NHL - Playoffs - San Jose Sharks @ St Louis Blues 4-0 - Tuesday, May 17, 2016 - Game 2

Martin Jones made 26 saves for his second Stanley Cup Playoff shutout, Brent Burns scored two power-play goals, and the San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-0 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final at Scottrade Center on Tuesday.
Dainius Zubrus had a goal and an assist, and Tommy Wingels scored for the Sharks, who tied the best-of-7 series and will host Game 3 at SAP Center on Thursday. Sharks center Logan Couture had two assists to give him 19 points in the 2016 playoffs, breaking the San Jose record of 18 set by Igor Larionov in 1994.
The Blues were shut out in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since losing to the Sharks 1-0 in Game 2 of the 2001 first round. Jones shut out the Nashville Predators 5-0 in Game 7 of the second round this year.
The Sharks took a 1-0 lead on a goal by their fourth line. Wingels was able to convert a Zubrus pass from the slot, a wrist shot Blues goalie Brian Elliott got a piece of, but it caromed into the net at 2:07. Zubrus, who had his first points of the playoffs Tuesday.
The goal came moments after Jones was able to stop Vladimir Tarasenko in the slot after he skated past Sharks defenseman Paul Martin 1:41 into the game. (Tarasenko did not participate in the morning skate because he was with his wife for the birth of their first child.)
The Sharks took a 2-0 lead at 7:04 of the second period when Joe Pavelski fed Burns from the slot to the left circle for a one-timer. After Blues right wing Troy Brouwer took a slashing penalty on Burns behind the play, Burns scored short side while Blues forward Alexander Steen was playing with a broken stick and tried going to the bench to retrieve another one.
St. Louis had a chance with about one minute remaining in the second period to get momentum heading into the third, but Brouwer's shot hit the far post from the right circle.
The Blues were given a four-minute power play 32 seconds into the third period when Sharks left wing Patrick Marleau high-sticked Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson. The Blues got late scoring chances from Brouwer and Jaden Schwartz that Jones kicked out.
Burns' second power-play goal came after another Brouwer penalty, this time for slashing in the offensive zone. Burns' slap shot from the left circle high glove side at 11:58 of the third gave the Sharks a 3-0 lead. Burns became the 11th defenseman in NHL history with two multigoal games in one postseason, the first since Rob Blake (2002, Colorado Avalanche). Denis Potvin is the only defenseman with three multigoal games in a playoff year; he did it in 1981 with the New York Islanders, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Zubrus scored his first goal of the playoffs into an empty net with 18.4 seconds remaining. The Blues, who were 0-for-6 on the power play.

Sharks Bites

Marc-Edouard Vlasic: "We had a lot of confidence because we played well in Game 1. We lost Game 1 and we wanted to go home with a split and that's what we got."
Logan Couture: "It was good to get a couple on the power play. I think that was big for us."
Dainius Zubrus: "Our line, we got in on the offensive zone in the first period, and in the second period we had a chance."
Brent Burns: "We talked about little things that they do and what we want to do. I don't think we really changed much. We wanted to make a difference this game. All year we've been good. If we don't make a difference positively the game before, we can change it the next game and be able to capitalize."
Peter DeBoer: "I think we just played that game for longer periods. I was happy with the second [period] and parts of the third in Game 1. I thought we brought our good game to the rink tonight for longer periods. Getting the first goal was big. I knew our power play would bounce back. It always has all year. But, you know, I liked our 5-on-5 game. We got contributions from everyone."

Blues Quotes

David Backes: "They played well. We didn't. We've got to park this one like we've parked every other one in the playoffs and come into San Jose and win a road game. That's our focus now. We've done a good job of turning the page in the past and we'll do the same thing here. We need to get our focus back to play our game. When we do that, we love the result. When we don't get to that and we don't have the commitment like we didn't tonight, the chips are all up in the air. Tonight they made us pay and deserved to win."
Ken Hitchcock: "We made two mistakes. There was no communication on the exit to get the stick, and then we pressured on the half wall on the point, outside the dots, instead of buying time. We were in a 5-on-3 situation, we should have stayed passive. We went aggressive on it and should have stayed."
Alexander Steen: "Obviously we have to be better at retrievals. We were getting pucks in the zone and they're getting more guys to areas. They're anticipating where we're putting the pucks, outmanning us with the puck and getting pucks out of their zone."

