World champion Alexey Tereshchenko explains SKA’s exit from the Gagarin Cup playoffs
The recent run in the Gagarin Cup playoffs saw a dramatic exit for St. Petersburg SKA at the hands of Ekaterinburg Avtomobilist. The series concluded with Avtomobilist advancing after a decisive fifth game, leaving SKA to reflect on what went wrong and what the club might change moving forward. The analysis comes from Alexey Tereshchenko, a renowned figure who rose to world prominence with the Russian national team and now shares his insights on the state of the team and its performance in the postseason. His observations provide a clear map of the challenges SKA faced and the adjustments required to contend for the title in future campaigns.
Tereshchenko underscored defense as SKA’s most vulnerable area, highlighting how the fifth game exposed critical gaps. He noted that injuries to key players compounded the issue, creating a pattern of mistakes that opponents were quick to exploit. In teams aiming for the championship, every period matters, and reducing errors becomes essential to sustaining success. According to Tereshchenko, SKA’s ambition to prevail was evident, and goaltender Galkin delivered strong performances; still, Avtomobilist demonstrated greater overall effectiveness on the ice that night, confirming the opponent’s edge in a tightly contested series.
The decisive fifth game finished with a 5-4 score in favor of Avtomobilist. Among the scorers for the victors were Alexey Byvaltsev, Nick Ebert, Andrey Obidin, and a pair of goals from Alexey Makeev. For SKA, Mikhail Vorobyov, Marat Khairullin, and Arseniy Gritsyuk mounted a bold challenge by scoring twice. With these results, Avtomobilist sealed a 4-1 series victory, establishing a clear momentum that the team carried into the later rounds of the playoffs.
Looking ahead, Avtomobilist’s path continues against the winner of the Spartak Moscow and Metallurg Magnitogorsk series. After three confrontations in that matchup, Metallurg leads 2-1, signaling a tense battle to reach the final stages of the season. The outcome of this semi-final pairing will shape the upcoming conference finals and influence how teams recalibrate for the next season. The narrative around Avtomobilist’s campaign emphasizes their depth, disciplined defense, and timely scoring which together created a durable platform for success as the playoffs progressed.
CSKA remains the reigning Gagarin Cup champion in this historical arc. On the 100th anniversary of its founding, CSKA captured the title in 2023, defeating Ak Bars Kazan in a dramatic seventh game of the final series. With the current season unfolding, CSKA and Ak Bars were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, signaling a shift in the competitive balance and inviting fresh strategies from other clubs seeking the cup in the next cycle. The ebb and flow of the playoffs illustrate how quickly outcomes can change, and how teams must adapt to evolving tactics, player availability, and the overall tempo of the postseason.
Previously, observers described a turning point in SKA’s playoff journey as the team faced elimination from the Gagarin Cup. The narrative around that moment reflected the weight of postseason pressure and the necessity of precise execution in high-stakes games. As teams regroup, the focus for SKA will be on reinforcing defensive structures, replenishing depth at critical positions, and maintaining the high-intensity pace that propelled them through the regular season. The experiences from this playoff cycle will inform coaching decisions, player development plans, and strategic adjustments aimed at building a more resilient and competitive squad for the next championship run.