KHL - Playoffs Round 2 - Salavat Yulaev v Traktor 3-4

Preview




Traktor’s goalie stable faces a powerful offense - Salavat Yulaev Ufa vs Traktor Chelyabinsk If Metallurg and Ak Bars feel like regular rivals at the top end of the table, these two lack the same history. Indeed, they’ve never met in KHL playoff action, and it’s a while since either team has come close to lifting the Gagarin Cup. Traktor’s run to the final in 2013 announced the talents of Valery Nichushkin and cemented Evgeny Kuznetsov’s rise to stardom, but the Chelyabinsk team has not hit the same heights since. Salavat won the cup in 2011, inspired by Alexander Radulov’s scoring, but since then it’s been a period of frustration for fans in Ufa.
Traktor looks to be staking heavily on youth once again, just as it did in the 2013 run. Vitaly Kravtsov, just 18, played a big role in defeating Neftekhimik; Marsel Sholokhov, 20, potted his first ever playoff goal; 22-year-old D-man Igor Isayev continues his breakout season. But there’s also experience here, with Swedish duo Richard Gynge and Linus Videll enjoying their first ever playoff series victories against Neftekhimik and Alexei Kruchinin maturing into a powerful proposition. For Salavat, Teemu Hartikainen’s five-point blast in the opening game of the playoffs highlighted what he can do; Linus Omark remains a potent threat, but head coach Erkka Westerlund has struggled to find a consistent formula this season.

Playoff progress
Salavat Yulaev was involved in the match-up of the opening round. Its series against Avangard was the only one that went to seven games and it took overtime for the Ufa team to prevail after a frantic finale saw Hartikainen’s late goal cancelled out by Maxim Chudinov with 13 seconds left to play. Along the way, the teams traded goals with surprising ease: this was the second highest-scoring series in KHL playoff history, with 41 goals scored in the seven games. Traktor also entered the record books, contributing to the ‘dirtiest’ game in the KHL playoffs. It’s 3-2 victory over Neftekhimik in game three was distinguished by 249 minutes of penalties (most, admittedly, called against Neftekhimik). Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team shrugged off the rough stuff to secure its first series victory since 2013 by a 4-1 margin, and can point to the promising combination of Kravtsov and Kruchinin as a sign that further progress is well within reach.


Prospects Pavel Francouz could be the difference-maker here. The Czech international had a good Olympic tournament and is enjoying some of the best form of his career. Against him, Ben Scrivens remains unpredictable – brilliant one day, uncertain the next – and the Salavat goalie stable lacks the depth supplied by Vasily Demchenko. If, as the old saying goes, defenses win championships, that could be enough to push Traktor into the Conference Final.

But – and it’s a big but – the combination of Omark and Hartikainen gives Salavat Yulaev an extra level of fire power. With Joonas Kemppainen centring their line – the Finn has added some handy production to his powerful physical presence in this year’s playoff – this team always has a chance of grabbing a goal. On occasion, it has the firepower to blow teams away; at other times it can seem oddly off-color. And the problem, often, is that there isn’t much from the other lines: Maxim Mayorov had one strong game against Avangard, Anton Burdasov chipped in a couple of goals but it’s hard to identify a consistent threat from the second and third lines. Against a miserly Traktor defense, adding that depth could well be key to Salavat’s potential progress.

