A pair of Omsk Avangard and Yaroslavl Lokomotiv , formed already in the second round of the Gagarin Cup thanks to the new, cross-playoff format of the Kontinental Hockey League, was considered by many to be the most interesting compared to other confrontations at this stage of the tournament. In relation to the Omsk residents and the “railroad workers”, it was even suggested that their duel was a hidden finale of the season.
However, the intrigue in the series sharply dropped to zero after just two opening matches, which took place in Omsk. In the first match, Avangard looked somewhat preferable throughout the first two periods and felt comfortable in the hustle and bustle offered by Lokomotiv. However, in the third 20 minutes of that meeting, the “railroad workers” allegedly turned on a different speed of their train and turned the life of the “hawks” into torture. The result of those torments was the defeat of the Omsk team in the second overtime with a blunder by Avangard defender Bogdan Kiselevich.
The second match of the series opened the boil, and all the difficulties that Avangard should have worried about even on the eve of the playoffs came to light. A number of points were regularly noted regarding the “hawks”: the lack of an alternative to the first attacking trio of Tkachev — Spooner — Boucher, uncertainty in the prospects of the goalkeeper line and not the most reliable defense. In the series with Lada, these problems did not stand out, largely due to the difference in the level of players in favor of Avangard, while Lokomotiv brought the Omsk team down to earth.
In the second game of the series, the «railroad workers» completely excluded Avangard's top three from the game, which for the second match in a row was forced to play without injured center forward Ryan Spooner, the «hawks» defense could not withstand any pressure from the Yaroslavl team and made a number of serious cuts and mistakes in their zone, and Pavel Khomchenko and Ilya Proskuryakov received a full string bag.
The Avangard goalkeepers conceded three goals each today, and Lokomotiv finished off another goal for Mikhail Kravets' team on an empty goal — 7:0. The quality of these heads speaks for itself. And it’s significant that in terms of the total xG (expected goals) indicator, the Yaroslavl team even lost to Avangard in the second match (1.21 versus 1.49). Otherwise, the “railwaymen” were superior to their opponents in everything: shots on target, throw-ins, time in attack, tackles. “What can be the assessment of a game in which we lost in all respects? Score — count. The team was lowered down the drain,” the Omsk head coach eloquently snapped following the defeat.
According to the results The “hawks” did not show two matches, due to which they can count on reaching the semi-finals of the Gagarin Cup. “Lokomotiv” surprises with its freshness and power. The Yaroslavl team had a slight decline at the end of the regular season, but in the playoffs Igor Nikitin’s team mercilessly knocked out the champions of the last two seasons, CSKA Moscow, and now they want to do the same with Avangard. The series moves to Yaroslavl, and Lokomotiv, with its fans, even has an excellent chance to win this confrontation without returning to Omsk.
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