According to the results of the regular championship of the Continental Hockey League (KHL) St. Petersburg SKA at the last moment avoided meeting with Moscow CSKA in the first round of the playoffs. And although the head coach of the army team from the banks of the Neva, Roman Rotenberg, claimed that he and his team did not care at all against which opponent to start the fight for the Gagarin Cup, it was obvious to everyone that CSKA was the least preferred opponent for this. Instead of the Moscow army team, SKA received the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo.
Igor Larionov's team frankly failed to finish the regular season and suffered 12 defeats in the last 14 matches. Taking into account this series and the alternate mysterious withdrawal of experienced players Anton Sizov and Alexey Kruchinin from the squad, the prospects of such a “Torpedo” against SKA, which had gained a powerful momentum, were not just doubtful, but insignificant. According to many experts and fans, on paper the St. Petersburg team appeared to be the undisputed favorites, and they were predicted to win four matches in the series.
Torpedo's readiness for battle raised questions. Moreover, the team spent a lot of time on the road from Nizhny Novgorod to St. Petersburg: the hockey players spent 15 hours on the train, going to visit their opponent.
But all this turned out to be dust in the eyes. In fact, Torpedo has enough strength left to not only withstand an opponent with a personnel advantage, but also to win a confident victory.
Already at the very beginning of the match, the Nizhny Novgorod team shot a double through the efforts of Sergei Goncharuk and Vasily Atanasov. The guests opened the scoring while playing in the minority, but the goal of the main pineapple hero of the entire KHL was especially unexpected. The star young forward watched Alexander Nikishin's blunder at his own goal and immediately punished him for this mistake. The coaching staff considered Nikita Serebryakov responsible for this. The best goalkeeper of last season in the KHL was replaced by 19-year-old Pavel Moisevich after the second missed goal.
A few minutes later, SKA reduced the gap in the score thanks to a goal from Vasily Glotov. Torpedo tried to challenge this goal, but to no avail. Already at the end of the second period, the teams quickly exchanged pucks again, and at the end of the meeting, the guests hit the opponent’s empty goal twice in a row. 5:2 — “Torpedo” sensationally begins the series against SKA with a resounding victory in St. Petersburg.
There are several points worth highlighting in the game itself.
Firstly, Ivan Kulbakov. The Torpedo coaching staff decided to appoint the 27-year-old Belarusian as the first goalkeeper of the team and it was right. The Nizhny Novgorod goalkeeper reflected 42 out of 44 shots and played, perhaps, the main role in his team’s victory. The second period was especially intense for Kulbakov, when SKA had a complete advantage in attack and regularly annoyed the visiting goal.
Secondly, emotions. The same point can be applied to the figure of Kulbakov. SKA players tackled the Torpedo goalkeeper several times, tried to irritate him and organized several brawls involving the goalkeeper. As it turned out, Kulbakov’s concentration was fine. But both teams were charged with emotions and the mood to start a real battle and war for the entire series.
Thirdly, injuries. SKA lost two players in just one match. First, striker Borna Rendulic was injured. The Croatian forward, after a duel with Bogdan Konyushkov, unsuccessfully hit the boards and went to the locker room, ending the match early. Considering Rendulic's sniper skills, the St. Petersburg team suffered a serious loss. Then SKA defender Andrei Pedan was injured. The powerful and large hockey player has had health problems throughout the season. Because of this, he missed most of the regular season, and after an unfortunate fall in today's match, he probably ended the season early.
Finally, the transformation of Torpedo. For the second season in a row, Igor Larionov’s team is the epitome of attacking and combination hockey. However, at the same time, a stereotype arose among the Nizhny Novgorod residents about their inability to withstand the blows of their opponents and skillfully defend themselves. Today, Torpedo had to play without the puck for a considerable part of the match: more often in their own zone, less often in someone else’s. Obviously, without Kulbakov’s successful play, this element would not have highlighted its positive aspects, but coupled with the goalkeeper’s rescues, the field hockey players of the Nizhny Novgorod club can count their work as number two. Something that has not happened throughout almost the entire season. If this moment does not become an isolated episode, then Larionov’s team will have an excellent chance to slap in the face all the skeptics who predicted 0-4 for his club.
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