Moscow's Spartak lost in a bitter struggle to Magnitogorsk's Metallurg in six games in the second round of the KHL playoffs and ended the season. Yes, the “red-whites” did not use their greatest strengths and took advantage of Magnitogorsk’s weaknesses. And yes, in many ways Alexei Zhamnov’s team lost to themselves, making fatal mistakes in not the most obvious game situations. And yet, “Spartak” left behind vivid memories and pleasant impressions.
One step was not enough until the seventh match. On the eve of the series, only the lazy did not remind of the curse of Magnitogorsk for “Spartak”. The Moscow club performs extremely poorly when visiting Metallurg – only one victory in 31 years. The “tradition” was confirmed in this playoffs as well. “Spartak” lost the first two meetings of the series with a total score of 0:5 and put itself in a difficult position.
However, the “red-white” houses brightly and beautifully restored the status quo. With two victories – especially the second in the fourth match – Spartak showed how much it depends on the home stands. That’s why it was strange to hear the head coach of Magnitogorsk say that if the fourth game had been played not in Moscow, but in Magnitogorsk, there would have been no difference. There would be, and what kind of one. Especially with the score 2-1 in the series in favor of Metallurg.
Having lost in the fifth game in Magnitogorsk, Spartak again had to save the situation at home. But they failed to extend the series to seven games.
The red-whites played the final match of the season in Moscow – in front of their fans. The team had a meeting with them immediately before the match, where the fans motivated the hockey players to win as much as possible. And in terms of the game, “Spartak” was close to the required result. But the implementation failed. Alexey Zhamnov's team created a lot of chances, especially in the second period.
“Metallurg” was constantly helped out by Ilya Nabokov, who had already kept a clean sheet for the third time in this series, and the youth of Andrei Razin’s team used several chances in counterattacks. Magnitogorsk's second goal was especially significant: Spartak created two 100% chances at the opponent's goal, but after Mikhail Maltsev's shot hit the post, Denis Zernov, with a cool pass from Dmitry Silantyev, ran away one on one with Andrey Kareev and sentenced Spartak.< br>
3:0 in the match and 4-2 in the series – Magnitogorsk goes to the semi-finals of the Gagarin Cup. Its opponent will be Avtomobilist.
Spartak is one of the main discoveries of the season. The current KHL season has shown that several rich clubs that previously ruled the entire league no longer have the previous superiority over the rest. Competition in the KHL has increased; more and more clubs, even with modest budgets, are able to set high goals without any irony. “Spartak” is no exception.
It’s enough to remember what the capital’s club has been like for the last year or two. Questionable management decisions, confusion with coaches, an unstable environment in the locker room and, as a result, sad results. Last season, the “red-whites” did not reach the playoffs at all. Hardly anyone had high expectations for the new KHL season. “If only I could somehow get into the playoffs…” – many fans lived with exactly these thoughts on the eve of the championship. But there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped. For the new season, Spartak appeared in a completely different guise.
The assets received after the sensational exchange of Alexander Nikishin were used, and all the risks of the no less shocking exchange of Alexander Khokhlachev were thought out in advance, a new coaching staff was called in, targeted transfers were made in the person of not only the stars Nikolai Goldobin and Pavel Poryadin and the experienced Ansel Galimov, Michal Tchaikovsky and Alexander Burmistrov, but also finds from the VHL and MHL.
In terms of the number of names that Spartak introduced to the entire league, the “red-whites” are perhaps the best. Alexander Pashin, Egor Filin, Alexander Belyaev, Daniil Ivanov, Demid Mansurov – they all made such great progress that even when Spartak’s trio Goldobin – Morozov – Poryadin was moping or had serious problems with the lineup, they kept the team at a high level. Maxim Tsyplakov also deserves special mention. They had long been waiting for a step forward from the red-white number nine, but it still seemed to be missing. In the same season, the Spartak forward rose several levels and became one of the most dangerous forwards in the entire KHL.
Spartak's attack turned out to be the most powerful in the league. It was Alexey Zhamnov’s team that by a margin became the most productive in the regular season (233 goals in 68 matches), and three club players were in the top 10 snipers of the championship (Goldobin, Tsyplakov and Poryadin scored 94 goals between them).
Goldobin completely rewrote a huge list of club records in his first season at Spartak. Nikolai, after all, can also be called a discovery: despite his status as a KHL superstar, few expected such a brilliant performance from him. In fact, Goldie scored 78 points (36+42) in 67 regular-season matches, and 9 points (3+6) in 10 playoff games. This is called a hit: “Spartak” guessed right with the transfer, and Nikolai – with the team.
The main intrigue now becomes the future of this “Spartak”. The club's managers will have a lot of work to do in the off-season to preserve the core of the team and its fighting ability. All Russian hockey needs such a “Spartak”.
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors
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