Ak Bars avenges Green derby loss, Torpedo withstands Minsk comeback. Sep 24 round-up

The second Green derby of the season saw Salavat Yulaev produce another fightback against Ak Bars. This time, though, it was not enough to turn the game around as Kazan got revenge for its defeat 10 days earlier. In Sunday’s other game, Dinamo Minsk also produced an unsuccessful fightback. The Bison came from 0-3 to tie Torpedo at 3-3 – but only for eight seconds before Daniil Bokun restored the visitor’s lead.

Ak Bars survives Ufa fightback

Ak Bars Kazan 4 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 2 (1-0, 2-0, 1-2)

Ten days ago these old rivals contested the season’s first Green Derby in Ufa. On that occasion Ak Bars raced into a two-goal lead, only to drop a 2-3 verdict. Today, in Kazan, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s team again took an early lead. This time, though, it managed to finish the job and climb to second in the Eastern Conference.

The opening goal came in the fourth minute as Ak Bars converted the first power play of the game. Stanislav Galiyev, who scored his team’s second goal in Ufa, was on target here. He finished off a well-worked play with an excellent shot from the face-off circle after the home team created several presentable chances with that man advantage.

It took time for Salavat Yulaev to get into the game after a slow start. Ak Bars looked the more threatening team in the first 10 minutes or so, but gradually the visitor began to flex. Alexei Pustozyorov gave Timur Bilyalov his first serious test in the 13^th minute and subsequently the home goalie found himself rather more active.

However, Ufa could not take advantage of its first power play, which straddled the first intermission. And when Pavel Koledov went to the box, the home PP took control of the play. Even after Koledov came back into the game, Ak Bars’ momentum meant that Kirill Petrov doubled the lead in the 27^th minute. Ilya Safonov played a big role in winning back possession before Petrov scored, and the home center made it 3-0 a couple of minutes later. This time, an ill-judged stretch pass saw Alexander Radulov turn the play around. The captain released 21-year-old Maxim Bykov, whose slick no-look feed enabled the on-rushing Safonov to find the net.

If Salavat Yulaev was to repeat its fightback, it needed a fast start to the third period. A penalty for Kirill Adamchuk seconds before the intermission gave the visitor the springboard it sought, and leading scorer Vyacheslav Leshchenko converted the chance to give Ufa hope.

Hope became belief soon afterwards when Dinar Khafizullin made it 2-3. Once again, Ak Bars contributed to its problems: a too many men penalty invited Ufa to attack and Khafizullin, who failed to score last season with Ak Bars, potted his first goal since the 2022 playoffs to put his former club under pressure.

There were chances for Salavat to tie the game, with Leshchenko in particular having a couple of good opportunities to make it 3-3. But Ak Bars held on and secured the win with a counterattack in the closing stages. Konstantin Luchevnikov fed a diagonal pass for Nikita Yevseyev, who fired home from a tight angle to make it 4-2 and settle the outcome.

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Bokun shoots down hometown team

Dinamo Minsk 3 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 4 (0-2, 1-1, 2-1)

As in Kazan, so in Minsk. Torpedo followed Ak Bars’ example by opening a three-goal lead, then Dinamo hit back to make things uncomfortable for Igor Larionov’s team.

The Bison ran into trouble late in the first period when a couple of quick penalties saw Torpedo jump to 2-0 on power play goals from Maxim Letunov and Vasily Atanasov. Midway through the second period, Nikolai Kovalenko added a third, this time short-handed, and it seemed that the visitor would be moving to within a point of Western Conference leader Dynamo Moscow.

However, the excitement was only beginning. Arseny Brinkman pulled one back for Dinamo before the second intermission – new signing Vyacheslav Osnovin’s assist brought his first point for his new club. Then Nick Merkley tied the scores on the power play early in the third.

On 48:21, Roman Gorbunov made it 3-3 – Osnovin involved again – and Dinamo seemed poised to go on and complete the fightback by winning the game. However, Torpedo responded immediately: eight seconds later Daniil Bokun’s first of the season restored the visitor’s lead and deflated the volatile atmosphere in the arena. Ironically, Bokun is a Minsk native and the defenseman spent a couple of seasons on the fringes of the Dinamo team before establishing himself in the KHL with Torpedo last term.

That goal proved decisive: for all Dinamo dominated the third period it could not find a way past sometime Belarusian international goalie Ivan Kulbakov in the closing stages.