KHL
Dynamo – SKA St. Petersburg 0:2 (end)
final
Dynamo Moscow
0:2 (0:0, 0:1, 0:1)
SKA St. Petersburg
Sunday 15.03.2015, 15:00 • Luzhniki Stadium • KHL
     
    There is the final buzzer, and SKA Saint Petersburg have defeated HC Dynamo Moscow 2:0 to take a huge 2:1 lead in the series! They fully deserve their victory, and they were a class above today. Anton Burdasov and Ilya Kovalchuk netted their goals, with Mikko Koskinen grabbing a shutout. Thanks for following the game with us, and see you again soon for more exciting KHL action! (17:28:37)
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    59:51
    And the match is now coming to an end, with SKA heading towards a massively crucial 2:0 away victory!
     
    59:45
    As Alexander Lazushin was again pulled for the hosts Dynamo have taken a last ditch penalty, with forward Nikolay Zherdev being called for slashing
     
    58:50
    Goal for SKA!
    That's that now! ILYA KOVALCHUK twists at neutral ice, and brilliantly hits the empty net! It's 0:2! Assists- Roman Cervenka
     
    58:33
    Dynamo have now pulled goaltender Alexander Lazushin for the extra skater! They had to do something!
     
    57:15
    The last three minutes are already here, with virtually nothing happening at all at the moment! Dynamo can't get anything going, while SKA are looking calm and sure about themselves!
     
    54:49
    Evgeniy Dadonov speeds through one on one, but no! The referees had already whistled for offside, much to the dismay of the SKA forward who was in the clear!
     
    53:41
    Roman Cervenka sees space open up in front of him, glove side takes aim, and Alexander Lazushin's blocker sees it spin up into the air
     
    52:52
    The home crowd are becoming a bit frustrated now, their team are not being allowed to do anything in the attacking zone! SKA are expertly holding the puck and spending time going forward too!
     
    51:25
    Kovalchuk! Roman Cervenka battles for the puck along the left hand boards, squares for Ilya Kovalchuk, and his two stabs are covered by the goalkeeper! Dynamo's defence is becoming more and more open as time rolls on!
     
    50:47
    Jimmie Ericsson escapes his marker down the left wing, has Ilya Kovalchuk in the middle, opts to shoot himself and the goaltender kicks it out near post
     
    49:01
    Pestushko! That was an ideal opportunity for Dynamo to strike! Maxim Pestushko has the puck at the doorstep, and with only Mikko Koskinen to beat he finds only the left side netting! He simply had to hit the target!
     
    48:50
    Very few goalscoring chances are coming our way here with both teams so compact in defence, nobody wants to give up an inch anywhere on the ice!
     
    46:20
    Kalinin! Dmitriy Kalinin lets rip from the point, and it's seriously awkward for Alexander Lazushin to hold! That was hit with some power!
     
    46:13
    Viktor Tikhonov wrists in from the blue line, and Alexander Lazushin has no other option than to freeze. SKA's away fans are the louder inside the arena at the moment, with them being heard loud and clear!
     
    44:45
    SKA are controlling the game well at the moment, they are holding the puck in both ends with confidence and not wanting to part with it
     
    41:55
    Andrey Mironov has a bit of space for himself slightly to the left, he fires from distance, and ti flies well wide of the far post
     
    40:31
    Mikko Koskinen holds on to a dump from the blue line as we begin in the third frame. SKA have to really shut up shop if they are to see this one out, while Dynamo will give it everything they've got!
     
    40:01
    Start of 3rd period.
     
    Statistics after two periods of play:

    Shots: 35-40
    Shots on target: 20-21
    Faceoffs: 11-21
    Hits: 12-5
    Penalty minutes: 27-6
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:52
    The last few seconds of the second stanza are now here, with SKA in the driving seat so far!
     
    36:35
    And now SKA's goaltender makes an even better stop! Konstantin Volkov is all alone between the circles, and his slap shot is stoned by Mikko Koskinen's glove!
     
    36:31
    Kokarev! Denis Kokarev breaks unexpectedly to the high slot, and his effort is beaten away by Mikko Koskinen's body well out of danger!
     
    34:47
    No one's powerplay is really working at all so far today, and Roman Rukavishinikov for the visitors now skates back into the action
     
    32:47
    They have though been handed an important powerplay to get back on track, as SKA's Roman Rukavishnikov has been called for boarding
     
    31:37
    As Ilya Kovalchuk backhands into the netminder's midriff from the right Dynamo come back to full strength. The hosts are under serious pressure, and need to do something to turn the tide!
     
    30:39
    Chudinov! What a skate from the SKA defenceman! Maxim Chudinov charges all the way in from his own net, bullies his way through one on one, and only Alexander Lazushin's right shoulder denies him!
     
    29:37
    The hosts are not happy at all, and the rampant SKA have earned what could be an important powerplay as home forward Alexey Tsvetkov has been penalised for hooking!
     
    28:00
    Sergey Soin wriggles between two SKA defencemen at the doorstep, and thrashes wide of the left post! Dynamo are looking shaky after conceding, while SKA are full of confidence now!
     
    26:44
    Goal for SKA!
    What a huge goal that is for SKA! They were craving that! ANTON BURDASOV winds up from the left faceoff circle, and he hits the jackpot! It's 0:1! Assists- Dmitriy Kalinin and Roman Rukavishnikov
     
    26:12
    However after a lengthy look, the referees rule that it didn't cross the line! We play on at 0:0!
     
    24:12
    A Maxim Chudinov slapper clatters in from the point, it comes back to the right post, and Jimmie Ericsson's rebound looks to be taken over the line! The referees are going to take a second look at this!
     