NHL - Playoffs - Tampa Bay Lightning @ Pittsburgh Penguins 2-3 OT - Monday, May 16, 2016 - Game 2

Sidney Crosby picked a really good time to end his eight-game goal drought.
The Pittsburgh Penguins captain scored 40 seconds into overtime for a 3-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final at Consol Energy Center on Monday, tying the best-of-7 series 1-1.
Bryan Rust carried the puck into the Tampa Bay zone before dropping a pass to Crosby. While going down on one knee, Crosby shot by goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy's blocker for the first Stanley Cup Playoff goal of his career. Crosby said he shouted at Rust to draw his attention because he didn’t think Rust saw him. Game 3 is at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.
Pittsburgh rookie goalie Matt Murray made 19 saves. Vasilevskiy, a rookie who started in place of injured Ben Bishop (lower body), had 38. The Penguins controlled the first period but let a two-goal lead slip away late. Pittsburgh forward Matt Cullen opened the scoring at 4:32 with his fourth goal of the playoffs. He collected a rebound off of Eric Fehr’s shot and put the puck over Tampa Bay forward Ondrej Palat and past Vasilevskiy’s blocker.
Phil Kessel scored to make it 2-0 at 9:37 after Carl Hagelin shot the puck into the crease, where Nick Bonino was battling Tampa Bay forward Cedric Paquette. Bonino gained possession and spun off Paquette before passing off Lightning defenseman Andrej Sustr’s skate to Kessel, who shot inside the left post.
Kessel leads the Penguins with 14 playoff points, two more than Crosby. His six goals are tied with forward Patric Hornqvist for the Pittsburgh lead.
In his first game back from a fractured left fibula, defenseman Anton Stralman scored with 3:23 remaining in the first to cut the Penguins lead in half. After Crosby and Pittsburgh forward Conor Sheary collided between the faceoff circles in the Tampa Bay zone, forward Jonathan Marchessault passed through Hornqvist, Crosby and Sheary to Stralman, who shot over Murray’s glove.
Stralman had not played since March 25, when he was injured against the New York Islanders. He scored four goals in three games against the Penguins in the regular season.

Jonathan Drouin tied it 2-2 with 49.2 seconds remaining in the first after a pass from J.T. Brown sent him streaking into the Pittsburgh zone. Drouin shot under Murray’s blocker for his third goal of the playoffs.
Vasilevskiy robbed Crosby to preserve the tie midway through the second period. Evgeni Malkin tipped a pass to Crosby to the right of the slot, where he backhanded a shot toward a seemingly open net. Vasilevskiy twisted back to make a glove save just before the puck crossed the goal line with 9:28 remaining in the second. Murray made an impressive save of his own with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second. After forward Alex Killorn tipped the puck into the Pittsburgh zone, he went on a partial breakaway before Murray made a blocker save.
Pittsburgh tweaked its lines in the third period; Chris Kunitz replaced Sheary at left wing on Crosby’s line, and Hagelin and Kessel took turns on Malkin’s line.
Killorn nearly gave the Lightning a 3-2 lead midway through the third, but his shot on a 2-on-1 hit off the crossbar at 9:38. Pittsburgh outshot Tampa Bay 19-6 in the third period and overtime. Crosby has played 113 postseason games since the Penguins selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft.

