Western Conference Playoff Preview

Dynamo Moscow finished with the league’s best record at 115 points.  Teams from Prague, Donetsk, Riga and Zagreb really can threaten the four other Russian clubs.  This should be an exciting round of playoff hockey.  Let’s take a look at the first round matchups.

Dynamo Moscow (1) vs. Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (8)

Lokomotiv only scored 109 goals on the season, a low for all playoff teams.  However, they were able to get 23 wins and grab the final playoff seed with great goaltending and defense.  Curtis Sanford had another wonderful season with a 1.81 goals against average and 93.8% save percentage in 40 games.  On offense, Sergei Plotnikov contributed 32% of Lokomotiv’s offense this season with 15 goals and 20 assists.  They will need newly acquired forward Geoff Platt and others step up if they are going to take down mighty Dynamo.

Dynamo Moscow has two solid goaltenders in Yeryomenko and Lazushkin.  Not one forward has more than 34 points (Moyzakin led the league with 73), but they have eight forwards with 20 or more points.  Their potent attack comes from all lines and they will be a handful for Lokomotiv.  If Dynamo can solve Sanford and the Lokomotiv defense early on, they should make this an easy series.

SKA St. Petersburg (2) vs. CSKA (7)

SKA amassed 30 wins on the season and are an offensively-driven team.  CSKA put together 25 wins, fourth most amongst West playoff teams.  Both teams are evenly matched defensively, but CSKA will need to keep SKA at a goal or less a game on average if they are going to upset the better seeded team. 

In CSKA’s favor, superstar Ilya Kovalchuk is injured and may not play in the first round.  He was tied as the team’s leading scorer (Artemy Panarin) with 16 goals and 24 assists.  SKA still has a ton of firepower with Cervenka, Tikhonov, Shipachyov and Thoresen that can make up for his absence.  CSKA will likely rely on the strong play of recently acquired goaltender Jeff Glass to hold off SKA and look for Prohorkin and Radulov to continue their scoring ways.  CSKA has an outside chance to upset SKA, but it will require great defensive play and SKA not being able to overcome Kovalchuk’s absence.

LEV Praha (3) vs. KHL Medvescak Zagreb (6)

These two teams are really evenly matched on paper, with the main difference being Lev’s season long consistency and a lack of consistency from Zagreb throughout the season.  These teams matched up just two games ago and Lev needed overtime to defeat visiting Medvescak.

Medvescak can score, but they are limited to their top two lines for most of their offense.  The goaltending duo of Mark Dekanich and Barry Brust allow over two goals a game, but can really shutdown other teams, combining for seven shutouts this season.  Defense has been an issue for Medvescak and top four defender Mathieu Carle is out for the rest of the season.  If they can get their power play running and play steady on defense, they can keep the series close.  Medvescak will need regulation wins, as they are 4-12 in extra periods.

Lev plays a great, disciplined team game, with six players at 20 or more points.  Petri Vehanen will lead the defense in net for Lev who has had a good season at 1.66 goals against average.  Sevc, Nemec and Oystrick are great defenders that will have to manage Jonathan Cheechoo, Matt Murley, Matt Ellison and Charles Linglet.  This series could go the distance if Medvescak can play at their best.  Overall, Lev looks like the safe bet to advance as one of the league’s most consistent clubs on offense and defense.

Donbass Donetsk (4) vs. Dinamo Riga (5)

Donbass is the only club in the league to allow under 100 goals and Riga is going to have a hard time trying to solve Michael Leighton and this defense.  Riga has the lowest number of regulation wins out of all Western Conference playoff teams, but is a stellar 11-5 in extra time.  Can Riga score enough to keep the games close?  This will be their only chance to defeat Donbass in a seven game series. 

Riga has some great scoring potential between Kyle Wilson, Marcel Hossa, Mike Indrasis and Paul Szczechura, with all the other forwards scoring 14 or less points on the season.  The issue will be on the blue line, where they will need more than just scoring by Mat Robinson and Sandis Ozolins.  Tellqvist will need to be better than his 92.9% save percentage as well if Riga is going to take four out of seven from Donbass.

Donbass is the more balanced team with several forwards and three defenders having more than 20 points, Lukas Kaspar leading the way.  With home-ice advantage, this series is tipped much more in their favor than the 4-5 seeding matchup suggests.  Riga has an opportunity, but will need to figure out Leighton to have a chance.

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