Due to this series having become something greater than its original intention, coverage of the KHL will continue on this site until a new Yuri Gagarin Cup champion is crowned. We now have all of the semifinalists booked and it appears quite puzzling. Here is a recap of how we got here via the fascinating quarterfinal round that was.

While the series was closer than it appears by the outcome, as all but one game (a 4-2 final in Game 1) was decided by one goal and included a 5-4 overtime duel in Game 2, the result of the Dynamo Moscow vs. Traktor Chelyabinsk series can only be described as “shocking.” Traktor, the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, swept the Continental Cup winners Dynamo Moscow in four games. So far, this is the only sweep in this entire playoff bracket, and it was the most unlikely candidate for one even bearing in mind that Dynamo had some trouble knocking off Alexei Kolosov and Dinamo Minsk in round one. The experiment with shuffling the matchups to have interconference play starting in round two was bound to produce some unpredictability, but this absolutely exceeds even the greatest of imaginations. It should be interesting to see if the confidence boost produces more success for Traktor.

Next up, we have a series that has already been covered in depth on this site. In another upset, the fifth seed in the East, Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg defeated Western second seed SKA Saint Petersburg in five games. This marked the first time ever that Avtomobilist won a second round playoff series and the first time in a decade that SKA will not be in the league semifinals. While SKA was not at full strength on the back end with 1D Alexander Nikishin absent, one has to wonder if the forward group was also lacking and if Roman Rotenberg regrets loaning Matvei Michkov out to HC Sochi for this season, given their scoring troubles particularly in the first three games of this matchup. They might have a bit of a shakeup next year, though, beyond just counting on a healthy Nikishin and having Michkov in his D+2 year for the full season, as this loss exposed their lack of depth. Like rivals CSKA Moscow, who took an even greater step back this season, seem to be doing, I will not be surprised if they launch something of a rebuild.

In a challenge between two very respectable franchises, 3W Lokomotiv Yaroslavl took on 2E Avangard Omsk. Befitting such a draw, this series went the distance, included an in-series head coaching change by Avangard, and featured an epic contest that went 2OTs and yielded a historic result as Loko defeated Omsk on the latter’s home ice for the first time in 14 years. This would eventually culminate in Loko winning the series in seven games, shutting out the “Hawks” 2-0 in another historic victory in Omsk. This marks the first time in seven years that Lokomotiv will play in the semis, as well as the first ever playoff series between Lokomotiv and Traktor.

Lastly, 1E Metallurg Magnitogorsk and 4W Spartak Moscow went toe-to-toe in the playoffs for the first time ever. Metallurg would win the first two games in 4-0 and 1-0 shutouts at home before Spartak would level the proceedings up via 5-2 and 1-0 wins in their own barn in the Russian capital. However, Metallurg would respond with a 5-3 victory as the series returned home for Game 5. Spartak would have one last chance in front of their fans in Game 6, but rookie netminder Ilya Nabokov would record his third shutout victory, as Metallurg won the decisive matchup 3-0 and the series 4-2 to book a semifinal date with Avtomobilist. This series had me eating some humble pie, if I am being truthful. Throughout much of the year, I was convinced that Spartak were destined for the Gagarin Cup given their offensive prowess and distribution of scoring, as well as the excellent coaching work that Alexei Zhamnov and Alexei Kovalev had been putting in. Further, I felt as though Metallurg were fated to underachieve during the postseason. Instead, these two met up and completely shattered my expectations, as Spartak were stymied. Nine goals in six games is far fewer than I expected them to put up in a matchup such as this, and being shutout three times is a complete shock. I think they can mostly run it back next season and be even more successful than they were against expectations, but maybe the coaching staff will reconfigure some aspects of their attack.

We are at a point now where only one Western Conference team remains and a 5th and 6th seed are among the semifinalists. Further, Metallurg is the only top two seed from either conference remaining. This could be favorable to them emerging as the winners. However, this postseason, beyond its experimental format, has been anything but normal. Most of the usual giants were eliminated in embarrassing fashion and, consequently, upsets have obviously been abound. We may just see some more twists in the last two rounds. Let’s see what’s in store for us in the last four section of the 2024 Gagarin Cup playoffs.