MOSCOW, Mar 9 Metallurg Magnitogorsk defeated Kazakhstani Barys in series of the first round of the KHL playoffs and reached the quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup. The fifth meeting of the series, held in Magnitogorsk, ended with a score of 3:1 (1:0, 0:0, 2:1). Semyon Koshelev (17th minute), Anatoly Nikontsev (48) and Denis Zernov (51) scored goals for the hosts. The guests scored Kirill Savitsky (41). The score in the series up to four wins was 4-1 in favor of Metallurg. The next rival of the Magnitogorsk club in the Gagarin Cup will be known later. Earlier, SKA St. Petersburg, Spartak Moscow, CSKA (all – Western Conference) and Chelyabinsk Traktor (Eastern) entered the second round of the KHL playoffs.
