Within the score 3-1 in their favor, CSKA hosted the SKA in the fifth game of the series. The visitors had no more chance to make a mistake, so the game promised to be as tense and tough as possible. Our opponent made some tweaks to their lineup, and the absence of foreign player Rocco Grimaldi didn't go unnoticed. Another foreign player, Scott Wilson, returned to the ice. Defenseman Nick Ebert, who missed the previous game, joined the CSKA lineup, and Tahir Mingachyov also returned, slotting his usual line with Rhett Gardner and Sergei Kalinin. Klim Kostin moved into the line with Nikolai Kovalenko and Dmitry Buchelnikov filling for the absent Alexei Churkin.
In the first period, CSKA came out on fire just right off the bat. Pavel Karnaukhov could have scored on an excellent pass off Klim Kostin, but SKA goalie Artemy Pleshkov miraculously reacted to the shot. And the army team's initial onslaught after all resulted in a goal. During CSKA's attack, the light behind the goal tripped off early – the puck missed the target. Our team's dominating play continued, adding the opponent allowed a pass from Nikolai Kovalenko to the crease. Denis Guryanov finished the pass and surfed his scoring streak in these playoffs. SKA came off quite quickly. Ignat Lutfullin dragged the puck into our zone, passed it to Andrey Pedan, who scored from the blue line. CSKA had a good chance to score on the power play, but did so when the SKA's fifth player came onto the ice. Jeremy Roy joined the attack skillfully dealt with the goalkeeper after a pass from Guryanov. In the second period, the SKA tried to increase the pressure on Gamzin's goal, but real scoring opportunities were rare. But our team created and executed its chance. Forechecking the opponent's zone, the army team forced the opponent to make a mistake and lose the puck. Sergei Kalinin was merciless on the rebound – 3-1. CSKA could have built on their success, as the SKA's defense was faulted more and a fourth goal was imminent. And it did, but in the third 20 minutes. It was paved by a very dangerous moment near our goal, when Gamzin stopped the puck right on the goal line scattering the opponent chances to tie in the score. The SKA responded to Guryanov's goal with a power play goal, and then pulled the goalie and played six. Kovalenko punished them for this, and then, with the full squads in hand, Guryanov put the finishing touches on the game by scoring a hat-trick. We win the series 4-1 and awaiting our opponent in the second round.
