Comeback of hope: CSKA beat Metallurg in overtime and reduced the gap in the Gagarin Cup final

From the confrontation between Metallurg and CSKA in the Gagarin Cup final, the fans expected a tense struggle.

Many predicted that the series could drag on for a maximum of seven meetings.

And no one even imagined that after four matches, the Magnitogorsk team would be one step away from winning the trophy, and the Muscovites would not be able to score in two games in a row and would allow Vasily Koshechkin to issue two shutouts in a row.

On April 26, the wards of Ilya Vorobyov had a great chance to put an end to the home ice and win the prestigious trophy for the third time.

CSKA, on the other hand, had to perform a small miracle in order to return to the fight.

Previously, only once in the history of the KHL playoff finals, the team managed to recoup from the score 1:3.

In 2012, Dynamo turned the tide of confrontation with Avangard and won the Gagarin Cup.

It seemed that the army team pressed against the wall with a starting siren would rush forward, but this did not happen.

On the contrary, the first five minutes were entirely left to the opponent.

The hosts stunned the guests with high pressure and did not allow them to leave their zone.

At the same time, they, having barely made another selection or interception, sought to immediately strike a click.

The calculation was not always confident game of Ivan Fedotov on the first shots.

It's no secret that he often releases the puck from the trap, which Vorobyov's wards tried to use.

In order to provoke the goaltender to make a mistake, they also sought to create traffic on the nickel.

However, it was not possible to realize the advantage, although several dangerous moments were missed, and soon CSKA took over the initiative.

A successful throw-in game in the opponent's half helped in many ways to make a turning point.

This helped the team to cling to the puck and regularly keep Koshechkin in good shape.

As a result, in the first period Muscovites threw the opponent - 13:10.

But Vasily, unlike his counterpart, confidently coped with all threats and continued to act with incredible courage.

Neither Konstantin Okulov managed to break it with an unpleasant shot from the left circle, nor Claes Dahlbeck with a powerful click from an average distance.

Metallurg gradually began to take advantage of the red-and-blues' passion for attacking and responded with branded counterattacks with runs into free zones.

Especially often the hosts tried to break through the center.

One Semyon Koshelev twice escaped into the operational space.

But in the first case, his throw did not have enough accuracy, and in the second, Fedotov rescued his partners.

The next 20-minute "Magnitogorsk" did start in the majority.

Shortly before the break, Vladislav Provolnev earned a removal out of the blue, unable to restrain his emotions and hit Yegor Korobkin with a stick in the face.

However, Magnitogorsk not only failed to take advantage of the chance, but soon they themselves remained in the minority.

Andrei Svetlakov managed to run away from two defenders at once, but could not outplay Koshechkin.

Nevertheless, Linus Hultstrom hooked the opponent with a club, and this did not escape the attention of the refereeing team.

But in equal compositions, a truly bright double-edged game went on the ice.

The teams operated practically without a central zone and responded with an attack for an attack.

It felt like the series had just started.

But closer to the middle of the period, the army team again remained in the minority.

This time, Pavel Karnaukhov got two minutes for a dangerous game with a high stick.

"Metallurg" seriously approached the implementation of the majority and locked the guests in the zone.

In this segment, Fedotov acted beyond praise.

He made a number of amazing rescues.

What is worth at least a double save after the throw of Grigory Dronov and finishing Anatoly Nikontsev.

It seemed like a little more, and Metallurg would score.

All the more surprising was the goal of CSKA four minutes before the siren for a break.

The red-blues practically stopped appearing in the opponent's half, but in the style of the opponent they carried out an excellent counterattack.

Okulov, taking advantage of a timely transfer from Nikita Nesterov, from the right circle sent a projectile exactly to the far nine.

For the army team, the puck was the first in three matches.

And Koshechkin's record dry streak in the Gagarin Cup finals was interrupted at around 156 minutes and 34 seconds.

However, the soldiers did not rejoice for long.

At the end of the second period, Karnaukhov again broke the rules, and after the break, Metallurg converted the majority on the third attempt.

Moreover, Svetlakov involuntarily helped him in this.

Trying to interrupt Maxim Karpov's cross from the left edge, he sent the puck into the net past the shocked Fedotov with the back of his stick.

Equalizing the score, the hosts caught the courage and again pressed the Muscovites to the gate for a few minutes.

They again turned on high pressure and did not allow the guests to come out of defense.

This tactic very quickly led to the second goal.

Egor Korobkin, who had never scored in the playoffs before, played perfectly in the scoring episode.

He imposed a fight on John Gilmour, took the puck from him off the boards and, approaching Fedotov, randomly threw from the right circle.

Until then, the reliable goalkeeper made a mistake this time and allowed the projectile to whisk his armpit exactly into the net.

It seemed that after such a comeback of the opponent, the red-blues could give up, but they correctly reacted to what happened and seized the initiative.

The removal of Anatoly Nikontsev for the bandwagon turned out to be in their favor.

But in the minority, Koshechkin acted beyond praise, making three amazing saves one after another.

However, in equal compositions, Fedorov's wards still bounced back.

Danil Yurtaykin attacked the defender outside the goal and in a hopeless situation managed to make a selection and made a pass to the lone Maxim Sorkin.

The attacker had to calmly hit the far corner.

Long before the end of regular time, the teams seem to have come to terms with overtime and were afraid to open up and take risks too much.

Thus, the fans witnessed the first overtime in the Gagarin Cup final.

In extra time, the hosts were closer to success.

They often owned the puck and created dangerous chances.

However, Fedotov again acted beyond praise.

He had eight shots on target, and he handled them all.

I especially remember the unpleasant snap of Linus Videll from under the defender.

Ivan played perfectly in this episode, carefully closing the center and bringing the shields down in time.

Ten minutes later, Muscovites were completely outnumbered, and for an extremely optional reason - a violation of the numerical strength.

To miss in such a situation would be incredibly insulting.

However, the red and blue defended bravely, regularly throwing themselves under the puck.

In a couple of moments, Fedotov once again rescued partners.

Metallurg did not take advantage of a great opportunity and soon paid the price.

Nikita Nesterov drove around the gates at high speed, but instead of throwing, he made a pass to Dahlbek.

In turn, left alone, the Swede from the left circle sent the puck on target with a rebound from the bar.

So CSKA won the hardest victory in overtime, although in the third period it was inferior in the score, and returned to the fight.

The next match will take place on April 28 in Moscow, and Fedorov's team can even the score in the series.