40 saves by Samonov and a goal from Tryamkin's helmet: how Avangard, Severstal and Metallurg took the lead in the KHL playoff series

Amazing implementation of "Vanguard"

Matches between Sibir and Avangard in the first round of the Gagarin Cup are often paradoxical.

For example, in the opening match Omsk had an overwhelming advantage, but lost in overtime.

In the third, the situation was repeated exactly the opposite.

Novosibirsk were eager to get ahead in the series at home and locked the opponent in his zone from the first minutes, but were defeated - 3:4.

And the guests managed to score four times with only 12 shots and repeated the sales record (33.3%) for the teams that won on the road in the KHL playoffs.

They made excellent use of the majority and mercilessly punished the owners for breaking the rules.

Having conceded in unequal lineups already in the third minute, the team of Mikhail Kravets quickly bounced back thanks to a goal by Sergei Tolchinsky.

Soon Vladimir Tkachev brought him forward.

And after the break, Korban Knight scored a beautiful tennis-style throw.

It seemed that the intrigue finally died when Tolchinsky scored a double.

By the way, the forward is still both the best sniper and scorer of the team (3 + 1) in the Gagarin Cup.

The rest of the time passed in the constant attacks of Siberia, which eventually recorded 36 shots in its asset.

But a great game was played by Vasily Demchenko, who made 33 saves.

He was also helped by partners who blocked a total of 31 clicks.

And yet, in the end, Andrey Martemyanov's wards almost escaped.

At the 54th minute, they upset Demchenko, and the goalkeeper himself did not play in the best way.

After a throw from zero angle, the puck went between his pads, and Nikita Shashkov did not miss.

And then the hosts punished the opponent for a series of deletions.

52 seconds before the final siren, Trevor Murphy reduced the gap to a minimum.

But "Avangrad" still fought back and won the most important away victory.

The incredible luck of Metallurg

Even more stubborn in the East is the confrontation between Metallurg and Avtomobilist.

You will not envy the hockey players of both teams, because in three days they played two hardest matches, which in total stretched for almost 180 minutes, and in addition made a flight from Yekaterinburg to Magnitogorsk.

Moreover, in both cases, it was Magnitogorsk that won the most important victory in overtime.

Not otherwise in an approximately equal pair affects the rich experience of the playoffs.

The team won the Gagarin Cup twice and reached the final as many times, while the opponent only once made it past the starting round.

The game itself was not the brightest.

Hockey players acted with extreme caution and were afraid to take risks.

Both teams left each other a minimum of space.

For this reason, the puck often ended up at the boards, where a tough fight was fought for it.

Johan Mattsson and Eddie Pasquale didn't have much to do.

In such a game, it was extremely important to take advantage of someone else's mistake.

And the guests were the first to succeed.

At the end of the second period, Grigory Dronov received an optional removal for unsportsmanlike behavior, and Metallurg was immediately punished for this.

Most realized Nick Ebert.

Wards of Ilya Vorobyov reacted to what happened as befits a favorite and immediately after the break they restored the balance.

And the goal in their performance turned out spectacular.

Cody Curran gave a great cutting pass to Semyon Koshelev, who broke into the zone between the two opponents and easily outplayed Mattsson.

More pucks fans in regular time did not wait.

And in overtime, the scales could tilt in both directions.

For example, Magnitogorsk did not realize the three majority.

As part of Avtomobilist, a magnificent moment was missed by Stefan Da Costa, whose point-blank throw was miraculously parried by Pasquale.

But this time, luck smiled at the owners.

They snatched victory again in extra time thanks to a curious rebound.

In the 91st minute, Denis Zernov, being outside the gates, randomly threw the puck on a nickel, and it flew into the net from Nikita Tryamkin's helmet.

The deafening fiasco of CSKA

And Severstal in the West continues to make history.

The modest team, which, according to the results of the regular season, took only the seventh line in the conference, was assigned the role of a sparring partner for CSKA.

The reigning champions really won the first match confidently, but a sensation broke out in the second.

The army team, having an overwhelming advantage, were defeated in overtime at home.

Nevertheless, it seemed to be a coincidence and the result of the inspired play of Alexander Samonov.

The picture of the game has not changed in Cherepovets either.

The red-blues again owned the initiative and forced the opponent, who was inferior in class, to cuddle up to his own goal.

They landed a lot more shots (43:19) and spent almost twice as long on offense (17:31 vs 09:04).

And if in the previous fight the favorite had no luck, then this time Samonov had to get the pucks out of the net.

At the 14th minute, Mikhail Grigorenko opened the scoring by converting a double majority, and shortly before the break, Anton Slepyshev again brought the guests ahead.

But the hosts managed to squeeze the maximum out of the minimum available chances.

For example, in the starting segment, Adam Lischka outplayed Alexander Sharychenkov from a zero angle.

And immediately after the break, Yegor Morozov punished the Muscovites for two removals.

The next goal exchange took place in the middle of the confrontation.

Only nine seconds later, Daniil Vovchenko responded to Maxim Mamin's puck, running away from the defender and hitting the far nine.

One got the impression that in the final period CSKA would still achieve its goal, but Fortune was again on the side of Severstal.

Before the teams had time to return to the ice from the locker rooms, Vitaly Abramov received an optional minor penalty for tripping.

Cherepovites immediately took advantage of this.

And again, Vovchenko, who scored a double, did not miss his moment.

In the remaining time, the team of Sergei Fedorov switched to bulk, but no longer managed to upset Samonov, who had recorded 40 saves in his asset.

In the end, the guests took off the goalkeeper, but only missed the fifth in the empty.

Nikita Rozhkov in the fall threw Alexander Petunin into the gap.

Confident victory for Dynamo

Another favorite, Dynamo, on the contrary, managed to take revenge on Torpedo and come out ahead in the series.

After the second match, in which the Muscovites were defeated, having conceded five goals, many criticized them for their primitive game and admired the clever combinational hockey played by Igor Larionov's wards.

However, in the native walls, the blue-and-white trumps played, while the vaunted rivals did not succeed.

With the starting siren of the referee, they seized the initiative and led the siege of other people's gates.

True, it was not possible to print Ivan Kulbakov for almost half an hour.

And in the episodes, when the goalkeeper was powerless to help out the partners, the bars came to his aid.

But in the middle of the second period, the hosts took advantage of the Belarusian's first flaw.

After throwing compatriot Kirill Gotovets from the left side, he released the puck in front of him, and Ivan Igumnov immediately finished it off on target.

And four minutes later, Dynamo doubled the lead.

And again, pressure and aggression helped upset the opponent.

The blue and white put pressure on the guests in the opponent's zone and forced the defender to lose the puck, and Ivan Muranov sent it under the crossbar.

Finally, everything became clear at the beginning of the final segment, when Eric O'Dell completed another quick attack with an accurate click - 3:0.

In turn, Nizhny Novgorod did not manage to upset Ilya Konovalov, who repelled all 24 shots.