Pyanov wins it for Sibir in OT

Another day, another game goes deep into overtime. Sibir and Salavat Yulaev could not match Lokomotiv and CSKA for longevity, but it still took more than 100 minutes to separate these two in Novosibirsk.

Sibir Novosibirsk 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 1 3OT (0-0, 1-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)

(Salavat Yulaev leads the series 2-1)

Valentin Pyanov struck at the start of the third period of overtime to give Sibir a victory that breathes new life into this series.

After losing twice in Ufa, the Siberians returned to home ice knowing that victory was crucial if they were to entertain serious hopes of turning this series around. And, after a hard-fought clash, Sibir got the win when Pyanov got the vital touch on 103:06. The 30-year-old got his stick to a Michal Cajkovsky point shot and did enough to steer the puck away from Alexander Sharychenkov to claim his second goal in successive games.

The result was a reward for head coach Andrei Martemyanov, who switched up his roster after those losses in Ufa. Oleg Li returned to the forward line in place of Alexei Kruchinin, while there was a surprise call-up for young defenseman Timur Akhiyarov. The 22-year-old had just eight games for Sibir this season and no previous playoff experience, but he was brought into the team in place of the experienced Konstantin Alexeyev. Maybe Timur’s Ufa connections helped persuade the coaching staff to give him a chance against his hometown team.

The first period was a tense affair, with no goals and few chances. The best opportunity fell to the visitor when a turnover in center ice saw Alexander Kadeikin grab the puck and advance on Anton Krasotkin’s net. However, the goalie was alert to the danger and padded away a low shot.

After the break, the home team grabbed an early goal Yegor Alanov isn’t noted for his scoring prowess and, indeed, would probably not be on the team in this series were it not for the departure of Jyrki Jokipakka. However, the 21-year-old picked an opportune moment for his first playoff goal, firing home from the blue line off a Denis Golubev feed.

Midway through the period, it seemed that Sibir might face a major penalty, with Alexei Yakovlev charged with a foul on Stepan Sannikov. However, after a look at the video the officials commuted that to an interference minor. There was still an anxious moment to come for the home PK when Nikolai Kulemin found a gap in the defense and skated through on Krasotkin’s goal but, once again, the netminder had the answers.

Later in the frame, Sibir was close to extending its lead with a shorthanded goal. Korotkov won a foot race and got through on Alexander Sharychenkov’s net but could not beat the Salavat Yulaev goaltender.

If the home PK was performing strongly, the same could not be said of its power play. Sibir failed to capitalize on a pair of penalties in the first period and at the start of the third its attempts to cash in on a man advantage proved disastrous. Viktor Tikhonov fired a warning shot when he intercepted the puck and advanced on goal, only to be denied by Krasotkin’s glove. However, Sibir did not heed the warning and Dinar Khafizullin picked out Pyotr Khokhryakov with a stretch pass that enabled the forward to set up a second opportunity for Tikhonov. This time, the 2014 World Champion made no mistake and Salavat Yulaev tied the game.

As the third period went on, neither team was eager to risk anything. Ufa had the better of the play, finishing the session with an 8-1 advantage in shots, but the teams were deadlocked on the 60 minute mark to take us into the first overtime in this series.

For much of that session the teams cancelled each other out. Seconds before the hooter, Salavat Yulaev had the puck in Sibir’s net, but Viktor Antipin’s effort was ruled out following a video review. Earlier in the play, Grigory Panin launched himself into a dangerous hit on Denis Bodrov which saw him ejected from the game and the goal disallowed. Panin’s misdemeanor was rendered all the most costly by Pyanov’s eventual winner.