Crush the Tractor: Lokomotiv equalized the score in the Gagarin Cup

Lokomotiv beat Traktor on their ice in the second match of the final KHL playoff series - 4:1. The goals of the Yaroslavl team were scored by Alexander Polunin, Georgy Ivanov, Maxim Berezkin and Nikita Kiryanov (into an empty net). Lokomotiv forward Alexander Radulov scored an assist in this game and scored his 750th point in the KHL. The author of the Chelyabinsk club's only abandoned goal was Charles Robinson, who scored in the minority, but could not finish the match due to injury. So the Yaroslavl team equalized the score in the series to four wins (1-1). The third match between the teams will be held on May 17 in Chelyabinsk.

16 years later

The failures of Lokomotiv in the final series of the Gagarin Cup have been dragging on since the first season in the history of the KHL. Then, 16 years ago, Yaroslavl, leading 3-2 in the confrontation with Ak Bars, lost in the sixth and seventh matches. Last season, Lokomotiv could not defeat Magnitogorsk once, and the other day they started with a defeat in the 2024/25 final against Traktor (2:1).

Moreover, you can't say that Yaroslavl played much worse than Chelyabinsk, but the opponent realized his chances better. The only consolation for the Lokomotiv fans was that Yaroslavl had already started with the defeat of the previous two series — with Avangard and Salavat Yulaev. Igor Nikitin knows how to correct mistakes, and he demonstrated this in the second match. Although everything didn't start too well for Lokomotiv: Buddy Robinson, outnumbered, ran to the Yaroslavl goal and outplayed Daniil Isaev.

Lokomotiv tried to play much more actively than in the first meeting, but it didn't work out too well to combine in the Tractor zone. Chelyabinsk residents, on the contrary, having opened an account, slightly slowed down their activity — the guests had some moments only in the majority. It seemed that Traktor would keep its minimal advantage for a long time, but at the start of the second twenty minutes, Yaroslavl remembered that in the playoffs goals most often come from a nickel. As soon as the goalkeeper of the guests, Zach Fucala, got a little confused, Alexander Polunin immediately took advantage of this.

After just a couple of shifts, there was a moment that could have been a turning point. Everyone remembers the situation from the last playoffs, when Fukale was injured in the first match of the series against Lokomotiv in a clash with Maxim Shalunov. Many then accused the Yaroslavl striker of deliberate rudeness, and Fukale did not appear on the ice again in that series. This time, Shalunov flew into Robinson at full speed without the puck. The American barely left the court, but there was no removal — the judges considered the collision a game moment.

— So far, I have no news on the condition of Charles Robinson. The judge said there were no deletions in this episode. It means that there were no deletions," Traktor coach Benoit Grou noted after the match. "Lokomotiv was the best team today throughout the second match, but, of course, the loss of such a player affects the team.

The Radulov factor

Without Robinson, Traktor really began to look weaker, which the owners took advantage of. Despite the fact that Alexander Radulov will turn 39 in the summer, he does not cease to be a bundle of energy with age. The young team of Lokomotiv lacked just such a battery. At the end of the second period, Radulov got out of the corner for a nickel, he failed to score, but Georgy Ivanov was the first to finish.

The crazy pressure with which Lokomotiv put the squeeze on their opponent eased a little in the third period. But this did not increase the opportunities for Chelyabinsk residents. When Nikitin's team is leading, it's extremely difficult for them to score. Following the Torpedo, Avangard and Salavat, Traktor also experienced this. And at the end of the third period, Maxim Berezkin finally cleared the questions about the winner — again with a puck from a nickel.

Lokomotiv deservedly won the second match, as Traktor head coach Benoit Groux acknowledged after the game. His guys couldn't stop the brutally minded Yaroslavl residents.

"We've been telling the guys all season that the reaction to goals scored and missed is the class of the team," Igor Nikitin said at a press conference. — In the first match, we had a wrong reaction [to a missed puck]. And now it was all business. We are growing. This is the final, both teams deserve each other. Everyone should be able to play both defensively and offensively. In the second game, my guys wanted, the desire was enough. It's great that we turned it into goals.

There won't be a 4-0 in the final, and that's a good thing. I want to see this series for as long as possible, and I want to find out the winner on May 25, the day of the expected seventh match.