The first round of the KHL playoffs is set up as first team plays eighth, second plays seventh, and so on. There are rarely any close series outside the four plays five group.
Lokomotiv finished fourth in the West this year, and they faced Dinamo Minsk in the first round. Last week I talked about how Minsk had collapsed in their first home game and let Lokomotiv go up 3-0 in the series. It should surprise no one that they came back hard in their next game and won it. But that was all they had in the tank, and Lokomotiv took the series 4-1.