Game 1 - Ak Bars v Ufa 2-1 - Wednesday, February 22, 2017
A goal from Atte Ohtamaa right before the hooter handed Ak Bars a dramatic victory in this opening playoff game. But there was plenty of controversy about the game’s defining moment, with two referals to the video referee required before the game could be decided. The first question, posed by the on-ice officials, was about timing, did the Finn put the puck into the net before the 60 minutes were up? After the officials ruled that he had, the Salavat Yulaev bench asked for a check on whether there was a player offside at the start of the move. Andrei Popov was the player in question, he appeared to be ahead of the play and ultimately deflected Mikhail Varnakov’s shot into the path of Ohtamaa for the game winner. The officials, after long consideration, ruled that the goal was good.
That wrapped up a tense encounter between two old rivals. An indication of the high stakes could be seen from the shot count, in the third period, with the score at 1-1, the teams shared just nine shots on target, with Ak Bars having a slight advantage. A slight advantage was all it took, though. The home team shaded the opening stanza without securing the lead, then absorbed some pressure in the middle session without giving up a goal. Ak Bars took the lead in the 15th minute, converting the first power play of the night. Justin Azevedo exchanged passes with Vasily Tokranov, teasing out some space in front of the net for Jiri Sekac. Azevedo’s feed into the danger zone was perfectly weighted; Sekac let rip with a one-timer that gave Svedberg no chance. But Salavat Yulaev did not have to wait long for its chance on the power play, and Kirill Kaprizov tied the scores when he got the vital touch on Linus Omark’s pass. Kaprizov has been a revelation this season, for club and country, and marked his first ever playoff game with a goal. Unluckily for him, it was not enough to take the lead in the series.
Game 2 - Ak Bars v Ufa 2-1 - Friday, February 24, 2017
These two old foes produced exactly the same scoreline as they managed on Wednesday, giving Ak Bars a significant advantage to take to Ufa as the action continues on Sunday. For the most part, the home team was good value for its victory, looking by far the stronger team in the first two periods, only to get pushed back in the closing stages as Salavat sought a way back into the game.
Ak Bars took the lead in the 16th minute thanks to a power play goal from Fyodor Malykhin. Mikhail Varnakov fed his team mate, and Malykhin got around Sami Lepisto before stuffing the puck into the net at the second attempt. But the goal sparked controversy: Salavat’s Igor Grigorenko was convinced that Ak Bars’ Dmitry Obukhov had encroached on the goal crease, while the officials concluded that Grigorenko had pushed Obukhov onto the paint. The visiting forward talked his way into a 10-minute misconduct penalty for his pains.
The middle stanza brought no further scoring, but Ak Bars had far more of the game and at the 40-minute mark the home team was leading the shot count 24-12.
That offensive intent paid off with a second goal at the start of the final session. Vladimir Tkachyov caught Lepisto in possession in the Salavat zone, and dropped the puck off between the hash marks for Mikhail Glukhov to fire in. But if Tkachyov’s pick-pocketing skills created his team’s second goal, he fell victim to a similar ploy in the 52nd minute. Enver Lisin committed the larceny on this occasion, stealing the puck as Tkachyov tried to carry out of the Ak Bars zone. Without a moment’s hesitation, Lisin rushed for the net and forced the puck between goalie Emil Garipov and D-man Damir Musin to halve the arrears.
Salavat laid siege to the home net in the closing stages, with only a breakaway chance for Justin Azevedo to alarm Niklas Svedberg, but Garipov was in no mood to endure overtime.
Game 3 - Ufa v Ak Bars 4-3 - Sunday, February 26, 2017
The latest instalment of the ‘Green Derby’ served up a thriller in Ufa, with the home team edging the verdict by the odd goal in seven. But Igor Zakharkin will be wondering just why the evening finished in such a tense fashion after his team made a storming start and powered into a 3-0 lead before Ak Bars hit back to tie the game. It took a third-period goal from Enver Lisin to settle the outcome. The home team brought the puck out of a scrimmage on the boards and Lisin advanced on the net before whipping a devastating wrist shot past Emil Garipov. That was 4-3 with eight minutes left, and this time Salavat Yulaev held on to its lead.
A dramatic finish seemed a long way off when the home team blazed into action from the start. Kirill Kaprizov opened the scoring after five minutes, claiming his second playoff goal of the season after exchanging passes with Linus Omark behind the net. Two minutes later Lisin had an assist as Denis Kulyash made it 2-0, then Omark added a third on the PP early in the second period. But Ak Bars hit back right away. Fyodor Malykhin reduced the deficit within 26 seconds, and penalty trouble put the home team on the back foot. Jiri Sekac and Justin Azevedo scored power play goals, Vasily Tokranov assisted on both, and the scores were level after a flurry of three strikes in 10 minutes from the visitor. Salavat swapped goalies, bringing in Niklas Svedberg to replace Andrei Gavrilov, and the Swede found himself under pressure early in the third when another Ak Bars power play presented Sekac with a wonderful chance before Tokranov saw a powerful shot beaten away. But the home team steadied itself and managed to snatch a vital goal, earning victory in this game and breathing new life into the series.
