Sannikov strike sinks former colleagues. March 2 playoffs
A tight encounter in Ufa saw Salavat Yulaev eke out a narrow victory over a spirited Sibir in the opening game of this Eastern Conference first round clash.
Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 Sibir Novosibirsk 1 (1-1, 1-0, 0-0)
(Salavat Yulaev leads the series 1-0)
After twice losing to Sibir in the regular season, Salavat Yulaev began this post-season battle with a victory – but it was a hard-fought affair in Ufa.
Sibir, as usual this season, deployed its preferred counter-attacking style and that delivered a result early on. There were just three minutes played when solid backchecking behind its own net enabled the visiting defense to launch an odd-man rush. Alexander Sharov, who recently signed a contract extension with the club, thundered a shot against the piping and the rebound broke for Anton Shenfeld to open the scoring.
That lead was quickly cancelled out. Just 38 seconds later, Salavat Yulaev got the puck past Olympic champion goaltender Harri Sateri to make it 1-1. Pavel Koledov’s point shot bounced dangerously around the crease, Sergei Shmelyov went close and Nikolai Kulemin finished off from close range.
Few had expected a glut of goals in this series and, after that fast start, the pace returned to what was anticipated. The battle was uncompromising, and scoring chances at a premium, but the home team steadily asserted its dominance. By the end of the first period, Ufa led the shot count 12-6 and had far more time on the attack.
Early in the second session, that pressure was converted into a lead. Evgeny Biryukov, who today became the first player to feature in all 14 KHL playoffs to date, fired in a point shot and Stepan Sannikov got the touch that took the puck beyond Sateri.
As the game progressed, Sibir needed to think beyond its cautious play on the counter and seek more time in the Salavat zone. In the remainder of the game, the visitor managed to more or less draw level with Ufa in terms of time on offense, and the game finished with an equal number of shots on goal (30-30). However, Juha Metsola was able to deal with everything that came his way and Salavat Yulaev edged a narrow victory to claim the early initiative in this Eastern Conference series.