Game 1 - March 16 - Salavat Yualev v Traktor 1-2
Vitaly Kravtsov break-out post season continues. The 18-year-old Traktor forward got his fifth goal of the playoffs – and his third game-winner – to see his team make a positive start to its Eastern Conference Semi-Final clash with Salavat Yulaev. Once again, the Kravtsov-Kruchinin axis proved crucial: Alexei Kruchinin provided the feed, but there was still plenty for Kravtsov to do as he swivelled into position and fired in a wrister from the left-hand face-off spot. Ben Scrivens in the Salavat Yulaev goal was distracted by the attentions of Alexander Sharov and could not make the save. The previous round also began with a game-winner from Kravtsov to set Traktor on the road to success over Neftekhimik; could recent history be poised to repeat itself here?
Kravtsov’s goal came on a power play early in the second period and doubled Traktor’s advantage after Artyom Penkovsky opened the scoring in the fifth minute. This time, Yury Petrov was the architect, surging into Salavat territory and going around the back of the net before popping up a feed for Penkovsky to slot home from close range. However, Salavat Yulaev rallied strongly after the Kravtsov goal. From that point on, most of the action was in front of Pavel Francouz’s net and the Czech international was at his best to preserve his team’s lead. He finished with 38 saves, beaten just once when Linus Omark and Ilya Zubov started pinging passes around the Traktor zone. The play ended with Omark holding the puck behind the net as Zubov raced into space on the short side; a well-placed pass set up the former Avangard forward for his third goal of the playoffs. It wasn’t enough for the home team. Salavat Yulaev continued to press but found no further way past Francouz. Traktor claims the first victory of the series and can celebrate a vital road win at the start of the campaign.
Game 2 - March 17 - Salavat Yualev v Traktor 3-2 OT

Vitaly Kravtsov got his sixth goal of the playoffs, equalling Valery Nichushkin’s record for an 18-year-old in post-season play. But this time, the youngster could not bring his team another victory. Instead, Salavat Yulaev tied up the series with an overtime winner before the action heads to Chelyabinsk. Instead it was Igor Makarov who delivered the decisive blow, getting the winning goal in the 74^th minute. Salavat Yulaev had enjoyed the better of the extras, and Makarov took his chance after Pavel Francouz blocked his first shot. The home forward recovered the puck and waited for his moment to strike; once the goalie committed himself ahead of a second shot, Makarov was ready to slot the puck into an empty net and settle the game.
Earlier, the story was all about Kravtsov, the latest talent to emerge from the Chelyabinsk production line. His strike in Saturday’s game even had echoes of Nichushkin’s explosive arrival on the scene in the 2013 playoffs, with a breathtaking piece of individual skill to take Vladimir Tkachyov out of the game before advancing on Ben Scrivens’ net and slotting the puck between the goalie’s pads. Kravtsov’s emergence has the potential to blow the Eastern playoffs wide-open, just as Nichushkin did five years ago. The 18-year-old has six goals from seven games so far, and has found the net in his last three appearances. This one put Traktor up 2-1 early in the third period and – for a time – looked like it might deliver another victory to the visitor.
However, he was denied a second successive game-winning goal by Alexander Loginov. As Salavat Yulaev pushed for a tying strike, Loginov took matters into his own hands. He collected the puck in his own zone, advanced up the ice and, from just inside the blue line, unleashed a shot right into the top corner with Francouz powerless to stop it. Salavat Yulaev had made a perfect start to the game, opening the scoring on its first attack. Joonas Kemppainen put the puck in the net after good work from Linus Omark to make it 1-0 with just 18 seconds played. But Traktor hit back midway through the second period when Richard Gynge led an odd-man rush and Paul Szczechura finished the play.
Game 3 - March 20 - Traktor v Salavat Yualev 2-3











Three goals in four minutes turned this game around and put Salavat Yulaev ahead in the series for the first time. The triple salvo from the visitor came early in the third period, wiping out Traktor’s 2-0 lead and setting the Ufa men on the way to their second victory of the semi-final. Mikhail Yunkov, once a Gagarin Cup winner with Metallurg, continued his habit of frustrating Magnitka’s local rival with two of the goals. But the game started with Traktor in the ascendancy. The first frame saw the home team dominant, with Ben Scrivens making 15 saves in the Salavat net while the visitor mustered a mere four shots on target. Nick Bailen and Richard Gynge had perhaps the best chances for the home team to get ahead, but they fluffed their lines and the teams went into the first intermission without a goal between them. The middle frame changed all that, with Traktor getting up early on and doubling its lead midway through the game. The ever-dangerous Kravtsov-Kruchinin-Sharov line was at the heart of the scoring once again – between them, Kravtsov and Kruchinin, Traktor’s special K’s, have now picked up points in each of the last four games. First, Alexei Kruchinin opened the scoring in the 23^rd minute, beating Scrivens with a backhand effort. Then he quarterbacked the play that brought Alexander Sharov his first goal in 27 games as Traktor went 2-0 up in the 32^nd minute. Vitaly Kravtsov had assists on both plays, taking the 18-year-old’s playoff tally to nine (6+3) points.
Expectations of a comfortable home win were confounded early in the third, however. A superb rush from Maxim Mayorov, taking out two defensemen on his way to the net and dropping a no-look pass onto the slot for Yunkov to force the puck home. There was a review to confirm that Yunkov had not kicked the puck into the net, but the officials found no problem and the goal stood.

