The seventh Gagarin Cup is entering its final stage. After two rounds of the KHL playoffs of the 2014-2015 season, the participants in the conference finals were determined.
It is noteworthy that the clubs that took first and second places in the regular championship will play in the finals of the conferences of the West and East. The series in the West begins on March 26th, and the East enters the struggle the next day - on March 27th.
In the West, the right to play in the main final of the KHL 2015 will be challenged by two "army" clubs. CSKA Moscow will fight with SKA St. Petersburg. Moscow “CSKA” for the first time in seven Gagarin Cup draws have reached such a high stage. However, this is not a coincidence - CSKA won the title of Russian ice hockey champion 2015 by a wide margin, taking the final first place in the consolidated standings of the regular season.
This position of the Muscovites gives the advantage of their field, so CSKA will start the series at its ice stadium. In favor of SKA, the gradually recruited form in the playoffs can speak. Bykov's wards had to confront the strong Moscow “Dynamo” in the semifinals of the conference. SKA players showed their power in this series, so at the beginning of the final series in the West, the chances are approximately equal.
In the East, Kazan “Ak Bars” and Novosibirsk “Siberia” got the right to compete for reaching the final of the Gagarin Cup. Kazan took first place in the East at the end of the regular championship, while the Siberians took the second place. Thus, “Ak Bars” has the advantage of its own field - the series will begin in Kazan. The chances of both clubs to reach the main final of the KHL are about the same as in the confrontation in the West.
True, there is one interesting intrigue in the East. “Siberia” this season showed excellent hockey both in the regular season and in the playoff series (suffice it to recall that in the semifinal series of the East, the current Gagarin Cup winner Metallurg Magnitogorsk was defeated). For the first time in the history of the club's existence, Siberians have risen to such a high level not only in the KHL, but also in the championships of Russia.
