Bob Hartley And Avangard Are One Win Away From The Gagarin Cup

Kontinental Hockey Leagues Gagarin Cup final is in its closing stages. With a 2:0 victory in game five, Bob Hartley and his Avangard team have taken a very important step towards a triumph. They lead 3:2 in the final series against CSKA Moscow.

CSKA had to play without the currently best goal scorer in the playoffs – Max Shalunov who had been suspended for one game following an incident in game four of the series.

CSKA as always came out flying but minute by minute the guests leveled the playing field. No goals after the first period. In the second period, Avangard players retrieved the puck from opposing players and went up the ice where Damir Sharipzhaynov took his chance and scored a goal giving his team a 1:0 lead. Ten minutes later Reid Boucher got his hands on the puck, went on the attack undressing the CSKA’s line of defense, and scoring a really important goal to make it 2:0.

Дамир Шарипзянов впервые в карьере забивает в 2-х играх подряд! Когда как не в Финале Кубка Гагарина? pic.twitter.com/5HqSHKonEF

— КХЛ (@khl) April 26, 2021

Риду Буше и в меньшинстве отлично забивается.#ФиналКубкаГагарина pic.twitter.com/dGvEuj97EB

— КХЛ (@khl) April 26, 2021

In the third period, the home team went on to recover their on-ice advantage while Bob Hartley deployed his players to apply pressing in the neutral zone which didn’t allow CSKA to create much. Although for a moment there was a scare that CSKA might get going – Hartley poured cold water over his opponents taking a very early but important timeout. The most dangerous chance for CSKA was in the final two minutes of the game when Brandon Leipsic rang the post with a heavy shot.

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2:0 victory means that Hartley and his team has a chance to raise the Gagarin Cup as early as on April 28th in their home away from home – Balashika.