallurg’s triumph and complete the team’s progress in this season’s competition. For Avtomobilist it was the best post-season showing in the KHL era, but still not quite enough to prolong the campaign.
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