The torment of the sleepy kingdom has been stopped by the hero of the Games-2022! But Gritsyuk scored not on penalties, but in extra time

After 60 minutes of play in Omsk, the same two were in the draw as yesterday in St. Petersburg. But what different stories: the Mariana Trench and Chomolungma!

SKA – Torpedo. The two most offensive and advanced teams in the KHL. All attacks only directly on the gate. It is not possible to get into someone else’s zone on the go, an organized rollback and retry. And how many scoring chances were created by the Volgaites only at the beginning of the second third, taking advantage of the far bench factor! As a result, we got a shootout, forcing our best defender Nikishov to foul. Alas for Kruchinin – not realized.

As soon as the automakers made the first unforced error in the back, the Olympic champion Prokhorkin immediately opened the scoring. By the end of regular time, the guests had already caught the army team, carried away by the attack, in a miscalculation – Firstov restored balance. Well, extraordinary. Goalkeeper Nikolaev did not allow Firstov to score in most lacrosse – he hit the puck with his head! In the next episode, Yashkin won a face-off in the Torpedo zone and immediately plunged the puck into Kulbakov’s goal. It was the first – and victorious! – throw SKA into extra time.

Fantastic plot! A team has many very good chances, but loses. Because the second is more experienced! – does not forgive the slightest flaw of opponents.

What did we see today in Omsk? Let fans of Avangard and Metallurg not be angry with me, but with an abundance of venerable players, including Olympic champions from Pyeongchang and vice-champions from Beijing, I personally felt like I was transported to the last century. So dull and cautious, toothless and primitive hockey had to watch all 60 minutes of regular time.

Most of Magnitogorsk is something amazing! I have never seen anything like this done by a top team! KHL-2022 vice-champions can’t enter a foreign zone – what, the hell, combinations, touch clicks, flank-to-flank transfers, real threats?

At the same time, Urals scored the only goal in the second period, making the advantage in numbers. Because they stopped being smart. They somehow crawled into Demchenko’s area, General Chibisov blocked the goalkeeper’s visibility, and Koshelev did not miss with his hands.

However, we got used to the endlessly sad and anachronistic Metallurg during the last regular season. In the first round of the playoffs, the Steelworkers competed with Avtomobilist not in who plays hockey better, but in who makes fewer serious mistakes and who is luckier.

But why Avangard started the Eastern Semi so passively is a mystery to me! The “falcons” of the previous series with “Siberia” did not have any problems. 4-1 aggregate victory for a clear advantage. Two powerful shock links led by Tkachev and Gritsyuk. Two solid bottom threes, ready to terrorize anyone. A close-knit defense line with clear leaders in the face of Siberian captain Sharipzyanov and two-time Cup winner Gagarin Bereglazov. Reliable goalkeeper – Demchenko. It would seem that all the trump cards are in the hands of Avangard – and such a fierce false start!

Fortunately, during overtime, everything suddenly turned upside down. Apparently, in the third break, Mikhail Kravets correctly set the brain of his inhibited dormouse. Omsk, as if scalded, immediately rushed forward, using the advantages of the shop closest to the other people’s gates. In the first round, Paygin hit the post. Eight minutes later, the same right position did not save Metallurg. After Sharipzyanov’s click, the hero of the semifinal of the 2022 Olympics rushed to the rebound like a hawk and sank the puck into the net. The moment is over, like Yashkin the day before. Bravo, Arseny Gritsyuk!

Conclusion: it turns out, dear participants of the eastern final, you can still play aggressive modern hockey! The question is, why the hell did you fool the fans for 60 minutes with primitive antediluvian trench hockey?