The conference finals are set in the KHL, they began Wednesday morning. Over the next 13 days a conference winner will be determined to see who will compete for the Gagarin Cup. Both top seeded teams remain as they face stiff competition.
Western Conference,
(1) SKA Saint Petersburg vs (3) Dynamo Moscow
(Dynamo leads series 1 - 0)
Game one was the most exciting game of the Gagarin cup thus far. SKA built up a 3-goal lead going into the third thanks to four players having two points each. Dynamo appeared to be in trouble until forward Marek Kvapil got them on the board. Battling all the way back, Dynamo tied the game at 4's with forward Denis Mosalyov scoring his second of the game. Moscow managed an incredible third period to force overtime.
A mere nine and a half minutes in to the extra frame, SKA forward Tony Martensson buried the puck into a yawning cage for the win. Or so he and everyone in the building thought until the goal was reviewed. Determined to be a kicking motion, the goal was revoked.
Denis Mosalyov completed the hat rick just 36 seconds after the disallowed goal, to stun SKA. Dynamo had a huge performance putting 50 shots on net. SKA goalie Jakub Stepanek played a solid game making 45 stops. SKA will be looking to bounce back on Friday in game two beginning at 10am EST from Saint Petersburg.
Eastern Conference,
(1) Traktor Chelyabinsk vs (2) Avangard Omsk Region
This is a series that could definitely go to extra games. Plenty of one-goal games to be had with such even competition.
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Avangard goalie Karri Ramo |
They key player up front for Traktor is Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov has registered five goals in seven playoff games so far. He is an offensive powerhouse for Chelyabinsk. The key for Traktor is that they have a well-balanced lineup of talent. They have many goal outlets aside from Kuznetsov. Players like forward Konstantin Panov will be huge.
Roman Cervenka is the key offensive piece for Avangard. Cervenka is the central component for Omsk who are very reliant on him. Although he leads the playoffs in points and goals with 15 and 9, Avangard cannot afford to have him shutdown.
Defensively the teams appear on paper to be relatively equal. Though its very unlikely that what's on paper will be what happens on the ice.
If Traktor can contain Cervenka, then they have a great chance at going to the championship. Avangard will have to be in top form if they are to shutdown a multifaceted Traktor offense.
Game one runs in Chelyabinsk at 8am EST on Thursday.
What is this guys fixation with Roooskies? He knows the KHL like he is based in Moscow? Actually one wonders if he is? Looking at his name it sounds kind of Scottish. Most curious.
ReplyDeleteJust covering the hockey world from a different angle. I find it particularly interesting because of the fact that the NHL is having increasing problems with bringing players over from the KHL. I have Russian ties through my Grandmother but I'm mostly Irish. The KHL is a lot better than many North Americans think it is, I want to make people aware hockey that is foreign to them.
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