KHL
Lokomotiv – SKA St. Petersburg 4:1 (end) | Donbass – Lev 2:3 (after OT)
final
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
4:1 (0:0, 2:1, 2:0)
SKA St. Petersburg
Sunday 23.03.2014, 14:00 • Arena 2000 • KHL
     
    There's the final buzzer, and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl have taken down SKA Saint Petersburg 4-1 to go up 2-1 in the series overall! Vladislav Kartaev got them started in the second period before Roman Cervenka promptly equalised for SKA. But goals from Yegor Averin, Sergey Plotnikov and Sergey Konkov ensured that Lokomotiv weren't to be denied. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you again soon for more thrilling KHL playoff action! (16:16:06)
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    59:30
    We're now into the final 30 seconds of the third and final period with Lokomotiv in the end easing to victory 4-1
     
    58:06
    Goal for Lokomotiv! SERGEY KONKOV takes control of the loose puck, skates through and with ease hits the empty net to ice it, it's 4-1! Assists- Emil Galimov
     
    57:58
    It's now another icing from Lokomotiv
     
    57:45
    The home side have now taken a timeout with the focus on seeing this game out
     
    57:45
    Lokomotiv commit icing and SKA are pulling their netminder for the extra skater!
     
    56:53
    Petrov! Yury Petrov on the doorstep slams the puck into Salak's pads glove side!
     
    56:20
    Averin free on the slot just can't get his stick on a pacy pass! Lokomotiv look to be closing down on what would be a very important victory
     
    54:43
    Lokomotiv are now back to full strength with just over five minutes remaining
     
    53:27
    Cervenka! Free on the right faceoff circle he slaps the puck first time into Sanford who is alert!
     
    52:43
    And on that note the away side have taken a timeout, they know how important this moment is
     
    52:43
    Mikhail Pashnin for checking from behind has been given a two minute minor and SKA have a big powerplay that they have to take advantage of
     
    52:23
    Ilya Lyubushkin tries his luck against Salak from the right but this time the netminder is on his game
     
    52:14
    SKA don't have much time to respond and at two goals down they really are in a sticky situation
     
    49:30
    Plotnikov! Just seconds after putting his team up by two he holds off all of the opposing defenders to skates clean through but from point blank range he fires over the crossbar!
     
    49:11
    Goal for Lokomotiv! Their opponents are doing all the attacking but Lokomotiv are the more clinical! SERGEY PLOTNIKOV drives in and his wrist shot from distance squirms under Salak, it's 3-1! Assists- Yury Petrov
     
    46:09
    Lokomotiv have just about survived that penalty and they're back to full strength
     
    45:38
    SKA are creating chance after chance! Patrick Thoresen breaking away on the left is denied by a wonderful glove Sanford save!
     
    45:14
    Kovalchuk! His enormous slapper from the blue line is fielded solidly by Sanford blocker side!
     
    44:09
    Ilya Gorokhov for checking with his stick in that play has been called and SKA have a great powerplay chance here
     
    44:09
    What a great chance for SKA to equal this game up! Vadim Shipachyov completely free on the doorstep can only backhand into Sanford's grateful chest!
     
    43:05
    Ilya Kovalchuk for SKA skates away on a two on two breakaway, but the defender in front deflects his low wrist shot to take the sting out of it
     
    42:25
    Salak coming out of his net dives on to a deflected Jonas Holos wrister from the right hand boards! Lokomotiv already leading 2-1 have started this period strongly
     
    40:28
    Averin! Yegor Averin is found with an intelligent pass free at the left hand post he takes Salak out of the game putting the puck back across the crease but no one can finish!
     
    40:01
    Start of 3rd period.
     
    Statistics after the opening 40 minutes of play-

    Shots (on target)- 31 (23)- 34 (17)
    Faceoffs- 11-18
    Hits- 11-13
    Penalty minutes- 14-4
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:50
    We're now into the final few seconds of an action packed second period
     
    39:05
    Kovalchuk! Bursting through on the left he wrists the puck into Sanford and then it goes out of play!
     
    38:31
    Ilya Kovalchuk from the right faceoff circle weakly sends the puck into Sanford's glove. SKA will once again be looking to reply instantly to that conceded goal
     
    37:48
    Goal for Lokomotiv! Just after the powerplay ends Lokomotiv take the lead for the second time! YEGOR AVERIN cuts into the slot, goes to Salak's blocker side and stuffs the puck into the net, it's 2-1! Assists- Sergey Plotnikov and Yury Petrov
     
    37:28
    SKA are now back to full strength
     
    37:09
    Apalkov! Danil Apalkov from the top of the crease hits the puck right into Salak and no one can get to the rebound!
     
