Lisovets grabs OT winner for Admiral. March 20 playoffs
Stellar goaltending from Nikita Serebryakov and an overtime winner by Evgeny Lisovets put Admiral right back into its series against Ak Bars.
Admiral Vladivostok 1 Ak Bars Kazan 0 OT (0-0, 0-0, 0-0, 1-0)
(Ak Bars leads the series 2-1)
It was a long wait for a second-round playoff game to come to Vladivostok – and an even longer one for a goal. Admiral’s first Conference semi-final action on home ice turned into a goaltending masterclass as the Sailors held Ak Bars to 0-0 over 60 minutes.
But when the deadlock was broken at last, it brought delight for the home fans. Evgeny Lisovets grabbed winner in the 74th minute, refloating Admiral’s hopes of pulling off another playoff sensation in this series. The 28-year-old Belarusian defenseman is better known as a stay-at-home type, with just 29 goals in 457 KHL games before today. However, few of his forward forays have been as significant as this one. Lisovets had seen one slapshot beaten away, but Admiral regained possession and Rudolf Cerveny got the puck back to his team-mate at the top of the right-hand circle. This time, a wrister zinged through traffic, flashing inside Timur Bilyalov’s near post to win the game and keep up the pressure on an Ak Bars team that has not looked at its best in this series to date.
The Eastern Conference top seed headed to the Pacific coast with a 2-0 lead in this series. However, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s star-studded line-up did not have things entirely its own way in Kazan. In game one, Admiral rallied from 0-2 to tie the game before losing to a third-period goal. Then on Saturday it was another one-goal verdict as Ak Bars edged a 2-1 scoreline. Heading out on the road, Bilyaletdinov again warned his players against complacency and reminded them that the team’s success depended on the contribution of every individual.
For Leonids Tambijevs, behind the Admiral bench, getting to this stage went beyond his own expectations. He admitted that he didn’t really imagine his team would beat Salavat Yulaev in the first round. Admiral has had criticism for its style of play this season, but Tambijevs has taken a decidedly non-stellar roster and established a system that makes it competitive night after night against all-comers.
That system is built on miserly defense. Today, it worked perfectly. Throughout regulation, the Sailors made it tough for Ak Bars to generate chances, and Nikita Serebryakov continued his impressive form in goal to stop the shots that came his way. True, there was little evidence of an attacking threat from Admiral either: after an early odd-man rush came to naught, the Ak Bars defense faced a routine time in the first period. But restricting a powerful visiting offense to eight shots on goal in that opening frame sums up why the Sailors are still in this contest.
It took until the middle of the second period for Ak Bars to pose a serious threat. Daniil Gutik’s double minor for hooking was the catalyst for a rare spell of sustained pressure on Serebryakov’s net. There were good power play chances for Stanislav Galiyev, Alexander Radulov, Ilya Safonov and Slava Voynov, but the home goalie denied them all to keep the teams deadlocked.
Things changed in the third period, with Admiral showing far more attacking intent. The home team, unusually, outshot its opponent 21-10 in the session. Bilyalov had to be alert with a double save to deny Pavel Shen and Libor Sulak early on in the frame. Later, on the power play, Daniil Faizullin found space in front of the net, but none of his three attempts got past the visiting goalie.
The pressure continued at the start of overtime, with Sulak again testing Bilyalov before Colby Williams fired against the post from the rebound. However, Ak Bars gradually assumed control in the extras and forced Serebryakov to make several more stops to keep the game tied. The home goalie finished with 48 saves on a memorable night for him when Lisovets fired in the winning goal at the other end.
