A thorny path: Traktor knocked out Salavat, Metallurg put the squeeze on Amur, and Dynamo got themselves into trouble in the KHL playoffs

42 saves from Fucale and a brace from Robinson

The departure of favorites can easily be called a trend in the current Gagarin Cup season.

Earlier, CSKA and Ak Bars, who met in the final of the previous edition, finished the fight.

Now they are accompanied by Salavat Yulaev, who took third place in the Eastern Conference at the end of the regular season.

The Ufa team was considered the clear favorite in the confrontation with Traktor, but they couldn’t cope with their opponent.

And it was not individual skill that came to the fore, but character and fighting qualities.

It’s all the more offensive that Viktor Kozlov’s team themselves gave away the victory in the sixth match of the series.

Since the visitors were losing in the score, they had no choice but to go forward.

And the pressure bore fruit.

Shortly before the break, the team from Bashkortostan scored twice in 33 seconds.

First, Ivan Drozdov hit the puck into the net from the spot, and then Dinar Khafizullin made a pass from the goal line to Egor Suchkov.

It is difficult to say how the meeting would have developed if not for Charles Robinson's quick return goal after the break.

The American showed himself to be a real fighter in the playoffs, but at the right moment he showed that he was capable of not only fighting, but also hitting someone else’s goal.

Another key episode was the canceled goal by Alexander Sharov.

Alexey Zavarukhin made a request, and the judges, after watching the replay, recorded an offside.

This did not affect the actions of Salavat, who continued to attack.

For example, Sergei Shmelev hit the post in one of the episodes.

And Zach Fucale, who made 42 saves, regularly helped out his partners.

But instead of increasing their advantage, the Ufa team missed the start of the final segment.

Vitaly Kravtsov threw the puck from behind the goal at the back of Alexander Samonov, and it ricocheted into the net.

And in the end, when Kozlov’s team went all-in, the Chelyabinsk team snatched victory altogether.

Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, who missed the previous match, finished off a shot into the net from close range less than three minutes before the siren.

And then Robinson hit the empty target, scored a double and put the point.

Thus, the “tractor drivers” advanced to the next round, and “Salavat” repeated the result of last season.

Then he also approached the duel with the modest “Admiral” as a favorite and lost with a similar score.

But the leading line deserves the least criticism, because Alexander Khmielewski, Joshua Livo and Drozdov scored 26 points in the knockout matches and occupy the top three places in the scorers race.

Gusev's illness and Merkley's fateful throw

Even Dynamo, which recently won the Continental Cup, faced difficulties.

It quickly became clear that the inferior teammates from Minsk did not intend to give up.

Once again they showed character when they found themselves on the verge of relegation and were forced to play their sixth match away from home.

The only good news for the Belarusian squad was the absence of the regular season's top scorer Nikita Gusev from the squad due to illness.

His place in the lineup was taken by Egor Petukhov.

And it had to happen that already in the seventh minute it was he who opened the scoring.

The hosts organized a quick counterattack, and the fresh striker sent a projectile between the pads of Alexei Kolosov.

Of course, the Muscovites, sensing the smell of blood, rushed to finish off the victim.

In the opening period, they made twice as many shots (14 versus 7).

To the credit of the guests, they did not fall down.

The goalkeeper, who helped them out in a number of episodes, largely restored their confidence in their own abilities.

After the break, the Minsk residents, already pressed to the wall, took over the initiative.

They flew forward and began to load Ilya Konovalov.

Just look at Sam Enas hitting the crossbar in the power play.

But the score hasn't changed.

In the final period, Dmitry Kvartalnov’s team simplified the game as much as possible and, at every convenient opportunity, tried to deliver a projectile to the nickel and make life difficult for Konovalov.

In the end, their tactics worked.

Vadim Moroz, taking advantage of the rebound, fired a powerful shot into the top corner from mid-range, which the goalkeeper was unable to cope with.

As a result, the second meeting in a row ended in overtime.

Only if in Belarus Alexei Kudashov’s team quickly resolved all issues, then in Moscow the hockey players spent an additional 20 minutes on the ice.

It was the blue and white that had the best chance of gaining the upper hand.

Perhaps the most dangerous one was missed by Petukhov.

The forward ran to a rendezvous with Kolosov and could have scored a double, but did not outwit his counterpart.

A little later, Alexey did not allow Dmitry Rashevsky to push the puck into the net from the dime.

And most importantly, the hosts were let down by their signature majority, because they never scored in uneven lineups, although the opponents spent a total of almost an entire period in the minority - 18 minutes, a third of which were in overtime.

Immediately after the break, the famous sports principle worked: “If you don’t score, they score on you.”

The guests organized a counterattack.

Nick Merkley made a dash down the right and fired an irresistible shot into the far corner.

The Minsk residents managed to revive the intrigue and extend the confrontation for at least one match, which will take place on March 12 in Belarus.

Nekolenko's birthday goal and Grebenkin's shot

And even Amur, which made it into the playoffs at the last moment, gave battle to the formidable Metallurg.

In each of the matches in the series, the Khabarovsk team looked at least as good as their opponents and twice restored equality.

However, in a difficult moment, the cooler team tipped the scales in their favor.

Although in the sixth match, with the support of the Platinum Arena filled to capacity, the “tigers” fought to the end.

Even Arkhip Nekolenko’s quick goal did not affect their mood.

The forward, who celebrated his 28th birthday on the ice, burst into the opponent's zone and beautifully shot into the far corner from under the defender.

In response, the hosts only increased the pressure.

But for the time being, Ilya Nabokov did not make mistakes.

They managed to upset him only 63 seconds before the second break.

And in this episode the goalkeeper played imperfectly, losing the target.

And Dmitry Shevchenko famously aimed the projectile at the nearest one.

In the final segment, the opponents acted extremely carefully, realizing that every blot threatened to decide the outcome of the confrontation.

It seemed that “Cupid” had allowed her.

In the 57th minute, the Magnitogorsk team organized a counterattack, and Igor Geraskin shot past Igor Bobkov.

But their counterparts still did not give up.

They took off the goalkeeper and equalized the score 116 seconds before the end of regulation time.

Alex Broadhurst gave Nabokov no chance from close range.

As a result, the hockey players, like in Moscow, had to play overtime.

But in the Far East it did not last long.

It is noteworthy that Nikita Grebenkin, who played for Andrei Martemyanov’s squad on loan last season, put an end to it with an excellent click.