KHL - Tatarstan - Round Up December 19-29, 2016

Hockey From Tatarstan

* The KHL Disciplinary Committee has investigated an episode from Thursday’s match at the Bolshoy Ice Dome between HC Sochi and Ak Bars Kazan. The incident in question was the 41st-minute collision between Kazan forward Justin Azevedo and Sochi defenseman Vadim Khomitsky, which left the latter requiring medical treatment for a leg injury. The match officials saw nothing untoward in the challenge; however, after reviewing all the evidence, the Committee found Azevedo guilty of tripping and injuring an opponent, for which he receives a major plus game misconduct penalty (5+20 minutes), a fine, and a one-game suspension.

* There was some added spice in the latest Tatarstan derby as two players lined up against their former clubs for the first time. Mikhail Zhukov moved from Ak Bars to Neftekhimik while Evgeny Grigorenko made the reverse trip – and both made their debuts for their new employers in this game. Zhukov had the more immediate impact, getting an assist on Geoffrey Kinrade’s goal in the 37th minute. Zhukov kept the puck in the Ak Bars zone and started a move that ended with the defenseman firing past Emil Garipov.
That wasn’t enough to save Neftekhimik in Andrei Nazarov’s first Tatarstan derby as head coach. Penalty trouble cost his team dearly, breaking the deadlock in the second period at a time when the host had a slight advantage on the shot count. That all changed when Ivan Lekomtsev and Andrei Sergeyev picked up minor penalties in quick succession, giving Ak Bars a two-man advantage for 94 seconds. Ziyat Paigin bossed the subsequent power play. First, he rifled in a one-timer off Anton Glinkin’s pass and seeing it deflect past Ville Kolppanen. Then he had an assist when Alexander Svitov turned in his shot to double the lead.
* Two goals in 65 seconds handed Ak Bars control of the game and there was no way back for Neftekhimik despite Kinrade’s quick reply. The final stanza saw the home team outshoot its neighbor 15-8, but Garipov was seldom given a truly tough test, although Igor Polygalov and Richard Gynge both had their moments.
* The win sees Ak Bars close to within two points of Metallurg Magnitogorsk at the top of the Eastern Conference, although Magnitka has four games in hand. Neftekhimik remains in eighth place, two points ahead of Barys having played two games more.

* Ak Bars handed SKA its first defeat in 10 games as Zinetula Bilyaletdinov won his coaching duel with the man who replaced him behind the bench for team Russia. It was the second time this season Ak Bars had picked up a shoot-out win over SKA. Oleg Znarok’s men have been in imperious form in the run-up to this game, winning nine games on the spin and losing just once in 24 outings prior to the trip to Kazan. For Ak Bars, chasing Metallurg Magnitogorsk for top spot in the Eastern Conference, recent form had been more patchy, alternating wins and losses in recent games. SKA was the first to show, with Evgeny Dadonov opening the scoring in the third minute. Such a quick start evoked memories of 2015 and the Army Men’s rampant first-period performance to lift the Gagarin Cup here, but this time Ak Bars rallied immediately. Two goals in two minutes for Fyodor Malykhin and Mikhail Glukhov put the home team in front. That lead was also short-lived as Vadim Shipachyov scored twice either side of the first intermission. The Russian international star maintained his hot streak, climbing to 49 points for the season after extending his productive to six games worth 6+5 points. But it wasn’t enough to secure victory. SKA held its lead until deep into the third period, but Jiri Sekac tied it up in the 54^th minute. The Czech forward received an unexpected gift – late for Christmas, or early for New Year, depending on whether you celebrate Russian or European style, was Artyom Zub’s pass to Dadonov went astray and presented a one-on-one rendezvous with Mikko Koskinen. Into the shoot-out, and it turned into a battle between Malykhin and Nikita Gusev. The SKA man scored with the first attempt; Malykhin responded in kind right away. Then four failures: Datsyuk and Kovalchuk for SKA, Tkachyov and Glinkin for Ak Bars. The opening pair returned, Malykhin scored again and the pressure was on Gusev. Emil Garipov made the save, and Ak Bars claimed the victory.


* The Eastern Conference high-flyers recovered from an awful start to take all three points against the outsider from the West. Severstal could not have dreamed of a better start to the game, racing into a 2-0 lead inside eight minutes thanks to Arseny Khatsei and Anton Sizov. That lead endured until the first intermission, but the middle stanza saw Ak Bars assert itself. Vasily Tokranov reduced the deficit then Jiri Sekac, scorer of the equalizer in Tuesday’s shoot-out win over SKA, tied the game in the 28^th minute. Stefan Elliot’s 38^th-minute effort proved decisive; Tokranov’s assist there meant he was involved in all his team’s goals on the night.