Kazan power play makes the difference. March 16 playoffs
Eastern conference top seed Ak Bars took the opening game of its series against underdog Admiral. However, the home team had to rely on power play goals to break down a stubborn opponent and claim a 3-2 verdict.
Ak Bars Kazan 3 Admiral Vladivostok 2 (2-0, 0-2, 1-0)
(Ak Bars leads the series 1-0)
On paper, this series looks like a mismatch. Ak Bars is the team with all the playoff pedigree, the roster studded with star names. Admiral, by contrast, has a roster of unheralded players, a club that has never before reached the second round of the playoffs. However, that did not stop the visitor from posing plenty of problems for the top seed in this opening game.
In the first period, everything looked to be going according to the script. Ak Bars took control of the play and the pressure told on Admiral. The visitor ran into penalty trouble, twice finding itself reduced to three skaters. That was too good for the home team to resist, and two power play tallies separated the sides at the first intermission.
The opening goal, after 10 minutes, was credited to Alexander Radulov. However, it was largely down to Stanislav Galiyev, whose wrist shot bounced into the net off his team-mate’s skate. Then, in the final minute of the period, Galiyev got his goal. It took a moment for the officials to realize that his one-timer off Vadim Shipachyov’s cross-ice feed bounced back into play from the back of the net and not the crossbar, but once the action was reviewed the goal was given.
Up 2-0 at the first break, Ak Bars could be forgiven for feeling confident. The home team had enjoyed the better of the play in the opening frame and was good value for its lead. However, as Salavat Yulaev found in the first round, Admiral is not a team that gives up easily. In the middle frame, the Sailors turned things around. The visitor got a boost with a power play early in the session and quickly punished Kirill Panyukov’s slashing offense. Admiral’s imports combined, with Michal Kristof playing the puck out from the corner to Libor Sulak, who fired home from a central position in the deep slot.
That gave Admiral a valuable foothold in the game, and midway through the session Nikolajs Jelisejevs tied the score. The Latvian got the slot in support of Daniil Gutik’s rush down the right wing and managed to force the puck home despite the attentions of the opposing defense.
With the scores level, the third period promised both intrigue and caution. Neither team wanted to give up a cheap goal, and there was an emphasis on cutting out the errors and minimizing risk. However, of course, somebody had to take the initiative and find a way to settle the outcome. The key moment came when Artyom Gareyev took a penalty for the visitor. Once again, the Ak Bars power play did its job, scoring for the third time and restoring the team’s lead. The home offense generated plenty of traffic in front of Nikita Serebryakov, and that helped Nikita Lyamkin to fire home the go-ahead goal.
Now Admiral had to attack. The best chances came on a power play midway through the final frame, with Timur Bilyalov doing well to deny first Jelisejevs, then Nikolai Chebykin. In the closing stages, the Sailors launched a fusillade of shots at the home net, but Bilyalov made 19 saves in the period to keep his goal intact. That was just enough for Ak Bars to get the opening win over the line, but Admiral will feel it showed enough to make this series competitive.