    20:50
    Pestushko! That's his second fantastic chance of the day! It's a two on one, Maxim Pestushko is fed to the right of the slot, and he contrives to fire wide of the far post! The visitors were lucky there!
     
    20:14
    As we begin in the second frame SKA come back to full strength. And immediately Janne Jalasvaara is left alone on the left faceoff circle, and Mikko Koskinen gets across just in time to hold!
     
    20:01
    Start of 2nd period.
     
    Statistics after the opening period of play:

    Shots: 15-22
    Shots on target: 10-10
    Faceoffs: 5-11
    Hits: 4-2
    Penalty minutes: 25-4
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    19:39
    The final seconds of the first period are now upon us, with it being a tight affair so far!
     
    18:14
    The referee has his arm up again and it's against SKA for the second time, as Ilya Kovalchuk has now been penalised for tripping
     
    16:22
    It must be said that SKA did very little during those five minutes, and it's a wasted chance as Dynamo have their full quota of players on the ice again
     
    12:36
    Pestushko! That was almost a very important shorthanded goal! The SKA back line goes missing as Maxim Pestushko sneaks through one on one, and Mikko Koskinen's pads bail his team out!
     
    11:57
    Vadim Shipachyov wrists with power on the right faceoff circle, and Alexander Lazushin is lucky that he saw that all the way to get his glove in the way!
     
    11:27
    SKA's Evgeniy Ketov is down on the ice with a bleeding nose and the hosts aren't going to get away with that, and Yury Babenko has been hit with a 5+20 penalty for that! It's a great chance for the visitors to strike now!
     
    10:42
    Tricky forward Maxim Karpov tries his luck by the goalkeeper's glove, and it isn't hard for the goalkeeper to take in. Dynamo are keeping the puck in SKA's zone well so far, and creating a few decent opportunities
     
    09:34
    Alexey Tereshchenko beats his marker Roman Rukavishnikov behind the goal, he cuts blocker side, and his potentially dangerous backhander is caught by Mikko Koskinen
     
    08:21
    During that time the visitors were solid at the back, and they will be happy to come back to full strength
     
    07:50
    Jalasvaara! Lengthy build up play tees up Janne Jalasvaara at the point, and he launches his blocker wide of the right post! That was so close to sneaking in!
     
    06:21
    The first penalty of the day has been called and it's against SKA, as captain Ilya Kovalchuk has been found guilty of interference
     
    05:09
    Konstantin Volkov hangs back at the blue line, passes it into the crease with players skating in, and it's gathered up by Mikko Koskinen's stick
     
    04:29
    Shipachyov! Vadim Shipachyov spins around from behind the net, shoots when doing a full 360, and the goaltender has to be alert to hold at the second attempt!
     
    04:00
    And now at the other end Alexander Lazushin gets his first touch of the puck, as he catches a looping wrister from a difficult angle on the right
     
    03:09
    SKA netminder Mikko Koskinen holds on to a dump from deep, and takes no risks in freezing. It's been a quiet, tactical start here so far, with SKA seeing more of the puck at the moment
     
    00:03
    Here we go! This is a simply huge match, as whoever wins today is going to hold the initiative overall in the series!
     
    00:01
    Game started.
     
    Starting lineups:

    Dynamo Moscow: Lazushin (Sharychenkov)- Novak, Robinson, Karsums, Tsvetkov, Karpov- Jalasvaara, Solovyov, Daugavins, Volkov, Zherdev- Mironov, Vishnevskiy, Kokarev, Tereshchenko, Pestushko- Osipov, Babenko, Soin, Bryukvin, Sopin

    SKA St. Petersburg: Koskinen (Ezhov)- Rukavishnikov, Kalinin, Kovalchuk, Ericsson, Cervenka- N Belov, Khafizullin, Panarin, Shipachyov, Dadonov- Chudinov, A Belov, Thoresen, Martensson, Tikhonov- Ermakov, Yudin, Burdasov, Kablukov, Ketov

    Referees: Antonin Jerabek, Alexey Ravodin, Konstantin Gordenko, Alexander Sysuev.
     
    Dynamo finished in third place of the KHL Western Conference during the regular season, with SKA one step ahead in second.
     
    This has been a predictably very hard fought series so far, with the score all tied up at 1:1 so far. SKA were excellent in the opener in Saint Petersburg, coming from behind twice to win 4:3 in overtime, before Dynamo struck back with a 4:1 victory in the second.
     
    Hello and welcome to this KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs second round match between HC Dynamo Moscow and SKA Saint Petersburg. This is game three of the series, with deadlock on our hands so far.
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 15:00.
    Commentary by

    Shaun Nicolaides

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 27. Burdasov (Kalinin, Rukavishnikov), 59. Kovalchuk (Cervenka)

    Dynamo Moscow: Lazushin (Sharychenkov)- Novak, Robinson, Karsums, Tsvetkov, Karpov- Jalasvaara, Solovyov, Daugavins, Volkov, Zherdev- Mironov, Vishnevskiy, Kokarev, Tereshchenko, Pestushko- Osipov, Babenko, Soin, Bryukvin, Sopin
    SKA St. Petersburg: Koskinen (Ezhov)- Rukavishnikov, Kalinin, Kovalchuk, Ericsson, Cervenka- N Belov, Khafizullin, Panarin, Shipachyov, Dadonov- Chudinov, A Belov, Thoresen, Martensson, Tikhonov- Ermakov, Yudin, Burdasov, Kablukov, Ketov
    Referees: Antonin Jerabek, Alexey Ravodin, Konstantin Gordenko, Alexander Sysuev
    Attendance: 8024