Omsk Law: The Locomotive withstood the stress and resistance of the Avangard

The second finalist was determined in the KHL playoffs. Following Ak Bars Kazan, the current winner of the trophy, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, entered the decisive stage of the Gagarin Cup. He won a seven-game KHL playoff series against Avangard Omsk for the third consecutive season. Moreover, in the last two draws, the Railwaymen missed a 3:1 advantage in the quarterfinals and brought it to the last seventh game, and now they themselves were on the verge of collapse in the semifinals, losing to the hawks 1-3, but managed to make an incredible save.

Saving Yaroslavl

Even at the end of last week, few people would have believed that this series would reach the seventh match. The Avangard was moving too confidently towards victory. The Hawks made a great start to the semifinals in Yaroslavl: they first confidently defeated Lokomotiv 5-2, and then won the second match 3-1. Although the Railwaymen opened the scoring then, Omsk quickly turned the game over with two goals in a minute in the second period.

That match was remembered for the mass brawls and the huge number of penalty minutes. In this nervous struggle, it was the Avangard that performed better. After that, the series moved to Omsk, where the hosts could finally put Lokomotiv on the brink of relegation. After the first period of the third meeting, Guy Boucher's team led 2-0, but then Yaroslavl gathered, scored three times and won 4-2, finishing off the opponent with a puck into an empty net.

Nevertheless, already in the fourth game, Avangard confidently won (2-0) and was one step away from the Gagarin Cup final. But in the fifth match in Yaroslavl, Lokomotiv completely outplayed the opponent for the first time and defeated him 4-0.

The sixth meeting in Omsk was also in favor of the hosts. Avangard took the lead in the first period, and at the beginning of the third made the score 2:0. Until the last minutes, Bob Hartley's team could not escape, but Alexander Radulov and Maxim Shalunov said their word. 33 seconds before the siren, during the 6-on-5 game, Radulov found Shalunov's pass in front of the goal, and he reduced the gap.

And 11 seconds before the end, Radulov pulled down three opponents at once and left Shalunov alone between the face-off rounds. The forward received a pass and sent the puck into the goal without interference — 2:2. In overtime, the teams exchanged shots into the frame of the goal, and the controversy was caused by the episode with Alexander Volkov, whom the referees did not remove until the end of the game after hitting Richard Panik in the head with a stick.

Locomotive still had the last word. At the beginning of the second overtime, Rushan Rafikov threw after Shalunov's pass, and Nikita Serebryakov was disoriented by a series of rebounds. The puck ended up in the goal, and the Railwaymen dragged the series into the decisive seventh match. This is the first series of the current playoffs to reach the maximum number of games.

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The decisive match

On May 6, the expected eight-thousandth Arena 2000 in Yaroslavl was filled to capacity. It seemed that after the rescue in Omsk, Lokomotiv had a psychological advantage. It seemed to be confirmed at the beginning of the match — Nikita Kiryanov opened the scoring on the 25th second. But at the end of the fifth minute, Avangard equalized thanks to Volkov's goal.

The teams played on equal terms, and it cannot be said that any of the rivals had an advantage in terms of chances. But the guests in the second period turned out to be much better in implementation. Thanks to goals from Konstantin Okulov and Joseph Chekoni, Omsk led 3-1, but half a minute before the second break, Shalunov scored one goal and kept the maximum intrigue for the last period of regular time.

In the third period, Lokomotiv had a total advantage, and eight and a half minutes before the end, Maxim Berezkin equalized the score. Yaroslavl had moments to finish off Avangard in the main time, but Serebryakov saved the guests. It came to overtime again. Once again, the first additional 20 minutes did not reveal a winner.

But in the middle of the second overtime, Berezkin managed to score his second goal and took Yaroslavl to the finals.

In an intense struggle, Lokomotiv showed character and turned the tide of the series. Now the Railwaymen will face the final against Ak Bars.