The Gagarin Cup Playoffs started in 2008, with the creation of the KHL. The then newly formed league needed a trophy for the league champion. After much deliberation, the name Gagarin Cup was chosen to signify the accomplishment that is winning an ice hockey tournament. Pictured right is the Gagarin Cup, named for the Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. A likeness of the first man in space can been seen on the trophy. In 2009, the trophy was first awarded to Ak Bars Kazan on April 12, Cosmonautics Day. In its brief history, only Ak Bars Kazan has been able to win the Gagarin Cup multiple times. They were able to accomplish this in 2009 and 2010. The other two winners are Salavat Yulaev Ufa (2011) and Dynamo Moscow (2012).Wednesday marks the beginning of the 2013 Gagarin Cup Playoffs, the championship tournament for Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). I will be bringing you a two part preview to Gagarin Cup Playoffs along with updates through the playoffs. Today we focus on the Eastern Conference. All Eastern Conference games start on Thursday. Tomorrow, the Western Conference preview will appear.
Eastern Conference
#1 Ak Bars Kazan vs. #8 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk
As regular season Eastern Conference and Kharlamov Division Champions, Ak Bars looks to win their third Gagarin Cup. Ak Bars is led by their captain (and former Pittsburgh Penguins) Alexei Morozov and Danis Zaripov. Morozov led the team in points with with 38, while Zaripov was able to record 19 goals. Finn Janne Pesonen was second on the team with 17 goals. The scoring doesn't just come from the forwards though, Ak Bars's defemean Ilya Nikulin placed forth in the defenseman points with 34. The man in net for Ak Bars is Konstantin Barulin, who was selected in 2003 by the St. Louis Blues. Barulin's 0.940 save percentage was good enough for second in the league. He was also able to record 4 shutouts this season.
Nefteknimik seems to be over-matched, as is normally the case in a #1 vs. #8 match-up. Neftekhimik was able to do enough at the end of the season to get into the playoffs over Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk by three points in a league where a win is worth three points. Neftekhimik has been able to ride the success of 29-year-old defender Renat Mamashev. Mamashev was the only player to appear in the Top 30 in points for Neftekhimik and only one of two defenders. His his 10 goals and 32 assists (42 points) was good enough for 14th amongst all players in the league, and first amongst defenders. Another player to look out for on Neftekhimik is Yegor Milovzorov. Milovzorov was second on the team (23rd in league) in assists with 24. Canadian Matt Dalton is the Neftekhimik goaltender. Playing 38 of 52 games, he was able to record a 0.923 save percentage and a goal-against average of 2.36.
#2 Avangard Omsk vs #7 Sibir Novosibirsk
Avangard comes into the playoffs as Chernyshev Division Champions. Avangard has been a fairly balanced team all season, with production coming from all around. Tomas Zaborksy led this team in both points and goals this season, with 21 goals and 20 assists (41 points). Other players that Avangard has looked to this season are Alexander Perezhogin, Dmitry Syomin and team captain Alexander Frolov. Frolov leads the team in assists with 28, good enough for 9th in the league. Anton Belov leads Avangard defenders in points. Avangard goaltender, Karri Ramo, has an 0.929 save percentage and a goal-against average of 2.00.
Sibir could make this a goaltender dual as they bring one of the top goalies in the league into the series. Jeff Glass has the league's fifth best save percentage at 0.933 and the eighth best goal-against average at 2.02. Glass will need help from his defense though. Sibir brings a couple of the top forwards in the league to this battle as well. Jori Lehtera leads the team in points and is fifth in the league with 4. He is accompanied by Jonas Enlund, who brings the second best plus/minues (+27) in the league to the table. For Sibir to have a chance at moving on, the defense will have to be at its best.
#3 Traktor Chelyabinsk vs. #6 Barys Astana
Traktor was the best non-division winner in the league. Traktor has a high powered offense, placing sixth in goals for. The player on the team with the most goals is Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov was able to record 19 goals, which was good enough for 16th in the league. Goaltender Michael Garnett could make this interesting though. With an 0.923 save percentage and a goal against average of 2.20, he placed 16th and 12th respectively. Garnett and the Traktor defense will need to step it up during the playoffs.
Barys brings a high powered offense as well, as they are the second highest scoring team with 175 goals this season. With two 20 goal-scorers and five 30 point-scorers, this team is all offense. names to look out for are Brandon Bochenski (20 G; 20 A), Nigel Dawes (20 G; 14 A), Dustin Boyd (15 G; 16 A;), Konstantin Rudenko (14 G; 17A), and Talgat Zhailauov (15 G; 15 A). Scoring could come from defender Roman Savchenko (10 G; 10 A) as well. With no goalie with a save percentage over 0.900, Barys will need to out score Traktor if they want to win. Expect a high scoring series.
#4 Metallurg Magnitogorsk vs. #5 Salavat Yulaev Ufa
Metallurg Mg saw the presence of NHL talent including Russian stars Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar. Even though the NHLers left in the middle of January, some impacted the team all the way into the playoffs. Malkin was able to score so much in his time with the team, he is still third in the league in points scored. That being said, he is no longer on the team; meaning Metallurg Mg will need to look elsewhere to score. Sergei Moziyakin is the obvious choice since he led the league in goals (35), points (76), and was third in assists (41). Goaltender Ari Ahonen will have to be at the top of his game though. This season, he posted a save percentage of 0.924 and a goal-against average of 2.04.
Fortunately for Meallurg Mg, Salavat doesn't have much in terms of goaltending. Salavat goalie Iiro Tarkki has allowed 2.37 goals a game while only posting a 0.913 save percentage. Igor Mirnov will have to take control of this series if Salavat wants to move on. Mirnov was eighth in the league in goals (21) this season.He is the only Salavat player to appear in the Top 30 in goals and points. No Salavat player appeared in the Top 30 in assists.
No comments:
Post a Comment