Slovan qualified for Gagarin Cup playoffs

The winners of the regular season title Continental Cup, SKA St. Petersburg, gained an away win against Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk that is very painful for the home side which still needs every point for a possible playoff qualification. Petr Prucha brought SKA in front at 17:28 before Anton Krysanov and Alexei Pepelyaev turned the result completely around in favour of Yugra until "half time". At the end of the second period Alexander Kucheryavenko tied the match again for SKA before Mikhail Varnakov scored the game winner for the guests at 54:58.

Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk missed the opportunity to qualify for the playoffs in the East early when they lost at home against Salavat Yulayev ufa. Within five minutes Igor Mirnov and Anton Slepyshev pathed the way for the Ufa away win at the start of the second period. At 48:40 Roman Lyuduchin only was able to cut the guest lead to the half but Neftekhimik failed to score the equalizer.

Current Gagarin Cup holders Dynamo Moscow showed a terrible image during their visit to Kazakhstan where they faced local side Barys Astana. After an early power play strike by Vadim Krasnoslobodtsev the hosts did not more than necessary to defend their small lead. Around "half time" they even doubled the lead through Brandon Bochenski. In the third period Barys punished the lack of motivation of the guests with another two goals through Konstantin Rudenko and Talgat Zhailauov. Only then did Dynamo react with two very late goals through Alexei Tsvetkov at 58:45 and Ilya Gorokhov with just one second left.

Traktor Chelyabinsk earned a 3-1 in the must-win match against bottom side Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. After only 54 seconds Deron Quint opend the score for the big favourites Traktor but this was no really shock for Avtomobilist as the guests answered already at 13:54 through Rastislav Spirko. In an even match Andrei Kostitsyn restored the Traktor lead with only 34 seconds left in the middle period. Late at 57:18 Yegor Dugin made everything clear for Traktor.

Ak Bars Kazan were the more effective team during their visit to Severstal Cherepovets. A goal by Kirill Petrov late in the second period and an empty netter by Jarkko Immonen with just 18 seconds left on the clock, were enough to give Ak Bars all three points and a solid 2-0 away win. With a total of 46 (!) saves and a shutout Ak Bars goalie Konstantin Barulin helped his team to keep the lead in Kharlamov Division and the three-point advantage over Traktor Chelyabinsk.

In a match without any influence on the league table hosts Lokomotiv Yaroslavl gave their fans a happy afternoon with a clear 4-1 win over outsiders Amur Khabarovsk. For Lokomotiv especially the power play was decisive as they scored three of their four goals with the man advantage. Niklas Hagman was the man of the match with a hat trick while the other Lokomotiv goal was scored by Staffan Kronwall. At 52:05 Alexander Yunkov scored the consolation goal for Amur in power play.

Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod did everything to keep their playoff dreams alive a little longer when they beat Metallurg Novokuznetsk but in the end they shared Metallurg's fate and won't see any hockey after the regular season as the competitors for a playoff spot in the West also won. With only two games left they have eight points less than 8th Dinamo Minsk. The game against Metallurg started with a shock for Torpedo as Anton Lazarev brought the guests in front shorthanded at 02:33 already but Ruslan Zainullin, Martin Thörnberg and Alexei Potapov earned a 3-1 lead for Torpedo until the start of the second period. Although Stanislav Romanov brought Metallurg back into fighting distance at 25:38 it was Alexei Vasilyev who restored the two-goal lead for Torpedo at the end of the period. At 47:42 Vladimir Gorbunov even scored the 5-2 for Torpedo.
 
KHL newcomers Slovan Bratislava wrote history today by earning their ticket to the Gagarin Cup playoffs in their first ever KHL season. On the road they beat Spartak Moscow in overtime but the outsiders, who missed the playoffs, gave them a hard fight. Roman Kukumberg, Milan Bartovic and Juraj Mikus brought the guests from Slovakia in front three times while Alexander Suglobov, Anatoly Nikontsev and Vyacheslav Kozlov answered each time for Spartak. With their second shot in overtime Slovan won the extra point through a goal by Milan Bartovic at 61:19. The Slovan fans still had to wait a bit for the entry to the playoffs but due to the Donbass loss they made it.
 
Atlant Moscow Oblast suffered a heavy setback in their fight for a playoff spot in the West when they were beaten at home after shootout by Sibir Novosibirsk. Maxim Mayorov opened the score for Atlant at 10:14 but only four minutes later Stepan Sannikov already answered for the guests. The situation became even worse for Atlant when Sibir turned the result around through Alexei Kopeikin at 39:25 in power play. At the start of the third period Alexei Mikhnov scored for Atlant, also with the man advantage, and extended the game to overtime but the extra point was won by Sibir in shootout through Jonas Enlund who was the only goal scorer there.

Dinamo Minsk defended the 8th spot in the West by earning a solid 4-2 away win against Vityaz Chekhov. Dmitry Meleshko, Teemu Laine and Andrei Mikhalyov earned a solid three-goal lead for Dinamo after two periods before Georgy Belousov and Dinar Khafizullin answered for Vityaz until 59:02. After a timeout Vityaz pulled out their goalie for an additional skater but they couldn't force the equalizer anymore. Instead Tim Stapleton made everything clear with an empty netter with four seconds left to play in regulation.

For Donbass Donetsk today's shootout loss against CSKA Moscow could mean the end of all their playoff hopes. Nikolai Prokhorkin opened the score for CSKA at 26:48. Later Donbass worked hard and gained the deserved equalizer through Petteri Wirtanen late at 54:56. After a scoreless overtime in which Igor Radulov received a game misconduct penalty his brother Alexander Radulov won the extra point for CSKA as only scorer in shootout.

After their 4th consecutive win Lev Prague have best chances to make the playoffs in their first KHL year. This evening they beat Dinamo Riga on the road with 3-1. In an even match all four goals were scored in power play. Petr Vrana brought the guests from the Czech Republic in front at 24:21 before the Latvians answered ten minutes later through Martins Karsums. At the start of the third period Nathan Oystrick and Mikko Mäenpää decided the match for the Lions who took all three points with them.

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