Next came Salavat’s Nordic trio, converting a power play chance in the 46^th minute. Teemu Hartikainen sent the puck behind the net for Joonas Kemppainen, and the Finn picked out Linus Omark in the right-hand circle. He duly wired a wrister high to Pavel Francouz’s short side from a tight angle to level the scores. Barely a minute later, the visitor was in front and Yunkov was the scorer once again. It was another close-range finish, and another goal created by a brilliant feed. This time defenseman Philip Larsen delivered the pass from the corner, threading the puck onto Yunkov’s stick and giving Francouz no chance to react. Thus, in just his second appearance of this year’s playoffs, Yunkov matched his tally of two goals in 24 regular season games for Salavat Yulaev. More importantly, he delivered a game-winning performance to put his team ahead in the series.
Game 4 - March 21 - Traktor v Salavat Yualev 4-1

Vitaly Kravtsov picked up two more assists in Wednesday’s game, taking his post-season tally to 11 (6+5) and becoming the most productive junior in KHL playoff history. The 18-year-old Traktor star, who has been among the points in each of his last five games, overtook two other former Chelyabinsk prospects with his performance in this Conference Semi-Final success against Salavat Yulaev. Previously the record was shared by Evgeny Kuznetsov (7+2 as a 19-year-old in 2012) and Valery Nichushkin (6+3 as a 17-year-old in 2013). In all Russian playoffs, Kravtsov overtook Alexei Yashin’s mark of 10 points, set in 1993. The all-time record was established by Maxim Afinogenov (16 points in 1999); Evgeny Malkin scored 15 in 2006. But his personal achievement was less important than securing a vital victory to tie up this series after four games. After winning the opening game in Ufa, Traktor had struggled: a third loss would put Salavat Yulaev in an almost unreachable position. Instead, the Chelyabinsk team delivered a strong performance to reassure its home crowd before heading back to Ufa on Friday.
The opening goal came in the ninth minute. Kravtsov fed the puck back to Igor Isayev on the blue line; he shaped to shoot and slipped a pass inside for Nick Bailen to fire through traffic inside the post. However, Salavat Yulaev had the better of the first period and tied the game with nice piece of tic-tac-toe hockey from its productive front line. Linus Omark brought the puck into the danger zone, Joonas Kemppainen produced a killer pass and Teemu Hartikainen brought the finish to send the teams into the intermission at 1-1.
Parity did not last long: Richard Gynge shot Traktor in front again after 11 seconds of the second period. Bailen’s superb pass from his own zone sent Gynge beyond the last defenseman; his shot got through Ben Scrivens’ pads and once again Salavat Yulaev was caught cold early in a period. Kravtsov’s second assist came in the 35^th minute when he sent the puck back to the point for Ivan Vishnevsky. The defenseman unleashed a shot and Alexander Sharov got the key touch to beat Scrivens. Sharov, who ended a long scoring drought in yesterday’s game, potted his second in successive outings.
Salavat Yulaev continued to create chances – and finished well ahead on the shot count – but its hopes of getting anything from the game were ended midway through the final frame. Quick thinking from goalie Vasily Demchenko returned the puck to a dangerous position after the visitor’s penalty kill thumped it up the ice; Nick Bailen took the pass into the zone and fed Artyom Borodkin for a backhanded finish between the hash marks. Former Dinamo Minsk blue-liner Bailen finished the game with 1+2, and moves on to six points for this year’s playoffs. Traktor moves on to a return trip to Bashkiria with everything to play for.
Game 5 - March 23 - Salavat Yualev v Traktor 1-0

