Lokomotiv defeated Avangard in the KHL match

In a match between two clubs that are among the leaders of the Fonbet KHL Championship, Lokomotiv, which leads the table of the Western Conference, on its own site dealt with the winner of seven consecutive meetings with the giants of the Eastern Conference, Avangard.

This match between two clubs, which now look like real hunters for the Gagarin Cup, was not spectacular at first. It was full of everything that should be in a meeting of teams that were obviously aiming for something serious – viscosity, density – but there was definitely not enough pepper and spiciness. Which, not least of all, may be due to the current tone of Lokomotiv and Avangard – too good to allow themselves a lot of falsehood.

This thesis, of course, was slightly contrasted by the decent number of deletions they earned. But, perhaps, it should still be attributed not to the sloppiness of the opponents, but to the referee’s interpretation of borderline moments: the referees preferred to punish for harshness rather than forgive it. So, the quintessence of the entire starting period, apparently, can be considered a two-minute segment in its middle, when Avangard had the majority. His cool hockey players, geared towards realizing their numerical advantage, seemed to be doing everything correctly – entering the zone correctly, positioning themselves correctly. However, the defensive actions of the Yaroslavl four were so aggressive and to the point that the Omsk team had to limit themselves to, in fact, one sensible throw from Reed Boucher, repelled by goalkeeper Daniil Isaev.

In a five-on-five game, Lokomotiv, I must say, was significantly – well, no, not sharper, but at least more persistent. And this advantage a little later, in the next period, brought him success.

This twenty minutes started off cheerfully. Now Lokomotiv had the majority, and Avangard found itself in a very difficult position – they were under pressure. And the Yaroslavl team had plenty of smart shots on target or close to it. Sometimes there was a feeling that the puck simply had to penetrate the target – there were no other options. But it didn’t penetrate at all. And Avangard, having finally calmed the game a little, even snapped back with its own moment when Ryan Spooner, appearing in front of Isaev, finished off the puck from one and a half meters: the goalkeeper stood his ground.

And soon after that, Lokomotiv scored its, strictly speaking, honestly deserved goal at least by statistics. It came from Sergei Andronov’s shot from the blue line, which Omsk goalkeeper Pavel Khomchenko could not stop tightly. And Pavel Kraskovsky confirmed that in the ability to catch a rebound on the spot, he has few equals in the KHL.

After this breakthrough, Lokomotiv became even more convincing than before. In the sense, for example, that any attempt by Avangard to move to someone else’s third of the court, which was already a difficult task, turned into a task of exceptional complexity – the guests were greeted ahead of time, passes were intercepted. In general, exemplary hockey for a team that knows the value of leadership.

However, of course, Lokomotiv was not averse to strengthening it. And it didn’t last long. Another majority and a lucky chance helped him. Maxim Shalunov actually gave a pass to the “far” spot – to Artur Kayumov standing opposite the goal. And the pass was not bad. But Kayumov missed the shot, only hitting the puck. And it turned out even better than expected. There was a transfer to the right to Ivan Chekhovich, who fired into touch with deadly power.

The fun in this game was added in the final period. Avangard, which had just looked sour, came to life, again, thanks to the majority. The Omsk team brought out their main specialist, Boucher, for the shot, and he, like Chekhovich, was helped by circumstances. Isaev managed it, but a rebound from his partner, Alexei Bereglazov, sent the puck into the net.

“Avangard” pressed, but was let down by a mistake two and a half minutes before the siren. Instead of a calm exit from their zone, Omsk residents organized a luxurious gift for Nikita Kuryanov. He shot at the crossbar, but Chekhovich, who had not switched off, hit the puck hanging over the ribbon with his stick.

“Vanguard” still kicked. But replacing Khomchenko with a sixth field player only led to Lokomotiv’s fourth goal – into an empty net. And Avangard’s long winning streak of seven matches was interrupted. And Lokomotiv, which ended it, remained the leader of the Western Conference and came very close to Metallurg, which leads the free league table, having defeated Severstal yesterday – 3:2.

Alexey Dospehov