Hockey Hall of Famer Sergei Fedorov always had a flair for the dramatic during his NHL career. Now, he’s bringing that bold energy to the team he coaches in the KHL.
Federov’s CSKA Moscow have won two straight games in overtime, and both times they did it while playing 4-on-3 with the goalie pulled.
The first win came on Dec. 2 against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. With the game tied 0-0 after 60 minutes, Fedorov pulled goalie Ivan Fedotov mid-way through the extra frame. Just under a minute later, a point shot from Nikita Nesterov ricocheted onto the stick of Mikhail Grigorenko, who buried the game-winner on the rebound.
Four days later, on Monday night, Fedorov found himself in a similar situation against Dynamo Msk — a rival near the top of the table — and again he pulled the goalie in the extra frame. This time, Nesterov’s point shot beat Ivan Bocharov clean to give Moscow a 3-2 win.
The two wins helped CSKA move into a tie with Jokerit for first place in the Western Conference, one point ahead of Msk.
With Moscow now 2-0 using this unique strategy, could we see some NHL coaches steal the idea?
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