    36:36
    Off a slapper from the point the puck hangs in the air on the crease and the away defenders bat it clear!
     
    35:28
    Dinar Khafizullin for holding against Sergey Plotnikov has been sent to the penalty box and the hosts are again going on the powerplay
     
    35:02
    Yury Petrov driving through on the left flank with purpose wrists the puck into Salak at his near post
     
    33:40
    A Lokomotiv player finds himself clean through but at the last minute SKA defenders get back and save the day for their side!
     
    32:17
    Martensson from the left seeks out Patrick Thoresen on the slot after a sweeping counterattack but the pass is just too far in front of Thoresen!
     
    30:53
    The visitors commit icing
     
    30:16
    To SKA's relief they are now back to full strength having survived that penalty
     
    29:25
    Platt! From a fantastic position he slaps an absolute rocket wide of Salak's net glove side! The goalkeeper wouldn't have had any chance with that
     
    29:21
    Ilya Gorokhov slaps the puck into Salak's chest from the left hand boards!
     
    28:58
    Salak through traffic still manages to cover a dangerous effort from distance!
     
    28:17
    Alexey Semyonov for tripping has picked up SKA's first penalty of the day and Lokomotiv have a powerplay chance to really put the pressure on
     
    28:16
    Redlihs! What a chance for Lokomotiv to once again take the lead! Mikelis Redlihs free on the right drives into the crease but completely misses the net!
     
    26:29
    Goal for SKA! It didn't take them long to get back on level terms! ROMAN CERVENKA is fed an excellent pass from Patrick Thoresen and from the middle of the zone he wrists into the left hand corner, it's 1-1! Assists- Tony Martensson and Patrick Thoresen
     
    25:08
    Tikhonov! Viktor Tikhonov almost provides the instant response for the away side as when cutting into the crease from the left he backhands into Sanford's pads!
     
    24:04
    Goal for Lokomotiv! The hosts draw first blood! Salak pads a low powerful effort from the left flank right on to the stick of VLADISLAV KARTAEV who taps home, it's 1-0! Assists- Sergey Konkov and Geoff Platt
     
    23:11
    Cervenka! Streaking down the left flank he sends a wrist shot into Curtis Sanford's mask and then glove!
     
    22:33
    SKA go offside
     
    22:29
    Alexander Chernikov twisting from behind the net can't connect with any of his teammates on the slot!
     
    21:40
    Platt! Just after he is dished the puck he wrists into Salak's blocker from the right of the crease! That wasn't easy for the SKA netminder to deal with
     
    20:05
    Lokomotiv ice the puck at the start of the second period after a very tight and even first stanza
     
    20:01
    Start of 2nd period.
     
    Statistics after the first period-

    Shots (on target)- 13 (10)- 19 (9)
    Faceoffs- 3-9
    Hits- 6-9
    Penalty minutes- 14-0
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    19:29
    Lokomotiv are back to full strength as the first period draws to a close
     
    19:08
    Roman Cervenka from the right faceoff circle wrists the puck into Sanford's chest at his near post!
     
    18:22
    Chudinov! Maxim Chudinov takes aim from the point and he blasts wide of the net!
     
    17:29
    Yegor Averin for holding against Roman Cervenka has been called and SKA have their second powerplay opportunity of the game
     
    17:03
    Salak covers the puck with his glove as to take no risks as it rolled into him blocker side
     
    16:47
    As he's falling to the ice Alexander Barabanov tries to seek out an opponent at the left hand post but he can't find anyone in space
     
    15:12
    Ilya Kovalchuk battles for the puck hard against the boards, eventually puts the puck into the crease but it comes to nothing
     
    13:48
    Lokomotiv commit icing
     
    12:43
    Alexander Kucheryavenko with a defender in front of him shoots the puck into the boards when charging into the zone
     
    11:49
    Plotnikov stays in the penalty box for Lokomotiv but his side are indeed now back to full strength
     
    10:43
    Dallman! Kevin Dallman with a clever attempt looking for the left hand corner just misses the net as SKA keep the puck in the zone well!
     
    09:49
    We have the first penalty of the game and it's against Sergey Plotnikov who for checking to the head has been given a 2+10
     
    08:48
    Emil Galimov almost forces his way through the entire of the SKA defence but he can't keep his footing!
     
