Dynamo Moscow is the first club relegated from KHL playoffs at the second round stage. The Blue and Whites could not cope with the Chelyabinsk Traktor. 0-4 — the Chelyabinsk team swept Alexey Kudashov's gang, the best in the regular season.
The curse of the trophy? Dynamo's defeat in four matches of the series looks anomalous. At least in the first three matches, the “blue and white” looked better in terms of play: they shot on goal more often, had an advantage in possession of the puck in the attack zone, and created danger and bright spots. The games in Moscow were especially revealing, where Dynamo didn’t score even half of the goals they deserved..
Kontinental Hockey League (KHL)22 March 2024 • start at 17:00Completed
TraktorRussia5 : 4
Dynamo MoscowRussia
10:55 • Buddy Robinson (Ilya Karpukhin, Mikhail Kotlyarevsky)
12:57 • Danil Yurtaikin (Vladimir Tkachev)
16:53 • Anton Burdasov (Semyon Der-Arguchintsev)
19:11 • Jack Rodwald (Semyon Der-Arguchintsev, Albert Yarullin)
54:56 • Maxim Shabanov (Ilya Karpukhin)
08:25 • Cedric Paquette (Nikita Gusev, Brennan Menell)
25:02 • Jordan Weal (Nikita Gusev, Brennan Menell)
49:48 • Jordan Weal (Nikita Gusev, Daniil Pylenkov)
59:30 • Eric O'Dell (Brennan Menell, Daniil Pylenkov)
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Only the fourth match stood out from the overall picture, which is not surprising: Dynamo, under the pressure of imminent relegation, made an unacceptable number of mistakes and almost independently gave the game to Traktor. Today, the “blue and white” started the game great, quickly opened the scoring, and then seemed to stand up and allow the Chelyabinsk team to score as many as four goals in the first period. The goalkeepers of the Moscow team Maxim Motorygin and Ilya Konovalov did not help out in the series.
As a result, winning the Continental Cup was again of no use. In the entire history of the KHL, only CSKA managed to overcome the so-called curse of the trophy for winning in the regular season: the capital's army team, as the best team in the championship, reached the final of the Gagarin Cup three times, and once became champions. The other clubs that won the Continental Cup failed to advance beyond the conference finals.
Dynamo is no exception. Now I wonder what the “blue and white”’s imminent departure from the playoffs will lead to. Even before the first round, the club's leaders announced «pleasant news» regarding the coaching staff. Will the situation change now? Question. But the Dynamo bosses will not make the team better if they part with Kudashov.
“We are making history” As for Traktor, the Chelyabinsk team is perhaps the main sensation of the entire KHL playoffs. Alexey Zavarukhin’s team is making more and more spectators fall in love with them from match to match. “Traktor” does not demonstrate sweeping attacks, bright protracted combinations with an abundance of scoring chances. But Chelyabinsk captivates with its fearlessness, ability to snap back and refusal to recognize the authority of an opponent.
The Black and Whites were not considered favorites in the first round series against Salavat Yulaev, but in an aggressive fight they left Ufa outside the championship contenders. When Traktor entered Dynamo and at the same time lost Sergei Telegin, the Chelyabinsk team’s chances of success were assessed as low. And then the skeptics were put to shame.
«Tractor» is incredible. Chelyabinsk players do not spare themselves, lying under the pucks and accumulating block after block. Goalkeeper Zach Fucale demonstrates incredible reliability coupled with spectacular saves and simulates video memes from the locker room, knocking out the now legendary dummy named Herman.
Maxim Shabanov, with his phenomenal play and technique, arouses admiration among journalists who are looking for a young hockey player in the NHL. And Anton Burdasov and Mikhail Kotlyarevsky bring goals to Traktor with smashing shots and help the team show an impressive percentage of chances converted. “We are making history,” you can’t argue with the words of the head coach of the Chelyabinsk team.
Talks about the meeting of the Zavarukhin cousins in the final of the Gagarin Cup no longer seem so fantastic. Alexey Zavarukhin with “Traktor” reached the semi-finals of the tournament, Nikolay Zavarukhin with “Avtomobilist” is one victory away from SKA before reaching the next round.