Game 4 - Ufa v Ak Bars 1-2 - Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Salavat Yulaev fans might not agree right now, but the closing seconds of this absorbing game demonstrated just what playoff hockey is all about. High stakes, fierce rivalries and wildly swinging emotions, and all in the space of 40 seconds. It was an unforgettable finale to the latest hard-fought encounter between these teams. The roller-coaster picked up speed on 59:16 when Kirill Kaprizov tied the scores for the home team. Ak Bars, ahead for so long, and within touching distance of taking a 3-1 lead in the series, was undone by Russia’s latest teenage prodigy. Salavat set up for one last, desperate push. Linus Omark and Sami Lepisto exchanged passes, probing for the gaps in the Ak Bars defense. A lane opened up for Omark, and he drilled the puck into the danger zone, where Kaprizov met it between the hash marks and turned it past the reach of Emil Garipov. Delerium among the home fans, frustration on the visitor’s bench. Frustration, disappointment, but not despair. Ak Bars refused to buckle. Perhaps uniquely in the arena, the visiting players did not assume overtime was a certainty. With 44 seconds left, they went out to try to win the game at the first time of asking. After a home attack foundered on the blue line, the visitor went for broke. Not thought of shepherding the puck through to the hooter, Jiri Sekac advanced and dumped the puck into the corner. Justin Azevedo chased it down and battled to bring play onto the slot. Vladimir Tkachyov had a shot charged down, Azevedo skated round to pick up the rebound and shoot into the net with seven seconds left to play. Suddenly it was the small group of Ak Bars fans who were dancing in disbelief and delight. The home support, stunned, was left to contemplate a trip to Kazan to save the series on Thursday. Salavat did get advance warning of the threat posed by that trio. Azevedo, Sekac and Tkachyov combined to give the visitor the lead in the 16th minute of a lively first period. Ak Bars took advantage of a power play to establish a strong attacking position before Azevedo fed Sekac. The Czech saw his shot blocked, but the puck bounced kindly for Tkachyov to fire in the rebound. However, the opening session, which had produced a steady stream of penalties, ended with the visitor in difficulty. A ruckus in the final minute saw the trio that combined for the opening goal reunited in the penalty box, with the home team’s Mikhail Vorobyov also going to cool his heels. For Salavat, a two-minute spell of 5-on-3 hockey, spanning either side of the intermission, offered a golden opportunity to get back into the game. The chance was not taken; Kaprizov’s late reprieve was also squandered.
Game 5 - Ak Bars v Ufa 2-1 OT - Thursday, March 02, 2017
A year ago, these two teams produced a seven-game thriller of a series before Salavat Yulaev prevailed over its old rival. This time, Ak Bars managed to wrap up a revenge win in five games – but neither side enjoyed victory by more than a single-goal margin in any of those encounters. It’s always tight when these two play. Game five was no exception. It took overtime to separate the teams, and when the decisive moment arrived it was Jiri Sekac who found the net to send Ak Bars into the Conference Semi-finals. Salavat’s frustration was obvious. After tying the game in the third period, a power play in overtime seemed to give the visitor a great chance to prolong the series. Instead, a penalty against Sami Lepisto wiped out that advantage, and Sekac got the game-winner during 4-on-4 play. Justin Azevedo got over the blue line and flipped a pass in front of his Czech team-mate. Sekac still had plenty to do, evading the attentions of Alexander Loginov and Denis Parshin as he took on Niklas Svedberg in the Ufa net, but he stayed on his feet as Svedberg went to ground and had the composure to finish off the chance. Ak Bars took the lead in the first period as penalty trouble hampered Salavat. The home team had a 5-on-3 advantage as Justin Azevedo fired in a shot from the blue line. Fyodor Malykhin screened Niklas Svedberg as the initial effort came in, and managed to get a further touch on the puck to take it away from the Swede and open the scoring. Azevedo was at the heart of another big chance for Ak Bars early in the second period, collecting a defense-splitting pass and shooting at Svedberg from a tight angle, but this time the goalie came out on top and the lead remained 1-0. From that point on, though, the balance of the game shifted. Salavat Yulaev was forced to look for the goal that might prolong its season beyond this game; Ak Bars was content to win ugly, putting in the hard yards to restrict its opponent’s chances. Resilient defense was the order of the day, with shots flying in on the home net but few of them getting as far as Emil Garipov in the Ak Bars goal. It all changed in the 52nd minute, when a power play gave the Ufa team a chance to intensify the pressure. Zakhar Arzamastsev finally found the way to unlock the home defense, albeit with the help of a fortunate deflection. Salavat Yulaev was still struggling to get close to the net, but Arzamastsev’s slap shot from the blue line clattered into Stepan Zakharchuk and looped over Garipov to tie the game. Unlike last time, there was no last-minute roller-coaster, despite a couple of good chances for Sekac late on. Instead, it was overtime before Sekac and Ak Bars edged another narrow victory to wrap up the series.
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