Pens Quotes

Sidney Crosby: “[I] was just happy. Whether I’ve scored in the last seven games or haven’t scored in the last whatever, it feels good to get rewarded. I think we deserved that one tonight.”
“I just tried to let [Rust] know I was there. I didn’t know exactly what he was going to do. … He made a perfect pass and put in an area where I could get a good shot away.”
Patric Hornqvist: “It felt like we were the better team the whole third period. We were all over them. … I think our third period and overtime was great.”

Bolts Quotes

Tyler Johnson: “I don’t think we necessarily played our best game, obviously. They created some turnovers and they capitalized on them. They were able to use their speed. They’re a fast team, and I thought we turned the puck over too many times. … We’re going to have to do better.”
Jon Cooper: “I think it took him a couple shifts just, you know, you've got to get hit. You've got to feel the puck. You've got to feel the pace. But other than that, Stralman is Stralman. … And I just thought he got stronger as he went on."

NHL - Playoffs - San Jose Sharks @ St Louis Blues 1-2 - Sunday, May 15, 2016 - Game 1

Jori Lehtera scored the go-ahead goal in the second period, and Brian Elliott made 31 saves to help the St. Louis Blues to a 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final at Scottrade Center on Sunday. Game 2 is in St. Louis on Tuesday.
David Backes scored a power-play goal for St. Louis, which is 4-4 at home in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tomas Hertl scored his first goal in seven games for the Sharks, who lost their fourth straight on the road in the postseason. Martin Jones made 21 saves.
The Sharks outshot the Blues 16-5 in the second, but Lehtera put the St. Louis ahead 2-1 at 9:15 after picking off a Brent Burns pass in the neutral zone, skating in and taking a slap shot from the top of the left circle that beat Jones.
Jones was frustrated a shot he felt he should have saved decided the game.
Elliott made his best save of the second period on Joe Pavelski's one-timer from the slot off a Joe Thornton pass at 10:46.

The Blues caught a break with 1:14 left in the second when a quick whistle negated a Sharks goal that would have tied it 2-2. Melker Karlsson's dump-in was blown dead after Elliott appeared to control the puck, but the Blues goalie never had control of it and kicked it into his net.
St. Louis forward Patrik Berglund thought he opened the scoring at 11:35 of the first period when he tipped Jay Bouwmeester's shot and it was inadvertently put in by San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic. The goal was waved off, though, because Berglund made incidental contact with Jones. The Blues challenged the call on the ice, but it was confirmed by video review.
Backes, who had a game-high 11 hits in 18:33 of ice time, put St. Louis ahead 1-0 when he tipped Kevin Shattenkirk's shot from the point past Jones at 15:04 of the first. Hertl tied it 1-1 34 seconds after Backes scored. Pavelski initially redirected Burns' shot from the right point, then the puck hit off Hertl’s right skate and got past Elliott.
Jones' best save came with a little less than 12 minutes remaining when he denied Paul Stastny in the slot off a slick feed from Robby Fabbri. The Blues penalty kill was 3-for-3. The Sharks were 13-for-42 (30.9 percent) on the power play coming into the series.

Sharks Bites

Peter DeBoer: "I think we were a little tentative to start the game. I thought the first period was a little feeling out. We talked between the first and second, started to play our game in the second period and really I thought in the second period ... the tragedy of the second period was we spent the whole period in their end and lost the period 1-0. That was basically the game."
Jori Lehtera: "I just got the puck, then I closed my eyes and shot it. That's about it. ... We just kind of keep it simple."
Martin Jones: "Not much to it, just found a hole ... it [stinks] that it decided the game, but nothing really to panic over. I'll make that save next time."

