MINSK, 2 March (BelTA) – The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) will host the first match-ups of the Gagarin Cup playoff opening round on 2 March, BelTA has learned.
HC Dinamo Minsk, who have made it into the playoff after a big hiatus, will face HC SKA in St Petersburg. The return match-up will take place at the arena of the St Petersburg club on 4 March. The Bisons will host HC SKA on 6 and 8 March.
Three days earlier the two rivals faced each other in St Petersburg in the final match of the KHL regular season, with HC SKA celebrating a 4-2 win. HC Dinamo Minsk placed 7th in the regular season, HC SKA finished second behind HC CSKA.
Other match-ups on 2 March will feature HC Dynamo Moscow v HC Severstal Cherepovets, HC Avangard Omsk v HC Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, and HC Metallurg Magnitogorsk v HC Barys Nur-Sultan.
The schedule for 3 March is as follows:
HC CSKA v HC Spartak Moscow, HC Lokomotiv Yaroslavl v HC Jokerit Helsinki; HC Salavat Yulayev Ufa v HC Traktor Chelyabinsk, HC Ak Bars Kazan v HC Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.
The winner of the series is the team that records four victories.
