Grigorenko's historical double and Fedotov's super save: how CSKA equalized and beat SKA in the semi-finals of the Gagarin Cup

In the sixth match of the final series of the Western Conference, CSKA had no room for error.

Having not suffered a single defeat in the first two rounds of the playoffs, the Moscow army team came up as favorites to the confrontation with teammates from St. Petersburg, but they had already lost three times and were one step away from relegation from the tournament.

And this, in turn, could well draw a line under being at the helm of head coach Sergei Fedorov.

After all, it is unlikely that the leadership of one of the strongest clubs in the league in recent years would have been satisfied with reaching the semifinals of the Gagarin Cup.

In the era of the KHL, CSKA lost only once in a series with a score of 2:3.

In 2016, the wards of Dmitry Kvartalnov got off to a good start in the playoff final and won two out of three meetings against Metallurg, but then lost two times in a row.

To continue the fight, they needed to take over Magnitogorsk on its ice, which they managed to do, albeit with difficulty.

An accurate throw by Mikhail Yunkov in the second minute of overtime allowed the army team to bring the matter to the decisive, seventh match, but there the opponent was again stronger.

It seemed that a couple of failures would force Fedorov to experiment with the composition, but the mentor of the hosts did not make any changes.

Even Sergey Andronov remained in the application - the worst hockey player of the capital team in terms of utility (“-3”).

Previously, he missed the third and fourth matches of the series, and after returning, he again showed himself not in the best way.

In the fifth game, SKA scored twice in equal numbers, and in both cases the Olympic champion Pyeongchang was on the ice.

However, the hosts made up for the lack of tactical surprises through desire.

In the first period, they offered fast and high-intensity hockey that their opponents were not ready for.

Muscovites almost three times transferred the Petersburgers (15:4), and at the end of the segment they nevertheless caught Lars Johansson by surprise.

The Swede won micro duels against Anton Slepyshev and Maxim Sorkin, but failed to prevent Mikhail Grigorenko.

The forward turned out to be quicker than everyone on the face-off and threw the puck right into the corner with his hands.

With 92 goals, he left behind Alexander Radulov and became the best CSKA sniper in KHL history.

Despite all the efforts of the guests, for a long time they failed to seize the initiative, although moments at the gates of Ivan Fedotov periodically arose.

Even at the end of the first twenty minutes, Anton Burdasov almost left the goalkeeper out of work, but the puck flew over the crossbar, and in the second period, Danila Moiseev's link finally activated.

The central striker selflessly fought in the enemy zone and tried not only to bring Nikita Gusev and Mikhail Vorobyov to the shock position, but also to intimidate rivals.

In one of the episodes, he ambushed Darren Dietz and knocked him down with a powerful force.

The audacity of the young striker inspired teammates and helped them not only increase the pressure on the hosts, but also restore parity.

86 seconds before the siren, Marat Khusnutdinov burst into the opponent's zone at speed and almost outplayed Fedotov, but he made another save.

True, the goalkeeper rolled too far and left the target almost uncovered, and the puck was beaten right on the stick by Valentin Zykov.

The ex-hockey player of "Vegas" from the second attempt struck a half-empty net and scored the first point in the current playoffs.

True, the goal was preceded by a curious moment that caused discontent on the part of Muscovites.

Leonid Komarov performed a throw and immediately rushed to the gate, but not in order to try his luck on finishing.

Instead, he rushed at Nikita Nesterov and flunked him at Fedotov.

A confusion arose in the defense of the capital's army, which the Petersburgers took advantage of a few seconds later.

CSKA's answer was not long in coming.

Already in the third minute of the final period, Fedorov's wards completed their labor goal, and they also failed to score outright.

Pavel Karnaukhov was the first to try to upset Johansson after a throw from the blue line, but it was not he who succeeded, but his teammate.

Vitaly Abramov found a gap between the goalkeeper's pad and the post, thanks to which he again brought the capital's team forward.

In the remaining time, SKA had more than enough opportunities to level the score again and move the meeting into overtime.

First, Slepyshev hit Andrei Kuzmenko in the face with a stick and gave the Petersburgers a chance to realize the majority, and towards the end of the period, Gusev had a great moment.

The guests won the fight in a foreign zone, Moiseev passed in touch to the top scorer of the playoffs, and he immediately “shot” into the near corner.

However, Fedotov miraculously managed to move and made an incredible save.

It was this episode that became the key to the confrontation.

Subsequently, CSKA regained the initiative and had many opportunities to strengthen the advantage.

First, Vladislav Kamenev threw in the style of Gusev, but also failed to cope with Johansson, and then Sorkin hit the net from the outside, after putting the Swede on the ice.

But the third puck still ended up in the gates of SKA, however, already empty.

Grigorenko scored the first double in the current Gagarin Cup and put an end to the sixth match.