Dynamo Captures Gagarin Cup

Jakub Klepis scored late in the third period giving Dynamo Moscow the only goal that mattered in a 1-0 victory over host Avangard Omsk Oblast in Game 7 of Gagarin Cup finals.

Klepis, a Czech national who spent a few years in the Washington Capitals organization, scored an even-strength goal on Avangard goalie Karri Ramo to give the 4-year-old KHL its first Moscow area champion. Ak Bars Kazan, based in Tatarstan, won the first two playoff titles and Salavat Yulaev Ufa, based in Bashkortostan, was the playoff champion last spring.

The summary is here. The recap is here.

Dynamo Forces a Game 7

Former NHL player Martin Skoula supplied Avangard Omsk Oblast with all of its scoring, but he could not keep Dynamo Moscow from taking Game 6, 5-2, to force a seventh game in the Gagarin Cup finals.

Skoula even had a hand in a Dynamo goal in the final minutes, when he failed to clear the puck out of Avangard's defensive zone as the goalie was leaving the ice for an extra skater.

Marek Kvapil collected the puck and put it in the net for Dynamo's final goal. Skoula, with one knee on the ice, kept his head down in frustration as Avangard has twice failed to close out the KHL championship series after having gained a 3-1 series lead. Game 7 is Wednesday back on Avangard's home ice. The puck is scheduled to drop around 8 a.m. Eastern time and will be shown live on YouTube.

The summary is here and a recap is here.

Dynamo Stays Alive in KHL Finals

Dynamo Moscow grabbed a three-goal advantage early in the second period and held on to score a 3-2 victory over host Avangard Omsk Oblast on Saturday night in Game 5 of the Gagarin Cup Finals.

Avangard leads the KHL championship series, 3-2, with Game 6 to be played Monday night in Moscow. The game can be seen live on YouTube. The puck is scheduled to drop roughly around 11:30 a.m. Eastern time in North America. The game summary is here and the game recap is here.

Avangard Turns Back Dynamo in OT

Alexander Perezhogin scored eight minutes into overtime to give Avangard Omsk Oblast a 2-1 victory over Dynamo Moscow on Thurday. The visitors now a chance to claim the Gagarin Cup on home ice in Omsk.

Avangard, which has a 3-1 KHL championship series lead, will play host to Dynamo in Game 5 on Saturday.

The recap is here and a game summary is here.

Dynamo Evens Gagarin Cup Series

Two first-period goals helped visiting Dynamo Moscow defeat Avangard Omsk Oblast, 2-1, in Game 2 of the Gagarin Cup finals on Sunday.

The KHL championship series moves to Moscow for the next two games. A full recap is here. And a summary is here.

The Gagarin Cup Final Is Underway

Well, what do you know. It's mid-morning on Friday and there is already a hockey game in the books today.

Avangard Omsk Oblast defeated visiting Dynamo Moscow, 2-1, in the opening game of the Gagarin Cup Finals in the Kontinental Hockey League. Roman Cervenko and Alexander Perezhogin scored for Avangard, which emerged from the Eastern Conference after winning best-of-seven series against Amur Khabarovsk, Metallurg Magnitogorsk and Traktor Chelyabinsk. Dynamo Moscow came to the finals after winning Western Conference series against Dinamo Minsk, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and SKA St. Petersburg.

The action can be viewed live on YouTube each game day. To quickly access the day's game, click on the YouTube logo in Gagarin Cup banner, which is atop the KHL web site.

But you must get up early for these games. Omsk is in southwest Siberia, so do the math or get a time converter to judge just what 2 pm (or 1400 hours) Moscow time means to you and your sleep pattern. Dynamo's games in Moscow have a little better starting time. A final note, the KHL schedules list the home team first or on top.

Here's a little preview of the teams attempting to be the fourth winner of the Gagarin Cup.

And here is a wiki page that lists the teams in the league, past winners of the Gagarin Cup and a few notable players in the four-year history of the KHL. Note that there will be a new playoff scoring champion this spring. Alexander Radulov was the scoring champ in the last two tournaments, but his Salavat Yulaev Ufa squad was bounced by Ak Bars Kazan in the first round. And I don't think the KHL will combine RaDOOOO's figures in that series with any numbers he posts for the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Oh well. Even RaDOOOO cannot have everything.

Here is the recap of today's game.

Enjoy.