KHL Eastern Conference Quarterfinal: 2) Avangard Omsk VS. 7) Admiral Vladivostok

The KHL playoffs are back, and we'll return to the old series-post format. Here's the first game of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal between Avangard Omsk and Admiral Vladivostok.

Game 1: Omsk Arena, Omsk, Russia. In goal: Igor Bobkov of Admiral and Dominik Furch of Avangard. Omsk opened in the first period with a Jonas Ahnelov goal, coming off of Vladimir Sobotka and Erik Gustafsson. Vladivostok tied it on a Maxim Kazakov goal in the second period, made possible by Artyom Zemchyonok. Avangard won in triple overtime with an Alexander Kucheryavenko goal, via Anton Burdasov and Ilya Zubov. The three stars of the 2-1 game were Kucheryavenko, Furch (31 for 32 in saves), and Bobkov (49 for 51 in saves). Avangard holds a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: Omsk Arena, Omsk, Russia. In goal: Igor Bobkov of Admiral and Dominik Furch of Avangard. Omsk started in the first period with a shorthanded and unassisted Mikhail Yunkov goal. Vladivostok tied it on an Artyom Zemchyonok power play goal, powered by Mikhail Fisenko and Viktor Alexandrov. Admiral took the lead on a Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev power play goal, with assists provided by Oskars Bartulis and Alexandrov. Avangard retied it on an Evgeny Medvedev power play goal in the second period, helped along by Yegor Martynov and Valentin Pyanov. Vladivostok retook the lead with a Maxim Kazakov goal, passed from Krasnoslobodtsev. Omsk retied it on a Nikolai Lemtyugov goal, via Vladimir Sobotka and Erik Gustafsson on the power play. Avangard took the lead with a Mikhail Grigoryev power play goal in the third period, made possible by Sobotka. Omsk added on with a Jonas Ahnelov goal, with a lone helper from Ilya Mikheyev. Avangard iced it at 6-3 with a Yunkov goal, coming off of Ahnelov and Maxim Pestushko. The three stars went to Yunkov, Ahnelov, and Sobotka, while Krasnoslobodtsev and Alexandrov get the honorable mentions. Avangard holds 2-0 series lead as the series heads east.

Game 3: Fetisov Arena, Vladivostok, Russia. In goal: Dominik Furch of Avangard and Igor Bobkov of Admiral. Vladivostok led off in the first period with a Sergei Barbashev power play goal, powered by Vladimir Tkachyov. Admiral added on in the second period with a Maxim Kazakov goal, fueled by Denis Alexeyev. Omsk got on the board with a Vladimir Sobotka goal, guided in by Alexander Perezhogin and Nikolai Lemtyugov. Vladivostok answered with a shorthanded goal by Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev, set up by Damir Zhafyarov and Artyom Zemchyonok. Avangard pulled back on a Valentin Pyanov goal, passed from Sobotka and Yegor Martynov. Omsk tied it on a Pyotr Khokhryakov goal, assisted by Lemtyugov and Erik Gustafssov. Admiral won 4-3 with a Kazakov goal, his second of the game, courtesy of Zhafyarov. The three stars went to Kazakov, Zhafyarov, and Sobotka, while Lemtyugov gets an honorable mention. Admiral has cut into the deficit a bit, but Avangard still has a 2-1 series lead.

Game 4: Fetisov Arena, Vladivostok, Russia. In goal: Dominik Furch of Avangard and Igor Bobkov of Admiral. Omsk began in the first period with an Anton Burdasov goal, via Nikolai Lemtyugov and Erik Gustafsson. Vladivostok tied it on a Maxim Kazakov goal, assisted by Anton Volchenkov and Shaone Morrisonn. Avangard retook the lead in the second period with another Burdasov goal, fueled by Alexander Kucheryavenko. Admiral tied it again with a Vladimir Tkachyov power play goal, powered by Jonathon Blum and Morrisonn. Vladivostok won 3-2 in overtime with a James Wright goal, with a lone assist by Tkachyov. The three stars went to Tkachyov, Morrisonn, and Burdasov. The series heads back west tied at 2.

Game 5: Omsk Arena, Omsk, Russia. In goal: Igor Bobkov of Admiral and Dominik Furch of Avangard. Omsk struck first in the first period with a Vladimir Sobotka goal, courtesy of Nikolai Lemtyugov and Maxim Pestushko. Avangard added on with a Jonas Ahnelov goal, going in unassisted. Omsk extended the lead as Vitaly Menshikov scored, thanks to Sobotka. Avangard padded the lead on a David Booth goal in the second period, via Evgeny Medvedev and Mikhail Yunkov. Omsk struck again with an Ilya Mikheyev goal, passed from Ilya Zubov and Valentin Pyanov. Avangard iced it at 6-0 in the third period with a Danil Faizullin goal, coming off of Erik Gustafsson. The three stars went to Sobotka, Furch (21 save shutout), and Ahnelov. Avangard heads east again with a 3-2 series lead in tow. 

Game 6: Fetisov Arena, Vladivostok, Russia. In goal: Dominik Furch of Avangard and Igor Bobkov of Admiral. Omsk was first to score in the first period with an Ilya Mikheyev goal, passed from Valentin Pyanov. Avangard added on in the second period with a Vladimir Sobotka goal, assisted by Nikolai Lemtyugov. This stood for a 2-0 win, with the three stars awarded to Furch (17 save shutout), Mikheyev, and Sobotka. Avangard won the series 4-2, and advance to face Ak Bars Kazan in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.