photo author: KHL
The Eastern leader could not cope with the counterattacks of the people of Yaroslavl.
After the home defeat to CSKA, Yaroslavl Lokomotiv continued its series of home matches with a match against another giant of our hockey – Magnitogorsk Metallurg. Andrei Razin’s team approached this match with fighting spirit. After the Urals went winless in Cherepovets, leading 3-0 after the first six minutes, the coach couldn’t help but have a serious conversation with his hockey players. So the meeting promised to be extremely intriguing.
In the first half the teams did not force things. Most of the first twenty minutes were spent fighting in all areas of the venue. And if “Lokomotiv” feels like a fish in water in these conditions, then “Metallurg”, accustomed to brilliant offensive hockey, did not look like itself. The goalkeepers didn’t have much work to do before the first break. The visitors looked a little more dangerous, but Daniil Isaev managed to avoid the rare threats that arose in the goal of the Yaroslavl team.
photo author: KHL
In the second period, Metallurg improved as expected. Three times the guests won the majority, but the railwaymen defended themselves competently and did not allow the powerful attack of the Magnitogorsk team to succeed. But the first elimination in Andrei Razin’s team ended with one goal. The railwaymen gained a foothold in the rival zone and shot Rushan Rafikov. Which with a powerful shot put Lokomotiv ahead.
The Magnitogorsk team had an entire period left to overcome Daniil Isaev. But for this it was necessary for the puck to reach the Lokomotiv goal at least regularly. But Metallurg had big problems with this. In forty minutes of play, the Yaroslavl team blocked 17 opposing shots.
In the third period, Metallurg continued to pressure Isaev’s goal. But the guests still couldn’t get any of their leaders to take the final shot. But Lokomotiv took advantage of their opportunity. Maxim Berezkin burst into the opponent’s zone, threatening with a pass to the right, cleared the defender in one move and put the puck into the net.
photo author: HC “Lokomotiv”
And when the hero of the end of the second half, Rafikov, made an interception in the opponent’s area and passed the ball to Kraskovsky’s killer shot, almost everything in this match became clear. And Artyom Zagidulin went to the bench, giving way to Ilya Nabokov. The Eastern leaders did not give up and still managed to break through Isaev, which until then had been impregnable. Nineteen-year-old Mikhail Grass scored his first goal in the KHL.
“Metallurg” tried until the end to save the match that suddenly became desperate. A minute and a half before the final siren sounded, Andrei Razin called a timeout and replaced the goalkeeper with a sixth outfield player. But the final assault did not work for the Magnitogorsk team. The intrigue suddenly arose a moment before the final siren. But it was just about the end result: whether Kraskovsky’s puck would go into the empty net. As a result, it was determined that Paul met his allotted time. 1:4: The Eastern Conference leader suffers the second consecutive defeat.
Joker in Fedorov’s deck. Sorkin gave CSKA the victory in the match against Lokomotiv
