Tuesday, April 7, 2015

KHL Western Conference Final: CSKA Moscow VS. SKA St. Petersburg

Welcome to the post for the western conference final between CSKA Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg. This post will cover the entire series.

Game 1: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Mikko Koskinen for St. Petersburg and Stanislav Galimov for Moscow. Moscow led off in the first period on an Alexander Radulov goal, via Roman Lyubimov. CSKA added on in the second period with a Lyubimov goal, coming off of Simon Hjalmarsson and Radulov. Moscow extended the lead in the third period on a Jan Mursak goal, made possible by Hjalmarsson and Radulov on the power play. The final was 3-0, and the three stars went to Radulov, Galimov (25 save shutout), and Lyubimov, while Hjalmarsson gets an honorable mention. CSKA takes an early 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Mikko Koskinen for St. Petersburg and Stanislav Galimov for Moscow. St. Petersburg began in the first period with a power play goal by Evgeny Dadonov, powered by Andrei Kuteikin and Artemy Panarin. Moscow tied it in the second period as Nikita Zaitsev scored a power play goal, thanks to Roman Lyubimov and Igor Grigorenko. SKA took the lead on an unassisted Panarin goal in the third period. CSKA retied it with a Lyubimov goal, coming off of Zaitsev and Alexander Radulov. Moscow won 3-2 in the third overtime with a Lyubimov goal, via Grigorenko and Radulov. The three stars went to Lyubimov, Zaitsev, and Panarin, while Grigorenko and Radulov get the honorable mentions. CSKA heads west with a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3: Ice Palace St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia. In goal: Stanislav Galimov for Moscow and Mikko Koskinen for St. Petersburg. Moscow got going in the second period with a Roman Lyubimov goal, assisted by Igor Grigorenko and Alexander Radulov. CSKA added on in the third period with a Denis Denisov power play goal, powered by Grigorenko and Radulov. St. Petersburg got on the board as Maxim Chudinov scored, thanks to Ilya Kovalchuk and Anton Belov. Moscow iced it at 3-1 on an empty net goal by Radulov, set up by Vladimir Zharkov. The three stars went to Radulov, Galimov (23 for 24 in saves), and Grigorenko. CSKA is now up 3-0 in the series, looking to seal the deal on Wednesday.

Game 4: Ice Palace St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia. In goal: Stanislav Galimov for Moscow and Mikko Koskinen for St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg opened in the first period on a Patrick Thoresen goal, coming off of Ilya Kovalchuk. SKA added on with an Evgeny Dadonov power play goal, powered by Vadim Shipachyov and Artemy Panarin. St. Petersburg extended the lead in the second period on a power play goal by Shipachyov, fueled by Panarin and Dadonov. SKA padded the lead as Dadonov scored another power play goal, with the help of Shipachyov and Panarin, the latter getting a sock trick. Moscow got on the board with an Igor Grigorneko power play goal, passed from Nikita Zaitsev and Alexander Radulov. This made it a 4-1 final, with the three stars going to Dadonov, Shipachyov, and Panarin. CSKA heads home with a 3-1 series lead, looking at a second chance to wrap the series up.

Game 5: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Mikko Koskinen for St. Petersburg and Stanislav Galimov for Moscow. St. Petersburg started in the first period on an Artemy Panarin power play goal, powered by Evgeny Dadonov and Vadim Shipachyov. SKA added on with a Dadonov goal, guided in by Roman Rukavishnikov and Panarin. Kevin Lalande replaced Galimov in goal. Moscow got on the board in the second period with an Alexander Radulov power play goal, with a lone assist by Nikita Zaitsev. St. Petersburg answered on an Andrei Kuteikin goal, via Nikolai Belov and Ilya Kovalchuk. CSKA shot back with a power play goal by Stephane Da Costa, courtesy of Ondrej Nemec and Igor Grigorenko. SKA replied with a Dadonov goal, made possible by Shipachyov. St. Petersburg extended the lead in the third period as Panarin scored, thanks to Shipachyov, who got a sock trick, and Dadonov. SKA finished it at 6-2 on an empty net goal by Anton Burdasov, set up by Belov and Patrick Thoresen. The three stars were awarded to Dadonov, Panarin, and Shipachyov, while Belov gets an honorable mention. The series still favors CSKA, but only by a 3-2 margin.

Game 6: Ice Palace St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russia. In goal: Kevin Lalande for Moscow and Mikko Koskinen for St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg struck first in the first period on an Ilya Kovalchuk power play goal, powered by Artemy Panarin and Vadim Shipachyov. Moscow tied it in the second period on a power play goal by Stephane Da Costa, coming off of Alexei Bondarev and Simon Hjalmarsson. SKA won 2-1 in overtime as Patrick Thoresen scored a power play goal, with a lone assist by Ilya Kablukov. The three stars went to Thoresen, Koskinen (27 for 28 in saves), and Kovalchuk. The series heads to its decisive game in Moscow tied at 3.

Game 7: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Mikko Koskinen for St. Petersburg and Kevin Lalande for Moscow. St. Petersburg was first to score in the first period with an Ilya Kovalchuk goal, via Patrick Thoresen. SKA added on in the second period as Evgeny Dadonov scored, thanks to Vadim Shipachyov. Moscow got on the board with an Alexander Radulov goal, courtesy of Andrei Stas and Igor Grigorenko. CSKA tied it with a Stephane Da Costa goal, passed from Grigorenko and Evgeny Korotkov. St. Petersburg took the lead back in the third period on a Thoresen goal, made possible by Anton Belov and Maxim Chudinov. This held up for a 3-2 win, with the three stars going to Thoresen, Grigorenko, and Koskinen (35 for 37 in saves). SKA pulled off the improbably comeback, winning the series 4-3 to advance to the Gagarin Cup Final against Ak Bars Kazan.

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