Blues Quotes

Ken Hitchcock: "We haven't played a team like this. The other two series [against the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars] were similar. This series, and this team that we're playing against, is completely different. This is no different than playing Los Angeles. They're a heavy, hard team, strong on the puck, a lot of wall battles. We haven't had a series like this."
"It took us two periods just to get close to the emotional level on the compete side to get going. We'll be a lot better in Game 2."
"Well, it was varying information, so it seemed like the right thing to do [make the challenge]. When I looked at [Berglund], I saw [Berglund] absorb the puck and he's looking back on it and he might have been a little deep.”
"Our special teams were excellent. Our [power play] was excellent and our [penalty kill] was even better. They were both good. They were the reason for the victory."
David Backes: "The whistle blows and everyone stops. [Elliott] just keeps momentum to where that loose puck is. Three guys notice it, but the whistle's already blown."
Kevin Shattenkirk: "One thing I never have to worry about is [Backes] being in front of the net when I shoot it. For me to get that shot off, have it deflect before it gets to him and him still get a piece of it is amazing. That's where he's so valuable."
Brian Elliott: "[Pavelski's] obviously a good player, a guy that leads their team. It's really nothing more than just trying to stop every puck. It's not who's shooting it that really matters. It's trying to get in the way. When a guy like Jori goes down and gets you the lead, you just want to keep it, limit their chances they have, try to cover some pucks and let the guys do the rest. You don't really think about who's shooting it."

NHL - Playoffs - Tampa Bay Lightning @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 - Friday, May 13, 2016 - Game 1

Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves after replacing injured starter Ben Bishop to help the Tampa Bay Lightning defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final at Consol Energy Center on Friday.
Bishop, who made nine saves, left on a stretcher with 7:35 remaining in the first period after his stick became tangled with Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist, who was attempting to drive behind the net. Bishop tried to follow the puck by twisting back to his left and appeared to injure his leg. The Lightning lead the best-of-7 series, 1-0. Game 2 is at Consol Energy Center on Monday.
Vasilevskiy, 21, earned his second career Stanley Cup Playoff win. His first came in Game 2 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, when he made five saves in relief of Bishop in a 4-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Friday was Vasilevskiy's sixth career playoff appearance. He has played once this postseason, when he made eight saves in a 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round.

Alex Killorn scored his fourth goal of the playoffs to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead with 1:14 remaining in the first period. After defenseman Victor Hedman sent a breakout pass through the neutral zone, Killorn shrugged off defenseman Olli Maatta before driving toward Murray. Killorn went forehand to backhand and shot through rookie goalie Matt Murray's five-hole.
Ondrej Palat extended the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal 2:33 into the second period. With Evgeni Malkin in the penalty box for hooking, Valtteri Filppula took a slap shot off Murray's left pad; Palat dove towards the puck and backhanded it into the net.

Jonathan Drouin made it 3-0 for Tampa Bay when Palat set him up on a 3-on-1 against Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin. Palat's pass slipped through Dumoulin to Drouin, who one-timed a shot past Murray's glove with 1:11 remaining in the second. Murray, 21, made 17 saves and lost for the third time in 10 playoff starts. He was not surprised by Vasilevskiy's performance.
Hornqvist cut the Penguins' deficit to 3-1 with a power-play goal set up by a backhand pass Sidney Crosby sent between his legs. Hornqvist's shot went over Vasilevskiy's blocker with 54.6 seconds left in the second.

Pittsburgh forward Chris Kunitz collided with Tampa Bay forward Tyler Johnson's right knee with 36.4 seconds remaining in the first. Johnson attempted to skate off the ice before falling and being carried to the locker room, putting no pressure on his right leg. He returned midway through the second period.
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang left 2:50 into the game after being hit into the corner by Lightning forward Ryan Callahan but returned later in the period.
Dumoulin left the game after being pushed into the boards by Palat with 4:46 remaining in the third period and did not return. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan did not update Dumoulin's status, but said Letang was fine. Pittsburgh had 35 shots, but was held to one goal for the second time in three games.

Pens Quotes

Matt Murray: "He's obviously a great goalie. He was drafted the same year I was. He's a first-rounder and played in world juniors and he's a heck of a goalie. I don't think it was much of a drop off, losing Bishop. He's such a good goaltender."
Steve Sullivan: "They defend hard. They block shots. They have people in the lanes. They have good support mechanism built in place when somebody gets beat. I thought we generated a fair amount of chances. We have to find a way to convert."

