Avangard dumps out defending champ, Ak Bars and Avto set for game seven

Avangard is the first Eastern Conference team to advance to round two of the KHL playoffs. The Hawks won 3-2 at home to Metallurg, withstanding a third-period fightback to wrap up the series in six games. Ak Bars thrashed Avtomobilist 5-1 in Kazan, taking that series to game seven. 

Hawks advance to round two

Avangard Omsk 3 Metallurg Magnitogorsk 2 (0-0, 3-0, 0-2)

(Avangard wins the series 4-2)

After seeing a 3-0 lead cut to 3-2, Avangard wrapped its first-round series and ousted defending champion Metallurg from contention. A strong second period made the difference in Omsk, sending the Hawks through to round two.

Having lost two in a row, Guy Boucher reshuffled Avangard’s attacking lines. The most notable switch saw Ivan Igumnov promoted to center the second line, while Ryan Spooner dropped to the fourth. Defenseman Alex Grant also returned to the fray. Metallurg’s Andrei Razin brought forward Troy Josephs back into the team in place of defenseman Alexei Maklyukov.

The teams began cautiously, with both sides struggling to take the early initiative. Metallurg got the first power play but couldn’t take advantage, although Nikita Mikhailis hit the Avangard post after the home team returned to full strength. At the other end, Nail Yakupov thought he had the opening goal midway through the session, but a review established that he used his hand to score.

Avangard made a better start in the second period. The home team was able to get more time in the Metallurg zone but struggled to move the puck in from the perimeter and rarely tested Ilya Nabokov in the visitor’s net. But Magnitka’s careful defense was undone in the 27th minute when Mikhail Gulyayev burst into the zone, saw his first shot saved but picked up the rebound to make it 1-0. A couple of minutes later it was 2-0. Semyon Chistyakov shot from the blue line and Yakupov redirected it into the net.

Metallurg’s problems continued. Another unsuccessful power play came and went, then Valery Orekhov’s misplaced clearance presented the puck to Nikolai Prokhorkin. Nabokov stopped Prokhorkin’s shot but Yakupov collected the rebound off the back boards and claimed his second of the game. Inspired, the home team kept going and had chances to further pad its lead before the second intermission.

However, Metallurg held on and kept its hopes alive going into the third period. In the fifth minute of the session, Roman Kantserov brought the puck into the Omsk zone, dropped it off for Dmitry Silantyev and saw his team-mate grab a vital goal. And pressure forced an error from Damir Sharipzyanov, whose high stick led to a double minor penalty. Avangard killed the first penalty, but Danila Yurov converted the second power play to make it a one-goal game.

Metallurg stepped up its attacking effort, Avangard relied on the counter. Konstantin Okulov might have settled it, but failed from a good position. It remained open until the last. Razin called a time out on 57:17 and sent a sixth skater into the game in place of Nabokov. Then Mike McLeod was assessed a hooking penalty to leave the Hawks two men short for the final minute. But the host held on to claim the verdict and advance to the next round.

O’Dell double in big win for Ak Bars

Ak Bars Kazan 5 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 1 (4-0, 1-0, 0-1)

(Series tied at 3-3)

Ak Bars shrugged off the pressure of a must-win game, powering to a 4-0 lead in the first period and securing a win to tie this Gagarin Cup first round series. Two goals from Eric O’Dell put the seal on an emphatic win – and maybe point to a return in form for the Canadian who has struggled this season both in Kazan and with Dynamo Moscow.

Before O’Dell applied the finished touches, Ak Bars powered to a three-goal lead inside five minutes. The opener came on 2:22, Nikita Dynyak firing in a wrister that Evgeny Alikin couldn’t hold. The visiting goalie eventually got his glove on top of the puck, but a video review concluded that he stopped it after it had crossed the line.

A minute later, it was 2-0. Mitch Miller powered home a wrist shot after Kirill Semyonov’s face-off win. And on 4:55 Alexander Barabanov added a third to chase Alikin from the game. Artyom Galimov was the architect, drawing three opponents towards before dropping the puck behind him onto the slot for Barabanov to shoot home.

After that, Vladimir Galkin took over in the Avtomoblist net and the visitor tried to begin a repair job with a time-out. However, much like game four, which also ended in a comprehensive home win for Ak Bars, there was little the Motormen could do to change gear.

The 13th minute saw O’Dell make it 4-0. He took possession in center ice and advanced to beat his marker and wire a shot past Galkin. Shell-shocked, Avtomobilist failed to make much of the first power play of the game and the four-goal lead held to the intermission.

In the second period, the tempo dropped a little. It was hard to see a way back for the visitor and Ak Bars was content to let the action develop into a battle in center ice rather than risk getting caught up in a goalfest. Nonetheless, the home team extended its lead a little after halfway when O’Dell potted his second of the game. Previously, he had just two goals in 27 games since joining Ak Bars from Dynamo Moscow.

For much of the game, Avtomobilist’s offense struggled to get shots on target. All to often, attempts went wide of Timur Bilyalov’s net. That pattern continued in the third period, but finally the visitor managed a consolation effort through Danil Romantsev in the 58th minute. It was far too late to change the course of the game, but might offer a lift for Nikolai Zavarukhin’s men before Monday’s decider at the UGMK Arena.