A solitary goal from Anton Burdasov earned Salavat Yulaev a hard-fought victory – and gives the Ufa team a chance to book its place in the Eastern Conference Final if it can win in Chelyabinsk. The 54th-minute goal was all about a quick transition to the offense. Traktor, killing a penalty, was content to shoot the puck up the ice, where the home goalie, Ben Scrivens, decided it was time to take a more active approach. Coming well out of his net, the Canadian pinged a long pass for Linus Omark to bring play straight back to the Traktor zone. Omark found Burdasov, and he fired in a rising shot from the deep slot, getting over Vasily Demchenko’s shoulder as Dmitry Sayustov looked to put up a screen. That, coupled with the sheer speed that Traktor’s defense had to react as it changed on the fly and Salavat launched the counter-attack, was the decisive factor on the play – and in the game.
Otherwise, it was a day when goalies were on top. Scrivens made 25 saves in addition to his assist, ending Vitaly Kravtsov’s productive run at last. So far in post season, Salavat Yulaev has been putting on scoring shows rather than demonstrating defensive prowess: this tight victory might be the start of a newly-resolute streak in Erkka Westerlund’s team, something it will surely need if it is to challenge at the sharp end of the tournament.
At the other end, Demchenko, preferred to Pavel Francouz for a second successive game, stopped 35 of the 36 shots he faced. He was in action early on, stopping Enver Lisin in the second minute and denying Evgeny Korotkov after the Ufa forward slalomed through the Traktor defense midway through the opening frame. That bright start from Salavat Yulaev soon faded, however. With the series delicately poised, neither side was keen to risk too much on gung-ho hockey and both were content to bide their time and wait for the big moment to come. In the end, that moment turned out to be a power play after Traktor’s Igor Isayev found himself in the box. Salavat Yulaev converted the chance, and then managed to kill a penalty of its own in the closing stages to keep Traktor at bay and secure the victory. The series continues in Chelyabinsk, with Traktor needing victory to keep its campaign alive. For Salavat Yulaev, meanwhile, after completing a seven-game series against Avangard in round one, the chance to get this match-up finished one game earlier would be a valuable boost before preparing for a conference final.
Game 6 - March 25 - Traktor v Salavat Yualev 7-1

