Tuesday, April 19, 2016

2015/16 Gagarin Cup Final: 1) CSKA Moscow VS. 2) Metallurg Magnitogorsk

It's all down to this for the KHL, and this post will contain all of the action.

Game 1: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Vasily Koshechkin for Magnitogorsk and Ilya Sorokin for Moscow. Magnitogorsk opened in the first period with a Sergei Mozyakin goal, assisted by Jan Kovar. Moscow tied it in the second period with a Sergei Andronov goal, passed from Antti Pihlstrom. CSKA took the lead with an Alexander Radulov goal, via Simon Hjalmarsson and Stephane Da Costa on the power play. Moscow added on with a power play goal by Igor Ozhiganov, powered by Roman Lyubimov and Radulov. CSKA extended the lead in the third period as Nikita Zaitsev scored, thanks to Da Costa and Andrei Sergeyev. Moscow padded the lead with a Denis Denisov goal, with a lone assist by Zaitsev. The three stars of the 5-1 game were Radulov, Zaitsev, and Da Costa. CSKA owns a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Vasily Koshechkin for Magnitogorsk and Ilya Sorokin for Moscow. Moscow led off in the first period with a power play goal by Nikita Zaitsev, powered by Denis Denisov and Alexander Radulov. Magnitogorsk tied it in the second period with a Danis Zaripov goal, with a lone assist by Sergei Mozyakin. Metallurg took the lead with an Alexei Bereglazov goal in the third period, going in unassisted. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars given to Bereglazov, Koshechkin (25 for 26 in saves), and Zaripov. The series is tied at 1 as the action moves east.

Game 3: Arena Metallurg, Magnitogorsk, Russia. In goal: Ilya Sorokin for Moscow and Vasily Koshechkin for Magnitogorsk. Magnitogorsk got going in the second period with a Danis Zaripov goal, passed from Chris Lee and Sergei Mozyakin. Moscow tied it with a third period Stephane Da Costa goal, via Kirill Petrov. CSKA took the lead with a power play goal by Nikita Zaitsev, powered by Ivan Telegin and Alexander Radulov. Metallurg tied it again with a Jan Kovar goal with seventeen seconds left in regulation, assisted by Zaripov and Alexander Semin. Moscow won 3-2 in overtime with a Da Costa power play goal, his second of the game, an unassisted goal. The win gives CSKA a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4: Arena Metallurg, Magnitogorsk, Russia. In goal: Ilya Sorokin for Moscow and Vasily Koshechkin for Magnitogorsk. Magnitogorsk dented the scoreboard in the third period with a Tomas Filippi goal, coming off of Wojtek Wolski and Viktor Antipin. This stood for a 1-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Koshechkin (30 save shutout), Filippi, and Sorokin (32 for 33 in saves). The series heads back to Moscow tied at 2.

Game 5: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Vasily Koshechkin for Magnitogorsk and Ilya Sorokin for Moscow. Moscow drew first blood in the third period with a Roman Lyubimov goal, assisted by Alexander Kutuzov and Bogdan Kiselevich. Magnitogorsk tied it on a Sergei Mozyakin goal, made possible by Alexei Bereglazov and Jan Kovar. Metallurg won 2-1 in overtime with another Mozyakin goal, via Kovar. The three stars went to Mozyakin, Koshechkin (30 for 31 in saves), and Kovar. Metallurg has the inside lane with a 3-2 series lead heading back home.

Game 6: Arena Metallurg, Magnitogorsk, Russia. In goal: Ilya Sorokin for Moscow and Vasily Koshechkin for Magnitogorsk. Moscow started in the first period with a Mikhail Yunkov goal, assisted by Alexander Kutuzov and Bogdan Kiselevich. CSKA added on with an Ivan Telegin goal, via Alexander Radulov in the second period. Magnitogorsk got on the board in the third period with a Chris Lee goal, guided in by Wojtek Wolski and Sergei Mozyakin. Metallurg tied it with a Jan Kovar goal, made possible by Mozyakin and Alexander Semin. Moscow won 3-2 win overtime with a Yunkov goal, his second of the game, fueled by Simon Hjalmarsson and Maxim Mamin. The three stars were Yunkov, Mozyakin, and Telegin. The series heads back to Moscow tied at 3, setting up one final fight for the title.

Game 7: CSKA Ice Palace, Moscow, Russia. In goal: Vasily Koshechkin for Magnitogorsk and Ilya Sorokin for Moscow. Magnitogorsk began in the first period with an Evgeny Timkin goal, assisted by Chris Lee. Moscow tied it in the second period with a Maxim Mamin goal, passed from Bogdan Kiselevich and Geoff Platt. Metallurg took the lead on a Lee goal, via Danis Zaripov and Jan Kovar. Magnitogorsk iced it at 3-1 with an empty net goal by Timkin, going in unassisted. The three stars went to Lee, Timkin, and Koshechkin (36 for 37 in saves). Metallurg raised the Gagarin Cup with a 4-3 series win.

I can't say I'll be back for the next KHL season, but what I can say is that I have thoroughly enjoyed learning the league in the last three and a half years, beginning during the NHL lockout of 2012-13 and going through this season. However, with the rebranding of the blog to a more professional look and feel under the Outsider Sports name, I truly believe my future rests in American professional sports coverage, and I may have to let the KHL go to accommodate that. If this is it, I thank the fans and people of Russia for checking in and reading my content from time to time. I appreciate the support, and I hope you don't take this as me giving up on you. It's what I need to do for myself. As always, you can find me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

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