    06:31
    It's icing now from SKA. Both teams have started with a good tempo to their game
     
    06:08
    Tony Martensson on a quick breakaway looks for someone to connect at the left hand post but no one is there
     
    05:41
    Lokomotiv once again commit icing
     
    05:24
    Sergey Konkov hands a teammate a pass just past the right faceoff circle but the puck goes wide of the near post
     
    04:21
    Platt! Picking up the loose puck he drives through on the right and with the backhand can't hit the net with SKA defenders out of position!
     
    03:19
    The puck is put in on goal from the left faceoff circle but it's right into Salak's chest who comfortably sends it away
     
    01:47
    Vitaliy Vishnevskiy from the point looks for a telling deflection in front of Salak but it goes all the way through and wide!
     
    01:43
    SKA move offside and immediately afterwards the home side ice the puck for the second time in two minutes
     
    01:27
    Alexandrov! Vadim Shipachyov with a cross ice pass feeds the unmarked Yury Alexandrov on the left who can't hit the target when well placed!
     
    00:53
    Geoff Platt loses his stick as Lokomotiv dump the puck into Alexander Salak's end looking to create danger!
     
    00:28
    Lokomotiv ice the puck as SKA get the puck in the zone for the first attack of the game. Despite being the away side they will want to take control today
     
    00:01
    Game started.
     
    The teams are now out on to the ice and after the national anthem of the Russian Federation we will be getting underway!
     
    Starting lineups:

    Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Sanford (Kolesnik)- Vishnevskiy, Holos, Kronwall, Pashnin, Vasiliev, Yakovlev, Lyubushkin, Gorokhov- Plotnikov, Konkov, Redlihs, Chernikov, Petrov, Averin, Platt, Apalkov, Kapustin, Galimov, Sprukts, Kartaev

    SKA St. Petersburg: Salak (Ezhov)- Alexandrov, Dallman, Thoresen, Martensson, Cervenka- Semyonov, Chudinov, Ponikarovskiy, Kablukov, Kovalchuk- Khafizullin, Ryasensky, Tikhonov, Shipachyov, Makarov- Yudin, Sigaryov, Kucheryavenko, Malyshev, Barabanov

    Referees: Anisimov, Hofman, Zakharenkov, Sadovnikov.
     
    Despite the gap between them in the regular season this series always promised to be a tight one, and after the first two games we have a 1-1 tie on our hands. SKA took the opener 1-0, but Lokomotiv struck back with a thrilling 5-4 overtime win to make things really interesting.
     
    Lokomotiv didn't have the best campaign for the regular season, where they only just squeaked into the playoffs with 84 points in 8th place of the Western Conference. Their opponents SKA on the other hand performed brilliantly, taking second place of the same conference with 105 points. In the first round of the playoffs Lokomotiv shocked reigning champions Dynamo Moscow 4-3, whereas SKA eased past CSKA Moscow 4-0.
     
    The KHL playoffs are always something that we all look forward to every year, and as we get towards the business end of the conference semifinals the pressure on each team is starting to rise even higher.
     
    Good afternoon everyone and welcome to this KHL Western Conference semifinal playoff match between Lokomotiv Yaroslavl and SKA Saint Petersburg. This is a delicately poised series between two excellent teams, and today's game could prove to be the crucial one.
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 14:00.
    Commentary by

    Shaun Nicolaides

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 25. Kartaev (Konkov, Platt), 38. Averin (Plotnikov, Petrov), 50. Plotnikov (Petrov), 59. Konkov (Galimov) – 27. Cervenka (Martensson, Thoresen)

    Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Sanford (Kolesnik)- Vishnevskiy, Holos, Kronwall, Pashnin, Vasiliev, Yakovlev, Lyubushkin, Gorokhov- Plotnikov, Konkov, Redlihs, Chernikov, Petrov, Averin, Platt, Apalkov, Kapustin, Galimov, Sprukts, Kartaev
    SKA St. Petersburg: Salak (Ezhov)- Alexandrov, Dallman, Thoresen, Martensson, Cervenka- Semyonov, Chudinov, Ponikarovskiy, Kablukov, Kovalchuk- Khafizullin, Ryasensky, Tikhonov, Shipachyov, Makarov- Yudin, Sigaryov, Kucheryavenko, Malyshev, Barabanov
    Referees: Anisimov, Hofman, Zakharenkov, Sadovnikov
    Attendance: 9000