The main event of the season in the KHL has started! For the first time in history, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl met in the Gagarin Cup final.
Magnitka had an excellent season under the leadership of Andrei Razin, proving itself in the regular season and showing the ability to transform itself in the playoffs. “Lokomotiv” has been following Igor Nikitin’s style for several years now and now looks like a machine with a well-oiled mechanism, as if it has no weaknesses.
In addition to the main intrigue, the condition of the “railroad workers” was in question — before the final they had a fairly long break after an early victory over “Traktor” in the previous round. And although Lokomotiv tried not to talk about the loss of game tone the day before as any determining factor, the first match of the series in Magnitogorsk showed that there really is a problem.
The “railroad workers” spent the first period of the meeting uncertainly and with a lot of defects, which was not typical for Nikitin’s team. Metallurg, which ended the confrontation with Avtomobilist only on April 15, acted exactly as expected: pressure, possession of the puck, quick transfers from flank to flank. After the first two periods, Magnitogorsk had a solid advantage in shots on target: 22-9. And this is in the absence of their captain: team leader Egor Yakovlev ended the series with Auto with an upper body injury. He watched the first match against Lokomotiv from the coaching bridge as Razin's assistant.
However, the game itself gained nothing from this. On the contrary, it turned out to be very boring and poor in moments. Of any scoring episodes in the first 40 minutes of the meeting, one can recall Ivan Chekhovich’s approach to Ilya Nabokov’s goal and Maxim Shalunov’s throw from the slot, as well as the moment with the participation of Danila Yurov. Or an unpleasant episode with the injury suffered by Dmitry Simashev, who was accidentally hit in the face by Igor Geraskin with his knee (fortunately, the injury was not serious, and the young Lokomotiv defender was able to continue the game).
But it was all dust in the eye. The teams, as they say, went on reconnaissance and tried to make a minimum of mistakes at such a crucial moment. The third period showed that both teams understood the situation and moved into action.
Continental Hockey League (KHL)April 18, 2024 • start at 17:00Finished
LokomotivRussia
45:14 • Nikita Mikhailis (Alexander Petunin)
58:16 • Alexander Petunin (Robin Press, Igor Geraskin)
42:59 • Maxim Berezkin (Artur Kayumov, Georgy Ivanov)
Lokomotiv took the initiative and literally squeezed Magnitka in their zone, threatening Nabokov over and over again. This powerful pressure was quickly converted into a goal: Maxim Berezkin picked up the puck after a pass from Artur Kayumov and sent the puck right under the crossbar from close range.
But this did not bother Metallurg in any way. Nikita Mikhailis restored the status quo a few minutes later: Alexander Petunin took advantage of Nikita Kuryanov’s mistake in front of Daniil Isaev’s goal and found Mikhailis in a killer position. Nikita only had to hit the empty corner of the goal.
On the wave of success, Magnitogorsk increased their aggression, and at the same time forced Lokomotiv to make mistakes. Alexander Polunin made a fatal mistake: the Zheleznodorozhniki striker fouled Yurov in an unnecessary situation, hitting him in the face with his stick, and a few minutes before the end of the third period, he left his team in the minority.
“Metallurg”, which had great difficulties with the implementation of “extra” throughout the playoffs, used the majority. Alexander Petunin played great on the penny and sent the puck into the goal after a throw from Robin Press, bringing Magnitogorsk victory.
2:1 — the first game of the series remained with Magnitogorsk. In most cases in the history of the KHL, triumph in the final was celebrated by the teams that won the first match. “Metallurg”, which is noteworthy, won its two Gagarin Cups, losing in the opening games of the series.