The only game I missed in this series was the first one and honestly, anyone judging only from second and third games would not think CSKA came 1st in regular season and Slovan 8th. There was not much difference. If Slovan played nothing; then CSKA did not create much, either. If Slovan played OK, CSKA was mediocre as well. At least, that has been my impression in this series.
The games so far have been only decided by experience and the virtue of being a "big team". Slovan is on par with CSKA, they are not getting destroyed or being swept on ice as many would have expected. However, in critical moments, they fail to deliver.
2-0 lead lost in Moscow, followed by a very quick OT goal and loss. Now, tonight, amazing atmosphere in Bratislava and relatively OK play; not giving CSKA many chances, having the lead etc and then suddenly, two goals in last 4 minutes, one of them with only 45 seconds left to go, and bam, you already trail 3-0.
On bracket, yeah, things look ugly. However, on ice, Slovan did not look bad at all. Though CSKA was not in the best shape either, that's also an important factor. For example, Sochi or Torpedo would probably be much more motivated and sharp against Slovan.
Anyways, I feel sad for Slovan because they deserved much more than this. Losing this series to CSKA would surprise nobody. It's totally fine. But this team, in the two I saw, deserved at least one win. With a little bit of luck, this series could've been 2-1 for Slovan now.