Playoff preview: Traktor – Neftekhimik
Before the start of the playoffs, KHL.ru presents a preview of the Gagarin Cup’s first-round pairings. Today the talk is about the clash between Traktor and Neftekhimik, the second and seventh seeds in the East.
The rivals played three games in the regular season – Traktor won 3:1 on the road, while Neftekhimik won both at home (4:2) and in Chelyabinsk (1:0). The Southern Urals franchise had a very consistent regular season and was in fact Metallurg’s only real contender for first place in the league’s standings. Traktor played one more game than Magnitka and lost once more, which is why they finished in second place. Interestingly enough, they were deprived of the Eastern Conference’s leadership by Neftekhimik, with a 4:2 win in Nizhnekamsk on Jan 12.
The Wolves themselves successfully met their goal of getting to the playoffs, although at times the fans were worried, with five losses in a row in October and six straight between November and December. However, Neftekhimik has also shown an excellent game against contenders. Other than the mentioned wins over Traktor, the Wolves also defeated Avangard (2:1 OT), Dynamo Moscow (4:3 SO), and Lokomotiv (2:1 OT). The Nizhnekamsk club secured their place in East’s top eight largely thanks to excellent showings against their direct opponents – they defeated twice Kunlun Red Star and Amur, three times Admiral, and once also Avtomobilist.
The coaching duel between Anvar Gatiyatulin and Oleg Leontyev looks exciting. Especially with the caveat that in the 2017-2018 season Traktor was also managed by Gatiyatulin, and the Chelyabinsk franchise defeated Neftekhimik 4:1 in the first round. Nizhnekamsk took home a game thanks to a tally by Ilya Arkalov. Since then, the teams’ lineups have changed considerably, but both teams still have players who took part in that series. Vitaly Kravtsov scored his first points in the playoffs (3+1 in five games) for Traktor, and Nick Bailen scored once as well. Dan Sexton, Pavel Poryadin, Marat Khairullin, Rafael Bikmullin, and Bulat Shafigullin appeared for Neftekhimik. Andrei Nazarov put the first one on injured reserve after two games without points and a minus-6 differential, while the other four were too young to lead the team. They had bright moments, however – like Khairullin’s goal with an assist from Bikmullin in the winning home game, or Poryadin’s goal in Game 5. And emotions were high: in the first game in Nizhnekamsk, the teams combined for 249 penalty minutes.
In the pause before the 2021-2022 playoffs, both Gatiyatulin and Leontiev had to do without their leaders. The only difference is that Neftekhimik had three players at the Olympics – Ronald Knot, Lukas Klok, and Frans Tuohimaa, while Traktor delegated five players to the Czech Republic (3) and Russia (2). The confrontation between the Czechs – Neftekhimik’s blueliners and Traktor’s forwards, who played together for the national team – is another intrigue of the upcoming series. It will also be interesting to see how Tuohimaa, who returned to Nizhnekamsk as an Olympic champion, will perform.
Neftekhimik played an exhibition against Salavat Yulaev (0:3) and took part in the Tournament on the break, where they had a huge comeback against Severstal (5-4 OT) and lost to Lokomotiv (1:2) and Ak Bars (2:6). Leontiev’s team has two more friendlies with their neighbors from Kazan ahead (Feb 24 and 25).
Traktor is limited to two exhibitions against Metallurg, the first on Feb 20, with Chelyabinsk achieving a shootout victory (3-2), the second will be held on Feb 25 in Magnitogorsk.
Speaking of personalities, Neftekhimik, in addition to the effective Czechs on defense, also saw a breakout season from Khairullin and Poryadin – it will largely depend on them whether the team will be able to put up a fight against the conference’s second seed. The first was Neftekhimik’s top scorer in the regular season (17+15 in 46 games), while the second produced 20 (6+14) points in 47 games. Vyacheslav Leshchenko fit in great with 9 (8+1) points in his last ten games. Evgeny Mityakin, Ansel Galimov, and Sexton, will be responsible for experience on the roster. Galimov, by the way, played in the Gagarin Cup finals with Avangard in the 2018-2019 season.
Another player worth following is Nikita Tertyshny. He had a fantastic showing in the regular season, with 22 goals in 49 games and a place in the top five snipers in the League, as well as the third overall place in goals differential, tied with Tomas Hyka (+21).
On paper, Traktor looks the favorite – an experienced coach who has already led his team to the conference finals and a stellar roster in which any offensive unit can score. Neftekhimik, led by a debutant coach in Leontyev, will try to find the keys to their opponent through maximum dedication, discipline, and character. And even more so, because in the history of sports, there are so many examples when discipline imposed itself over pure class.
The series Traktor – Neftekhimik plays on Mar 1, 3, 5, 7 and, if necessary, on Mar 9, 11, and 13.
