Ak Bars takes control

A first playoff shut-out for goalie Maxim Arefyev helped Ak Bars to a 4-0 win over Dinamo Minsk as this Gagarin Cup second round series moved to Kazan. The Tatars now lead the series 3-0.

Arefyev backstops vital win in Kazan

Ak Bars Kazan 4 Dinamo Minsk 0 (1-0, 3-0, 0-0)
Ak Bars leads the series 3-0

Everything in this series is going Ak Bars’ way. Anvar Gatiyatulin’s team produced another display of clinical finishing, coupled with some great goaltending from Maxim Arefyev, to claim a big win over Dinamo.

But the scoreline does not tell the whole story of a game in which the visitor once again had chances – particularly in the first period – but could not take advantage.

That opening frame arguably saw the Belarusians enjoy the better of the game in most components. Dmitry Kvartalnov, hoping to begin a fightback in a series against the club he coached until 2023, saw his men take the game to Ak Bars and outshoot the host 14-9.

However, Bilyalov was impregnable. At the other end, the home team made the most of its chances and got in front in the 15th minute. Mitch Miller’s shot from the center point caused confusion in front of Zach Fucale, and Alexander Barabanov nipped in to poach his second goal in as many games.

Before that Arefyev, preferred to Timur Bilyalov for only the second time in these playoffs, had a busy start to the evening as Dinamo applied the early pressure. The goalie’s best moment came in the eighth minute when he read Vitaly Pinchuk’s attempted redirect on a Ty Smith shot and denied the Bison the lead.

After the intermission, though, Dinamo ran out of steam. Yegor Borikov was assessed the first penalty of the game – and it took a video review to prevent Minsk going down to three skaters – and Ak Bars converted the power play with two seconds remaining. Dmitrij Jaskin got the goal, his shot deflecting off Alex Limoges’ skate as the Dinamo man tried to make the block.

Now the chances were coming to Ak Bars. Alexander Chmelevski got clean through but lost control of the puck as he prepared his shot, then he and Nathan Todd tested Fucale in quick succession. Just as it seemed that the visitor had weathered the storm and would make it to the intermission at 0-2, the home team added a third. Arefyev was quick off his crease to launch another attack and this one ended with defenseman Nikita Lyamkin getting forward to touch home Todd’s set up. Lyamkin’s first playoff goal of the season extended his hot streak to seven games (1+7 points).

Soon after, Lyamkin went to the penalty box. Kvartalnov responded by calling Fucale to the bench and playing with six skaters in a bid to end the period on a positive note. But his team was out of tune: spluttering on offense, Dinamo coughed up the puck and Kirill Semyonov found the empty net from his own blue line to make it 4-0.

There was no way back from that. Vasily Demchenko replaced Fucale for the third period, and Dinamo reverted to its attacking play of the opening exchanges. But Arefyev made 15 more saves, finishing with 37 stops and a first playoff shut-out for the 22-year-old. It all added up to a convincing win for Ak Bars, which can now wrap up this series on home ice in just four games – confounding those who expected a battle to the finish between these rivals.