Key success of Ak Bars
After the final siren, Ak Bars head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov called the fourth match of the series with Admiral decisive. It is difficult to disagree with him, because his charges stopped a step away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals, and the opponents, on the contrary, missed the chance to equalize the score in the series. If in the previous meeting luck in overtime smiled on the team from Vladivostok, this time - to Kazan.
In general, this outcome turned out to be logical, since the guests significantly outshot the hosts - 28:20. And only the saves of the incredible Nikita Serebryakov helped them to keep the intrigue. At the same time, it was possible to break through the goalkeeper in the sixth minute. Stanislav Galiev forced a fight in the middle zone, and Kirill Panyukov and Kirill Semenov played a two-on-one opportunity. In this attack, it is necessary to note Panyukov, who, having received a pass in the left circle in an advantageous position, did not greed, but returned the puck to his partner.
Leonid Tambiev's team didn't get much in the first period. For a long time, hockey players could not even gain a foothold in someone else's zone and disturb Timur Bilyalov. He made just four saves in that stretch, and even then it was a click from the blue line.
Apparently, at halftime, the specialist had a tough conversation with the wards, since a completely different Admiral came out on the ice. The Mariners began to impose their trademark pressing and pressure on their opponents, not allowing them to calmly face the puck. This immediately bore fruit. Chances began to arise at the Ak Bars goal. First, Alexander Radulov, who came to the defense, blocked danil Faizullin's most dangerous shot, and then Anton Berlyov hit the crossbar.
And yet the desire of the hosts helped them to restore their balance. Moreover, the favorite was again upset by Libor Shulak, who scored in the first match of the series. This time he delivered a powerful click from the left circle, which Bilyalov could not cope with. Prevented him from showing a reaction and competent traffic on the spot.
In the final game period, the teams acted extremely cautiously, realizing that any mistake could be fatal. However, closer to victory were still the guests, who almost twice (11 against six). However, Tambiev's charges also had a chance to put an end to it. What is worth at least a two-on-one exit shortly before the siren, which ended with Rudolf Chervena throwing into Bilyalov's shoulder.
Fans of the hosts will remember this episode with regret for a long time. In overtime, Kazan continued to have an advantage and naturally turned out to be stronger. The hockey players did not stay on the ice for very long. Already in the 66th minute, Alexander Radulov from close range closed the transfer from behind the goal performed by Dmitry Voronkov. Thus, the forward not only scored the most important goal, but also with six goals came out on top in the race of snipers of the Gagarin Cup.
SKA's Incredible Rescue
SKA had the opportunity to knock Torpedo out of the fight in the West in four games. However, a 0-4 defeat in games would be a great injustice, because Nizhny Novgorod did not deserve to lose in any of them. After the third match, it was time for them to complain about the terrible bad luck. Igor Larionov's charges made almost 40 shots, but failed to upset Dmitry Nikolaev, while the opponents converted all their chances and achieved a defeat - 4: 0.
Despite this, the coach promised that his charges "will not go down" and will try to do everything to revive the intrigue in front of their native fans. And for the psychological unloading of hockey players, he gave most of them a day off on Tuesday. Moreover, the coach appeared at the pre-match interview in a T-shirt with the inscription "The Impossible is Possible".
It's hard to say how much it helped his players, but at the beginning of the confrontation they crushed the opponent. The sending off of Andrei Pedan for playing with a high stick in the first minute was also helpful. Just 53 seconds was enough for the hosts to convert the majority. Serhiy Honcharuk from the left circle made a powerful shot exactly to the near nine.
The striker did not stop there and scored a brace in the fifth minute. Bursting into an empty zone on the other half, he advanced on his own to the right circle and from there clicked into the far corner. This double for the forward was the second in the current playoff season. He had previously upset Dynamo twice. Roman Rotenberg responded to a disastrous debut by replacing the goalkeeper. Nikolaev's place was taken by Vladislav Podyapolsky.
To the guests' credit, they gradually recovered and seized the initiative. Now chances began to arise at ivan Kulbakov's goal. For the time being, he helped out his teammates: for example, he coped with The Shot of Marat Khusnutdinov at point-blank range. However, shortly before the break, St. Petersburg still reduced the gap. Moreover, the Belarusian could not cope with the throw of Roman Rukavishnikov from a decent distance. Perhaps it was the impact of the puck hit in the head. The hockey player then asked the referees to stop the game, but they did not listen to him.
Starting from the middle of the second period, the initiative returned to the automakers. They led the siege of someone else's gate and could well increase the difference in the score. But Podyapolsky acted beyond praise. Having received a rare chance, he took it 100%. I especially remember the incredible save of the reserve with a trap in the twine after Vladislav Firstov's click into the empty corner. And after Mark Marin's shot and a ricochet from Maxim Letunov's stick, the puck hit the crossbar. SKA created the only dangerous chance shortly before the break, when Damir Zhafyarov ran away to a rendezvous with Kulbakov, but failed to beat him. And when at the beginning of the final period Vasily Atanasov still printed Podyapolsky, it seemed that the victory from Nizhny Novgorod was not going anywhere. It was simply hard to believe that the people of St. Petersburg would be able to escape in the remaining time.
However, they created a miracle and turned the tide of the confrontation, scoring four times in eight minutes. Moreover, the revenge began with a curious own goal by Mikhail Orlov, recorded on Emil Galimov. After a shot on the spot, the puck hit the defender's stick and flew into the net. Having conceded, the Torpedo hockey players pressed against their own goal and were clearly nervous. And after nikita Gusev's precise snap from mid-range, their game finally fell apart.
Rotenberg's charges, having felt the smell of blood, did not miss their own, not taking the matter to overtime. First, Igor Ozhiganov was the first on the rebound on the spot, and then Marat Khairullin scored the sixth goal in the playoffs. This allowed him to catch up with Radulov in the sniper race. Thus, SKA passed Torpedo without any problems and will now get enough time to rest on the eve of the conference finals. The Automakers, in many ways, undeservedly did not take a single match in the series. But they fell in love with bright offensive hockey to many outside fans. But at this stage of the Gagarin Cup, they simply did not have enough experience and strength.