Disastrous defense from Salavat Yulaev helped Traktor blast to an emphatic victory and send this series off to a decisive seventh game in Ufa. The visitor had the chance to wrap up this Eastern Conference Semi-Final with victory in Chelyabinsk, but after an evenly-matched opening stanza everything went wrong for Salavat Yulaev. In a stark contrast with the previous game, a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Ben Scrivens in a goaltending duel with Vasily Demchenko, this turned into a riot of scoring in the middle frame as Traktor rattled up six goals.
Alexander Chernikov opened the scoring 47 seconds into the period, beating Scrivens with an opportunist strike from the left wing. Two minutes later, Alexander Sharov’s pass sent Richard Gynge clean through with Scrivens, and he beat the goalie through the five-hole to double the lead. Considering that Salavat Yulaev had dominated the opening stanza, outshooting Traktor 13-7 and spending almost twice as long on the attack, the turnaround was sudden and stunning. Salavat Yulaev tried to respond, and put together an impressive shift in the Traktor zone, but still found itself giving up the next goal of the game after Linus Videll won his face-off and Alexander Shinin smashed the puck home. That was the end of Scrivens’ evening; the Canadian was replaced by Andrei Kareyev. A power play goal from Philip Larsen gave Salavat Yulaev some hope of recovering the situation – the Dane reduced the arrears shortly after the midway point in the game. But it did not take long for Traktor to snuff out a potential recovery. The visitor contributed to its own downfall, with Grigory Panin taking a minor penalty for boarding, and Alexei Kruchinin duly converted the power play to make it 4-1. Barely 20 seconds later, Kareyev was beaten again after a wonderful pass from Alexander Rybakov handed Semyon Kokuyov a gift-wrapped opportunity to add the fifth. When Nick Bailen made it 6-1, Kareyev had in the space of a few minutes conceded as many goals as Scrivens allowed in half an hour. It was one of those nights for Ufa, and the feeling that nothing was going right was only reinforced when the visitor had a goal ruled out after the video revealed a kicking motion on the play.
The game was beyond doubt, but Traktor still found time to add a sixth goal through Rybakov. His strike with 10 minutes left wrapped up an impressive victory and also tied in with one of the themes of the evening – the end of several extended streaks without goals for Traktor players. Rybakov scored for the first time in 21 games, Chernikov and Kokuyov returned to the scoresheet after 17-game absences. For Shinin, meanwhile, the drought dated back to September 2013 – 182 games ago! If playoff success is all about hitting form at the right time, this group of Traktor players might be doing exactly that.
The series now goes back to Ufa on Tuesday for the final, decisive seventh game. For Salavat Yulaev, it’s a second game seven showdown this year after going the distance against Avangard in the opening round. Meanwhile, in Kazan, Ak Bars awaits its opponent in the Eastern Conference Final.
Game 7 - March 27 - Salavat Yualev v Traktor 1-2
Traktor advances to the Eastern Conference final after edging Salavat Yulaev 2-1 in this game seven showdown in Ufa. The Chelyabinsk team got the verdict despite falling behind, with goals from Swedish duo Richard Gynge and Linus Videll turning the game around and setting up a match-up against Ak Bars as the race for the Gagarin Cup draws ever closer to its conclusion. There was another big performance from goalie Pavel Francouz, who made 35 saves in the game. The Czech international sat out games four and five of this series after Salavat Yulaev moved in front early on. But he returned for Sunday’s 7-1 victory in Chelyabinsk and kept his place in Tuesday’s decider, where his experience proved invaluable in such a tight game.
Initially, though, the home team looked to be on the right track to win its second game seven this year. Salavat Yulaev, placed second in the conference in regular season, already had a taste of a winner-takes-all showdown in the previous round against Avangard. Moreover, the Ufa team had the incentive of setting up another playoff showdown against Ak Bars, setting up another edition of the fabled ‘Green Derby’ that so inspires both clubs. So, for big-game players like Linus Omark, the stage was set … and he did not disappoint. Thirteen minutes into the first period, the Swedish international produced one of the goals of this season’s playoffs. He began by collecting the puck deep in his own zone after Artyom Penkovsky got caught in possession. Then he was off, burning past Artyom Borodkin in centre ice before tying Konstantin Klimontov in knots and firing a shot past Francouz. A big goal for a big occasion, but not enough to win it this time. That’s because Traktor’s own Swedes found the answer. The home team had enjoyed the better of the opening period, but the visitor tied the game in the 19^th minute. Gynge got the goal, but it was all about Nick Bailen’s assist. The defenseman produced something that looked suspiciously like a no-look pass from blue line to blue line to release Gynge; the Swede won his duel with Ben Scrivens and Salavat’s claims of offside proved to be unfounded.
The game-winner came late in the middle frame. Grigory Panin was sitting it out in the box as Traktor found the way to goal; Gynge produced a fine pass to bypass Philip Larsen on the slot and find Videll at the back door; Scrivens had no chance and the team from ‘Tankograd’ had a precious lead. Salavat Yulaev threw everything into the final frame, with Traktor pinned into its own zone for long periods. However, the visitor produced a highly disciplined display, staying out of the box and working hard to keep Erkka Westerlund’s team at arm’s length. There were still chances: Francouz denied Omark on three occasions as the Hartikainen-Kemppainen-Omark axis provided a constant threat. But the host’s efforts fell short; Traktor clinched the game and the series – and now claims an unusual record. The Chelyabinsk team is the only one never to have lost a game seven encounter in the KHL.
The Gagarin Cup race is now down to four teams: SKA and CSKA in the West, Ak Bars and Traktor in the East. In Petersburg, meanwhile, four teams in total have reached the last four of the leading Russian competitions: SKA in the KHL, SKA-1946 in the MHL youth league, and Dynamo and SKA-Neva in the second-tier VHL.