Bolts Quotes

Andrei Vasilevskiy: "In the first two periods, I didn't feel good. So I was cold and tough mentally, but when we scored three goals, I got some confidence and in the third period, I felt pretty good. I got some shots and just warmed up."
Jon Cooper: "For someone as young as he is, He's already played in a Stanley Cup Final. He was called on in the biggest moments last year, and talk about pushing somebody down the learning curve a little faster than we wanted to … Nobody on the bench was thinking 'Oh, we're nervous. Vasilevskiy is going in.'"

NHL - Playoffs - Nashville Predators @ San Jose Sharks 0-5 - Thursday, May 12, 2016 - Game 7

Joe Pavelski and Joel Ward scored first-period goals, Martin Jones had a 20-save shutout, and the San Jose Sharks defeated the Nashville Predators 5-0 in Game 7 to win the Western Conference Second Round series at SAP Center on Thursday. The Sharks advanced to the Western Conference Final for the fourth time, the first since 2011, and will play the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 on Sunday.

San Jose went 4-0 at home against Nashville in the best-of-7 series and is 8-0 against the Predators in the Stanley Cup Playoffs here. The shutout was Jones' first in an NHL playoff game. Logan Couture scored early in the second period and had two assists, giving him 11 points (six goals) in the series, a Sharks record. Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau scored in the third period.

Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne allowed five goals on 26 shots and was replaced by Carter Hutton with 16:06 to play after Marleau made it 5-0. The Sharks were outshot 32-18 in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Predators in Game 6 on Monday at Bridgestone Arena, losing for the third straight time there. But San Jose outshot Nashville 17-3 in the first period Thursday and built a 2-0 lead on goals by Pavelski and Ward.

Pavelski scored at 8:22 on the power play with Viktor Arvidsson in the penalty box for delay of game. Thornton sent the puck below the goal line to Marleau, who found Pavelski in the low right circle. Pavelski, who had been knocked down by Rinne seconds earlier, scored on a wrist shot into the upper left corner.
The goal was Pavelski's ninth of the playoffs. San Jose is 8-0 in the playoffs when he gets at least one point.
Ward made it 2-0 at 16:51 with a goal against his former team. Ward tracked down the puck in the neutral zone, chipped it past Predators defenseman Roman Josi at the blue line, and then beat Rinne on a breakaway from close range through the five-hole. The goal was Ward's third in a Game 7.

NHL - Playoffs - St Louis Blues @ Dallas Stars 6-1 - Wednesday, May 11, 2016 - Game 7

