Metallurg allowed Spartak to equalize the series

Spartak and Metallurg played the fifth game of the second round after a forced pause due to the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall. Let us remind you that initially the teams were supposed to play on March 23, that is, the day after the tragedy, but then a decision was made to ban all events. The KHL later postponed the match to March 26.

As a result, the teams had three days of rest. Whether this decision was detrimental or beneficial to Metallurg is difficult to judge now, but the fact remains: if Spartak remained “at home” all this time, then Metallurg had to return to Magnitogorsk in order to fly to Moscow again the next day. As it turned out, there were practically no options to stay in the capital: there were no hotel rooms, no ice for training.

The course of the match itself at first was very reminiscent of the third meeting, which Metallurg won 1:0: in the first forty minutes of playing time, the opponents’ goal remained intact, despite several power play attempts by both teams and a number of dangerous moments.

As then, the third period became decisive. Only this time it was Spartak who opened the scoring: Ansel Galimov completed the pass and sent the puck into the empty goal. But Metallurg did not succeed in the final assault, because two minutes before the end of the period the guests, instead of trying to pull out the match, were left in the minority.

The result is a victory for the “red-whites” with a minimal margin of 1:0, which makes the score in the series between “Metallurg” and “Spartak” 2:2. Let us note that the teams’ results show that in this series, home-court advantage is of great importance (first, Magnitogorsk won twice on home ice, then Spartak took two of its games at home). Now much will depend on the remaining matches: on March 28, the opponents will play in Magnitogorsk.