Dynamo demolishes Ak Bars, reaches first SF since 2013

A 6-1 win in Kazan saw Dynamo Moscow power past Ak Bars into the semi-finals of the 2025 Gagarin Cup. It’s the Blue-and-Whites’ best run since winning it all in 2013, while Anvar Gatiyatulin will take Ak Bars no further in his first season as head coach.

Comtois shoots Dynamo into semi-final

Ak Bars Kazan 1 Dynamo Moscow 6 (0-2, 0-2,1-2)

(Dynamo wins the series 4-2)

A hat-trick from Max Comtois saw Dynamo comfortably defeat Ak Bars to wrap up this second-round series in game six. The visitor opened a 2-0 lead in the first and eventually romped to a 6-1 success.

The score in this final game was somewhat out of keeping with a series that has generally been tight. Even when the Muscovites reeled off three successive victories to move in front in the contest, the margins were down to a stronger power play and better finishing.

It wasn’t the first time Ak Bars found itself on the brink of elimination this year: the team came back from 2-3 to beat Avtomobilist in the first round. In a bid to repeat, Gatiyatulin made changes. Amir Miftakhov continued in goal after replacing Timur Bilyalov during the previous game. Daniil Zhuravlyov came into the defense in place of Artemy Knyazev, while some new offensive line-ups put Semyon Koshelev on the second line with Kirill Semyonov and Dmitrij Jaskin. Dynamo was unchanged as it sought to continue a winning streak.

While the first goal in a playoff game is always important, for Ak Bars it seems to be an even bigger deal. In 11 of the 12 team’s most recent playoff outings, the winner was the team that opened the scoring. So allowing Dynamo to score with almost its first shot was a major blow: Jordan Weal used his body to hold off the defense, battled to the slot and scooped a backhand shot to the top shelf. Then another key feature of the series – the Dynamo power play – kicked in. The scoresheet recorded Maxim Dzhioshvili’s goal as an equal-strength tally but in reality Koshelev had barely set foot on the ice at the end of his penalty.

As a result of those two early goals, Miftakhov was replaced by Bilyalov inside 10 minutes. Action from the bench was inevitable, with the team reeling after that shock, but there was little attacking threat from the home team until late in the opening frame. Artyom Galimov had a decent look just before the intermission but his shot was not impressive and Vladislav Podyapolsky made a comfortable save.

In the second period, Podyapolsky had a harder time of it. Galimov, Ilya Safronov and Nikita Dynyak all had chances, although the first home power play of the game was underwhelming.

Dynamo also created chances, and the visitor extended its lead when a wayward pass from Galimov saw the home forward drawn into taking a penalty. The power play lasted a matter of seconds: Dzhioshvili distracted Bilyalov and Comtois finished with a well-placed wrister. With a three-goal lead, Dynamo defended well: Ak Bars could not get to the slot and Podyapolsky had little difficulty mopping up long-range efforts. And the visitor was threatening on the counter, with Artyom Ilyenko adding a fourth and drawing a penalty in the same play. The Muscovites could not convert the power play, but a 4-0 lead seemed to have the game safe.

Ak Bars got a very timely power play at the start of the third. Gatiyatulin went for broke and swapped Bilyalov with a sixth skater. The home team was dictating the play around Podyapolsky’s net until Eric O’Dell committed a foul and cancelled out the power play. Once both teams were back to full strength, Bilyalov misjudged a straightforward Comtois effort and Dynamo had a fifth.

There was a consolation effort for the home team when Mitch Miller struck in the 52nd minute, but the final word went to Dynamo and Comtois a couple of minutes later.

Dynamo now moves on to face Traktor in the semi-finals. Both teams have reason to hope for better than they experienced last season. Traktor got to the final four, only to be swept by Lokomotiv. On the way, though, the Chelyabinsk team handed Dynamo a 0-4 loss in the second round, giving both teams a point to prove when the action resumes next week.