The St. Louis Blues built a big early lead and defeated the Dallas Stars 6-1 in Game 7 on Wednesday to win the Western Conference Second Round series and advance to the conference final for the first time since 2001. David Backes, Patrik Berglund, Troy Brouwer, Robby Fabbri and Paul Stastny combined for 13 points, and Brian Elliott made 31 saves for St. Louis, which led 4-0 less than four minutes into the second period at American Airlines Center.
The Blues, who won three road games in this series, will play either the San Jose Sharks or Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Final. Those teams play Game 7 at SAP Center on Thursday. Game 1 of the Western Final will be at St. Louis on Sunday.
Blues coach Ken Hitchcock is 5-2 in Game 7, including in the first round against the Chicago Blackhawks. Stars coach Lindy Ruff is 0-4, having lost three as coach of the Buffalo Sabres. The Blues have won two Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time. The last time that happened was in 1968, their inaugural season. Hitchcock will take a third team to a conference final (Dallas, Philadelphia Flyers).
Brouwer, Fabbri and Stastny each had a goal and two assists. Backes and Berglund each had a goal and an assist. Vladimir Tarasenko scored an empty-net goal with 4:40 remaining. Patrick Eaves scored for Dallas, who were the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference after winning the Central Division. The Blues took a 3-0 first-period lead on goals by Fabbri, Stastny and Berglund. Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen, who made five saves on eight shots, did not start the second period, replaced by Antti Niemi. Backes scored 3:50 into the second period to make it 4-0.
Dallas had several early chances, with Jason Demers forcing Elliott to make a pad save on his wrist shot off the rush 1:52 into the game. Elliott was pulled from Game 6 after allowing three first-period goals. Hitchcock did not reveal him to be the Game 7 starter until Wednesday, though he admitted afterward he knew prior to that. Fabbri gave the Blues a 1-0 lead at 5:23 with his third goal of the playoffs with St. Louis on the power play. Fabbri tapped in a rebound after Lehtonen stopped Brouwer's shot with a pad save.
Valeri Nichushkin had an opportunity to tie the game at 7:01 but missed an open net, instead hitting the right side of the goal. St. Louis appeared to take a 2-0 lead with 2:21 remaining when Tarasenko scored. Ruff used his challenge, and Tarasenko was ruled offside and the goal was overturned.
The Blues did take a 2-0 lead 43 seconds later when Stastny scored with 1:38 remaining, and then made it 3-0 when Berglund beat Lehtonen from distance with four seconds to go. Backes beat Niemi far post for his sixth goal of the playoffs 3:50 into the second period. Brouwer capped a 2-on-1 with his fifth goal of the postseason at 14:06. St. Louis led 5-0 despite being outshot 25-17.
Eaves scored 5:05 into the third period. Alex Goligoski's slap shot from the top of the right circle deflected off Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson and landed at Eaves' feet at the near post, where he scored on a tap-in.

Blues Quotes

David Backes: "It's taken a lot of hard work from these guys, it's taken a group that has really bound together when we've had our back against the walls in a couple Game 7s and played our best hockey when we really needed it. Good feeling right now. We know we're one of the last four teams standing and we're halfway to our ultimate goal. We still have some work to do; it's a good feeling in this room right now, how we came out in Game 7, played a full 60 minutes."
"Our guys really brought it. It was great to see out of this group. We got a few good chances and we got a few key saves at key times, and stifled their attack, and were able to counter shortly after that, and that was the key to us continuing to put the pressure on for a full 60 [minutes]."
Ken Hitchcock: "To play in the conference final, I know as a coach here in Dallas (1998, 1999, 2000) I took it for granted and it was a big mistake. I left here and thought all you do is play in the conference final or the Cup Final, then I went to Philadelphia and had early success there. That was 2004 and I've never been back since. Sometimes you can play your whole career and not play in the conference final, so it's pretty impressive."
"Yeah, I knew yesterday when he came to the rink and stopped pucks, and we talked; I knew what we were going to get today. So, that's what I needed to see. I wasn't jerking anybody's chain about who's starting and all that stuff. I just needed to know how he felt. When he came out and stopped pucks [on Tuesday], that was kind of the sign for me, I already knew he was ready to go."
Brian Elliott: "It was a great, gusty effort that everybody came to play. We played that kind of Blues road-style hockey. We got a lead early and then didn't really look back."

Stars Quotes

Lindy Ruff: "I think that [it's] a huge disappointment [to lose Game 7]. We had good energy, but it's a tough way to end [our season]. Even when we started pushing, we missed too many good opportunities to get back in it."
Kari Lehtonen: "It was tough, a tough go. [It was] similar to what we were able to do in Game 6 (a 3-2 win at St. Louis). Everything ends so quickly."

KHL - Playoff Review

PLAYOFFS, ROUND ONE

Western Conference

It was a season of shocks in the West, where three of the four first-round ties went to the lower-ranked team. Even the CSKA – Slovan series, which ended in a 4-0 sweep for the regular season champ, was closer than it seemed. CSKA didn’t drop a single game, but came from behind in the third period for three of those victories.

