We all remember the tragic day when the whole team of Lokomotiv with several world champions perished in the air crash. It is still a close memory for many fans and relatives of those players.
The crash will be forever a strong part of the Lokomotiv memory.
But, I think this Saturday, the 18th march will also be a day of celebration and something to remember for the fans.
I couldn’t see this coming actually at all but Lokomotiv has been their train logo truly all the way to the Western conference final, especially when they eliminated CSKA Moscow in such a way as they did.
The last game in Yaroslavl was more or less a great Loko-Show; the CSKA players were standing around as an audience, just without the applauding and the laugh. They didn’t find the show that funny apparently.
CSKA were honestly more or less outplayed and it could have been more than just 3-1 to the home team.
Well, as I said, I didn’t see this coming and I am quite surprised, to be honest, but in a merry way indeed, as we will see a new final pair in the Western Conference.
One may wonder what happened to CSKA and Kvartalnov?
The Moscow team has been so strong, sometimes unbelievably strong and good during the regular season until this point, that one couldn’t think of any other outcome than at least a conference final again.
Therefore they should have run this series in a comfortable way and not been run over by a fast train from Yaroslavl.
Each player in CSKA is lying knocked out on the ice after being hit by the Loko-train and Kvartalnov looked paralyzed.
But, we all know that the playoffs, the Gagarin Cup, is totally another beast than the regular season and there are actually no guarantees whatsoever and no matter how well a team has been playing.
Lokomotiv knows also this, used their ability to increase their condition step by step, and was at full speed when it was time to face CSKA.
Next stop for the running Lokomotiv is St. Petersburg and SKA, and the natural question follows: is that the end station for this season or do they have enough power to reach all the way to the Gagarin Cup finals?
A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.
-Theodore Roosevelt
