Western teams still down as the series move to Minsk and Kazan
Dinamo Minsk and Dynamo Moscow will try to cut the opposition’s advantage in game three. The Belarusians will have a chance at home, while the Blue-and-Whites travel to Tatarstan to try and revert the trend of the first couple of matches.
19:30: Dinamo Minsk vs Traktor
Series stand
0-2 (2:4, 3:4 ОТ).
About the game
For the second time in three days, Traktor produced a dramatic comeback to defeat Dinamo Minsk. In game one, three goals in the last minute turned a 1:2 deficit into a 4:2 victory. In game two, the team trailed 0:3 but recovered to win in extra time. Starring for Traktor was forward Maxim Shabanov, who potted a double and recorded an assist in the Black-and-Whites win. Another strong performance came from Grigory Dronov, who assisted Shabanov on the game-tying goal in the second period and then scored himself in overtime to give Traktor a two-game lead in the series. Yegor Borikov and Ilya Usov’s efforts weren’t enough for the Belarusians, who now head back home on a two-game deficit after being ahead for most of the playing time.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Yegor Borikov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (5+1) points over that span.
Dinamo Minsk's forward Ilya Usov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Traktor’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov and defenseman Artyom Blazhiyevsky are also on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that stretch.
19:30: Ak Bars vs Dynamo Moscow
Series stand
2-0 (5:3, 2:0).
About the game
Ak Bars blanked Dynamo in Moscow to open a 2-0 lead in the series. Goals from Dmitry Katelevsky and Albert Yarullin steered the visitor to victory and a strong position on the road to the final four. Goalie Timur Bilyalov posted an impressive 45-save performance to record his first shutout in this year’s Gagarin Cup playoffs. The change of goalies didn’t help Dynamo, who gave Maxim Motorygin some rest and dressed Vladislav Podyapolsky for this game, who had twenty saves in the tight contest. However, the Blue-and-Whites will need to do much better in the third game to return to contention.
Ak Bars’ goalie Timur Bilyalov enters today's game on a 64:51 shutout streak.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Yegor Babenko.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Cedric Paquette lines up for his 200th league appearance.
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Vladislav Podyapolsky may record his 350th KHL game.