The biggest shock came in Finland, where Jokerit crashed out at the first hurdle against Torpedo in a bad-tempered series. The stage was set in Game 1, with Torpedo topping a wild game 6-4 in Helsinki while Jesse Joensuu got a last-minute misconduct penalty for a check to the head. The Finns tied the series in Game 2, while Torpedo racked up 57 PIMs, and things continued in that vein from thereon in. The rival coaches, Erkka Westerlund and Peteris Skudra, found plenty of opportunities to lament the officiating, but after back-to-back home wins for Torpedo in Nizhny Novgorod, the series was already reaching its conclusion. Jokerit prolonged the action with a home win in Game 5, but Vyacheslav Kulyomin’s late goal snapped a 2-2 tie in the next meeting and sent Torpedo through.

The most intriguing series was the battle between Lokomotiv and SKA. The Railwaymen were second to CSKA in their division but looked strong throughout a season when a miserly defense caught the eye. But Loko was undone by the unpredictable offensive talents of SKA and, in particular, by a sudden breakthrough in the Petersburg team’s defense. Slava Voynov, a mid-season signing from the LA Kings, helped to marshal far more resilient back line while goalie Mikko Koskinen hit a hot streak. After the teams shared 3-2 wins in Yaroslavl to start the series, SKA then produced three shut-outs on the spin to advance.

The Army Men were destined to meet old playoff foe Dynamo Moscow once again. The Blue-and-Whites eased past HC Sochi 4-0 with the Southern team fading alarmingly after such an impressive showing in the regular season. 

Eastern Conference

If the Western Conference turned the form book upside down, the East went exactly to plan – although there were some nervous moments along the way. Avtomobilist stunned second-placed Metallurg Magnitogorsk by winning the opening game of that series – the team’s first ever KHL play-off victory outside of its native Yekaterinburg – but eventually went down 4-2 as Magnitka’s superior firepower told.

The ‘Green Derby’ between Salavat Yulaev and Ak Bars was a hard-fought as expected. The men from Ufa seemed to be in complete control at 3-1, but Ak Bars fought back to level the series. And impressive 8-0 victory, the most one-sided post-season shut-out in the KHL era, sent the series to game seven and when Dmitry Arkhipov scored on a nervous Niklas Svedberg after just 38 seconds of the decider, Salavat’s prospects looked bleak. But Igor Zakharkin’s team recovered in time to get a 3-2 win on the night and advance to the next phase.

The other two series were more straightforward. Eastern Conference leader Avangard swept Neftekhimik, while Sibir overcame Admiral in five games. 

ROUND TWO

Western Conference

Torpedo travelled to CSKA hoping to unsettle the regular season champion with its robust style. In Game 1 the plan worked: Linus Videll gave the visitor an early lead and after Alexander Radulov tied the game, Yury Sergiyenko’s second-period goal started the contest with a shock result. CSKA, though, was not unduly disturbed and reeled off four consecutive wins to advance to the Western Conference Final for the second year in a row.

And for the second season running the other Army Men, SKA St. Petersburg, would provide the opposition. A 4-2 series win over Dynamo Moscow offered the usual battle between two teams that have become synonymous with playoff showdowns since 2012. But the action on the ice was overshadowed by the developing story in the SKA camp, where Ilya Kovalchuk’s place in the team was coming under threat. Kovi, one of the stars of SKA’s Gagarin Cup-winning campaign of 2015, was a healthy scratch after the team’s defeat in game one in Yaroslavl. He returned to the ice for the first three games of the series against Dynamo but after the Muscovites won 4-0 in Petersburg to lead the series, Kovalchuk’s season was over with just four playoff appearances and no points to his name. 

Eastern Conference

Salavat Yulaev went the distance again, edging past Avangard in a series that repeated the pattern of the opening round. Just as against Ak Bars, Salavat opened up a 3-1 lead. Once again, though, it struggled to finish the job and ended up in another game seven showdown. In the decider in Omsk, Salavat again fell behind to a first period goal, this time from Alexander Perezhogin. Again, though, it hit back. Sergei Soin tied it up before Maxim Mayorov scored off an assist from goalie Niklas Svedberg to win the game and the series.

