Pulls the "Magnetka": who will be the fourth semi-finalist of the Gagarin Cup

The first three semifinalists were determined in the Gagarin Cup — Ak Bars passed Dinamo Minsk, Lokomotiv beat Salavat Yulaev, and Avangard beat CSKA. Of all the eliminated teams, only the Army team managed to win one match. On Friday, April 17, Metallurg, which is close to winning the series with Torpedo, may join Kazan, Yaroslavl and Omsk. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

Lokomotiv – Salavat Yulaev: 4-0

Yaroslavl residents completely controlled the course of the series. Using extensive experience and training, Bob Hartley's team competently provoked Salavat Yulaev to make mistakes and confidently punished them. The defense of the Railwaymen acted more reliably than in the confrontation with Spartak, and during the Ufa part of the series, the majority also earned. With such a game, Lokomotiv looks like the main contender for the Gagarin Cup.

Salavat scored only two goals in the entire series. The difference in class between the rivals turned out to be fatal, although Ufa residents could not deny their dedication. Viktor Kozlov's team tried to play aggressively, but injuries to Evgeny Kuznetsov and Danil Alalykin left Salavat with even fewer resources for a real fight. The young Ufa goalkeeper Semyon Vyazovoy helped the team out at the right moments, but without proper support from the attack, his efforts were in vain.

The main character of the series was the goalkeeper of "Lokomotiv" Daniil Isaev — three matches to zero and a fantastic 94.4% of reflected shots. 39-year-old Alexander Radulov, who won the Gagarin Cup with Viktor Kozlov in 2011 with Salavat, scored 3 (1+2) points in the fourth, decisive match of the series. In total, the star veteran of the Railwaymen has 10 (4+6) points in the playoffs.

Dinamo Minsk – Ak Bars: 0-4

The season, which could have been the best in the history of the Minsk club in the KHL, ended with scandals: the aggravation of Dmitry Kvartalnov's conflict with the club's management, as well as harsh accusations of "spinelessness" against the players from the head coach. Dinamo Minsk broke down psychologically, and by the fourth game, amid rumors of Kvartalnov's resignation, it became clear: The series cannot be saved.

Ak Bars' game cannot be called dominant, but all the key points of the series remained with the Kazan team: structure, martial arts, composure. The victory in the second match saved the team a 100% record of winning overtimes in this playoff. Anvar Gatiyatulin managed to lead Ak Bars to the semi—finals of the Gagarin Cup in the best form, the kind in which we rarely saw the team during the regular season.

Kazan's leaders looked brilliant. Nikita Lyamkin scored points in all the games of the series (2+3), only the first match went without Alexander Barabanov's goal, and Dmitry Yashkin (2+2) finally made everyone forget about his problems with the coaching staff during the season. In the third game, 22-year-old goalkeeper Maxim Arefyev made a great substitution for Timur Bilyalov, making his first "cracker" in the playoffs.

Avangard – CSKA Moscow: 4-1

The Omsk club continues to confidently advance through the playoffs, demonstrating its corporate identity. Three wins with a minimal difference in the score should not be misleading: Guy Boucher's team did exactly as much as it needed to be successful. The Moscow matches were more difficult for Avangard, which led to a defeat in the fourth game, but Omsk retained a solid margin of safety. The balance between the game system and the skill of the performers seems to have been found.

CSKA was too direct in this series. During the home matches, the "army" shots began to reach the target more often, but this is still not enough to win a nickel against the organized defense of the "hawks". The lack of performing skills remains a big problem for Igor Nikitin's team: CSKA lacked creativity and precision at potentially crucial moments.

Avangard striker Konstantin Okulov is the main character of the confrontation. The forward, who was traded from CSKA during last season, scored seven (4+3) points in five matches of the series against his former team. In the goaltending duel, the experienced Nikita Serebryakov outplayed the young Dmitry Gamzin, who had several effective mistakes on his account. In the fifth match, Serebryakov was again incomparable: it was his reliable game in the end that allowed Avangard to maintain the advantage in the score and close the series.

Metallurg – Torpedo: 3-1

Metallurg could have easily closed the series in the fourth match, but due to their own mistakes they lost the advantage (2:0) and lost in overtime after a goal by Egor Vinogradov in the majority. The game of Andrey Razin's team is still far from perfect: the first link is on the decline, the hockey players sometimes lose their concentration. An easy playoff grid gives Metallurg a chance to misfire, but in a potential semifinal with Ak Bars, this could be a big problem.

Torpedo has proven its ability to impose a tough fight in the regular season and in the playoffs, but the difference in skill with Metallurg is too great. In the first and third games, Nizhny Novgorod players made too many unsuccessful stretches, for which they were severely punished. The character shown in the fourth match is worthy of respect, but otherwise Alexey Isakov's team does not have the resources to compete equally with a top club.

Metallurg's attack in this series is based on Nikita Mikhailis (2+3) and his link partner Ruslan Iskhakov (1+3). Alexander Smolin continues to look great in the gates of Magnitogorsk. Magnitogorsk's goaltending position raised the most questions before the start of the playoffs, but so far the concerns have not been confirmed. Will Smolin maintain this level in a possible series with Ak Bars? Big question.