Sensation in Chelyabinsk, rout in Ufa

Day two of the playoffs brought two contrasting games for the Eastern Conference contenders. Eighth-seed Admiral produced one of the biggest ever post-season shocks, winning 5-4 at table-topping Traktor. While that game was tight and tense, Salavat Yulaev’s win at home to Sibir was anything but: a rash of second-period penalties helped the host to a 7-0 verdict.

Sibir pays the penalty at rampant Salavat Yulaev

Salavat Yulaev Ufa 7 Sibir Novosibirsk 0 (1-0, 3-0, 3-0)

(Salavat Yulaev leads the series 1-0)

Viktor Kozlov’s Salavat Yulaev made a confident start to the 2025 Gagarin Cup. In recent seasons, Ufa has struggled to translate good regular season form into playoff progress, but Thursday’s opener at home to Sibir suggested that the team has learned from its issues in previous campaigns.

A convincing victory over Sibir in game one – achieved without a goal from record-breaking forward Josh Leivo – and an encouraging shut-out as Alexander Samonov stopped 22 shots.

For Sibir, back in the playoffs after missing out last season, this was a nightmare start. Vadim Yepanchintsev’s team ran into penalty trouble in the second period. Shorthanded, it was unable to live with Ufa’s powerful offense and suffered a chastening defeat.

Although Leivo didn’t add to his 49 regular season goals, he was active for the home offense. In the 10th minute, he set up Scott Wilson for a big chance that Denis Kostin padded away. Soon after that, Wilson sat for the first penalty of the game but Sibir did little with its power play.

The home team made the breakthrough in the 17th minute. Nathan Todd went around the net and sent the puck back to Alexei Vasilevsky on the blue line. With Leivo screening Kostin, the defenseman’s shot found the net and his goal separated the teams at the intermission.

In the middle frame, Salavat Yulaev took complete control. The game was still alive when Artyom Gorshkov potted the second goal in the 28th minute. After that, though, Sibir’s discipline evaporated. But from the 34th minute, a procession of penalties left the visitor reeling. Trevor Murphy’s visit to the box had no adverse consequence, but he had barely returned to action when Kostin and Nikita Korotkov gave Salavat a five-on-three power play. Alexander Chmelevski converted Leivo’s pass to make it 3-0 in the 37th minute.

The penalties kept coming: a double minor for Kirill Rasskazov and a 10-minute misconduct call on captain Sergei Shirokov ensured that Sibir remained under pressure. Despite an unlikely breakaway chance for Korotkov, Ufa added a fourth thanks to Sheldon Rempal; Kostin’s return to the bench felt like a mercy ruling.

Back at full strength early in the third, Sibir had a chance for at least a consolation goal. However, Samonov denied Brendan Leipsic and Salavat went on to pile up three more. Todd and Chemelevski scored on Anton Krasotkin within the space of a minute, then 19-year-old Artyom Nabiyev, in his first playoff game, made the final score 7-0 late on.

Sailors stun top seed Traktor

Traktor Chelyabinsk 4 Admiral Vladivostok 5 (0-2, 2-2, 2-1)

(Admiral leads the series 1-0)

Unfancied Admiral produced a huge shock at the start of its playoff campaign against Eastern Conference leader Traktor. The visitor finished its regular season in poor form, losing five in a row and ending with a dismal 2-7 loss to a Neftekhimik team already eliminated from the playoffs. By contrast, Traktor won seven of its last eight and finished 27 points ahead of the Sailors.

Yet Leonids Tambijevs’ team – absent from last season’s playoffs – made a spectacular start in 2025, scoring five in Chelyabinsk to upset Benoit Groulx’s highly fancied Traktor. Given that Admiral has won just one playoff series in its history, while Traktor has reached the last four on five occasions, today’s result also overturns the teams’ historical results in post season.

After resting key players in the closing week of the season, both teams were back to full strength here. That underlined Traktor’s claims as pre-game favorite, yet by the middle of the first period things were already going astray for the home team. Like several of yesterday’s seeds, Traktor soon found itself down by two.

In the third minute, a two-on-one counter saw Alexander Shevchenko open the scoring for the visitor. Midway through the session, from only Admiral’s third shot at Zach Fucale, Shane Prince doubled the lead. Although Traktor had the better of the play in the first 20 minutes, the scoreline at the intermission was firmly in the visitor’s favor.

And the home team’s problems did not stop there. At the start of the second period, two penalties in 60 seconds gave Admiral a five-on-three power play and Yegor Petukhov made it 3-0.

Belatedly, the home offense found its range. Ostap Safin pulled a goal back in the 28th minute, then Buddy Robinson came from the left wing to make it 2-3. With the game barely past the halfway mark, it felt like things were finally getting back to the script.

However, Admiral had no interest in allowing Traktor back into the game. Barely a minute after Robinson’s goal, Daniil Gutik restored the Sailors’ two-goal advantage, sending Fucale to the bench for Sergei Mylnikov. Traktor had a power play late in the middle frame, but could not close the gap before the intermission.

All too often, the host’s problems were self-inflicted. Too many penalties, too few of them inescapable. Admiral took advantage of another generously offered power play at the start of the third and Arkady Shestakov made it 5-2.

But then it was Admiral’s turn to take needless penalties. A power play for the visitor turned into a four-on-three advantage for the home team and a timely opportunity saw Vitaly Kravtsov made it 3-5 with a wrister from mid-range. That left 11 minutes to save the game and Traktor poured forward, pushing Admiral back into its own zone. The home defense got involved, with Sergei Telegin and Artyom Blazhievsky both having chances. With three minutes to play, Mylnikov returned to the bench and the six men of Chelyabinsk managed to get a fourth goal, Safin potting his second of the game. However, there was only a minute left to force overtime and the fightback ended at 4-5. Admiral celebrates a famous victory; Traktor has much to ponder ahead of game two on Saturday.