In the other match-up, Metallurg got revenge for last season’s defeat to Sibir, progressing in five games. The teams traded 3-1 wins in Magnitogorsk, but a 5-1 win on the road tipped the momentum in Magnitka’s favor. An overtime win, courtesy, inevitably, of Sergei Mozakin, brought the series back to the Urals with Metallurg 3-1 up and the end in sight. To nobody’s great surprise another Mozyakin gamewinner gave Magnitka a 2-1 victory and a place in the Conference Final. 

CONFERENCE FINALS

CSKA came into this one on a hot run of form – just one defeat in nine post-season games – but also well aware of what went wrong at this stage against SKA a year earlier. That time the Petersburg team trailed 0-3 before recovering to win the series and, eventually, the Gagarin Cup. This time, though, there was no repeat. CSKA cruised into a 3-0 lead once again … and kept going. Game 3, a 1-0 overtime win on Geoff Platt’s goal in the 112th minute, was the longest goalless game in KHL history; Game 4 also went to overtime before Sergei Andronov’s first playoff goal snapped a 1-1 tie in the 62nd minute and sent CSKA to its first Gagarin Cup final.

After winning eight games straight, CSKA could relax and watch the conclusion of the Eastern battle between Metallurg and Salavat Yulaev. But after two full-length series to get this far, Salavat ran out of steam and lost in five games. The damage was done at the start in Magnitogorsk. Game one hung on an overtime goal by the irrepressible Mozyakin, game two was a 6-1 blow-out.

Salavat edged a 3-2 verdict when the teams moved to Ufa, but that was as good as it got for the Bashkir team. It had a brave attempt at saving the series in game five, opening up a two-goal lead only to discover that Mozyakin wasn’t Magnitka’s only weapon. The star forward went pointless, but two assists from Alexander Semin and an overtime winner from Yaroslavl Kosov sent Metallurg to its second final in three years. 

THE GAGARIN CUP FINAL

A great season demands a great finale, and this Grand Final delivered. CSKA, in blistering form, seemed unstoppable after powering to a 5-1 victory in Game 1, but Metallurg found an instant response. There was a slice of luck about the 2-1 victory in Game 2, as CSKA D-man Grigory Panin’s outstretched hand diverted Alexei Bereglazov’s shot into the net for a late, late winner, but there was no doubting that these two teams were destined to run each other close for the rest of the competition. And so it proved. Games 2 through 6 were all settled by single-goal margins. In Magnitogorsk a last-minute Jan Kovar equalizer was trumped by Stephane da Costa’s overtime winner before a Tomas Filippi power play marker in the final stanza of Game 4 leveled the series on a 1-0 Metallurg win – CSKA’s first and only road defeat of the playoffs.

More overtime, and more Mozyakin magic in Moscow. Game 5 saw Metallurg get in front for the first time in the series. Mozyakin tied this up at 1-1 in the 55th minute and potted his fifth post-season game winner in overtime. He almost repeated the trick on home ice in Game 6, producing two assists to retrieve a 0-2 deficit before Mikhail Yunkov won it for CSKA and set up a Game 7 showdown. Now the stage was set for two of the biggest scoring stars in the KHL, Alexander Radulov and Sergei Mozyakin. Who could fire his team to glory? Well, neither of them. The surprise heroes of game seven turned out to be defenseman Chris Lee and forward Evgeny Timkin. Lee transformed the game in an instant midway through the first period, slicing through intense CSKA pressure with a beautiful pass to set Timkin one-on-one for the opening goal. Then, after Maxim Mamin tied the game, Lee scored one himself to make it 2-1. That was enough to win the cup. Magnitka’s defense, backstopped by 36 saves from Vasily Koshechkin,  held CSKA at bay before Timkin grabbed an empty-netter to confirm Metallurg’s second Gagarin Cup in three seasons.