Gagarin Cup holder Salavat Yulaev Ufa battled to a 2-1 win away to former champion Ak Bars Kazan on Wednesday to keep its title hopes alive.
The best-of-seven series stands at 3-2 to Ak Bars ahead of the next game in Ufa on Friday.
Salavat Yulaev took the lead after less than two minutes of the first period through ex-Columbus Blue Jackets forward Alexander Svitov, before Alexey Tereshchenko equalized for Ak Bars on a power play eight minutes later.
Former Boston Bruins center Sergey Zinovjev scored the winner halfway through the third period on a power play, with an assist from Vitaly Proshkin.
Earlier Wednesday, regular season champion Traktor Chelyabinsk beat Yugra Khanty-Mansiisk 1-0 to seal a 4-1 series victory and progress to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Metallurg Magnitogorsk required an overtime goal from Maxim Sushinsky to remain in the playoffs, beating Barys Astana 4-3 to pull the series back to 3-2 in Barys’ favor ahead of the next game in Kazakhstan on Friday.
