Yashkin as the 'x-factor': Kazan’s Ak Bars impressively sweeps Avangard in Omsk

A very important match for Ak Bars

For Ak Bars, the match against Avangard was important for several reasons. First and foremost, of course, the tournament positioning of the teams mattered. The Omsk team had pulled seven points ahead of the 'Bars' with an equal number of games played. In case of defeat, the gap would have become a catastrophe. Making up nine points in the remaining 12 games would have been incredibly difficult. Especially in competition with such a 'hot' team.

Indeed, Avangard entered the latest face-off with the Kazan team on the back of ten wins in their last 11 championship games. Guy Boucher's team had launched a real chase after the leader of the entire Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), Metallurg.

Secondly, Ak Bars had their own scores to settle with the 'Hawks'. The upcoming meeting was to be the fourth and final head-to-head match of the current regular season for the teams. The advantage in the mini-series was with Omsk — Kazan won in Omsk 2:1, while Avangard won twice in Kazan (6:1 and 2:1).

The third reason was that Gatiyatulin's charges needed to solidify their winning momentum. The victory over Torpedo (4:3 OT) in Kazan was hard-fought but extremely necessary for the team. That success interrupted the Kazan team's unfortunate streak of four losses in five matches. Losing to Avangard now would have meant that the crisis had not gone away and they would have to start over.

An hour before the match in Omsk, it became known that Mikhail Fisenko was returning to the lineup. The forward had recovered from an injury and took to the ice in an official game for the first time in a long time. He was slated to play on a line with Dmitry Yashkin and Grigory Denisenko. Being the center forward for two highly paid wingers is a difficult task. Fisenko was tasked not just with centering, but with trying to 'revive' his line mates, who had been struggling. Looking ahead, the experienced forward handled his job well.

Ak Bars scored in special teams

In the first period, the teams played very energetic hockey, packing a clean 20 minutes of game time into half an hour. During this stretch, the goaltenders were the most active; Timur Bilyalov and Nikita Serebryakov worked harder than anyone else. The opponents also traded penalties. Unlike Omsk, Ak Bars capitalized on their power play opportunity. Midway through the period, Yashkin deflected the puck into the net following a give-and-go between Alexey Pustozyorov and Semyonov — 1:0 in favor of Kazan.

However, by the middle of the game, Avangard was already leading. First, Mikhail Kotlyarevsky scored at even strength, and then Andrei Poturalski scored on the power play. Moreover, the hosts' second goal came during a 5-on-3 advantage. Immediately, Ak Bars responded with a shorthanded goal — Dmitry Katelyovsky and Nikita Dynyak broke away on a counterattack, and the latter beat Serebryakov — 2:2.

Towards the end of the second period, passions flared significantly. In almost every instance after the whistle, players started minor skirmishes. In one of them, Michael McLeod earned himself a two-minute penalty by showering Bilyalov with ice shavings at the end of a play. The Ak Bars players stood up for their goalie and gave the Omsk Canadian his due. However, it would have been better if they had capitalized on the resulting power play, which passed without any serious danger to Serebryakov's net.

Power play as a chance to catch a breath

At the start of the third period, Ak Bars began to struggle keeping up with the hosts' fast players. Omsk played with a noticeable advantage right up until their next penalty. The subsequent two minutes were played by the 'Bars' without enthusiasm. It looked like an attempt to catch their breath, taking advantage of Avangard being shorthanded.

Whatever it was, this tactic worked 100 percent. Back at even strength, Nikita Lyamkin put Ak Bars ahead with a precise shot — 3:2. Then Mitchell Miller, with an assist from Yashkin, sent the puck into the net — 4:2.

With five minutes left until the siren, Guy Boucher pulled the goalie, sending out a sixth skater. The move was risky but logical — Ak Bars was shorthanded after a penalty to Alexander Barabanov. However, it was Kazan that scored again. Grigory Denisenko, with an assist from Yashkin, sent the puck into the empty net — 5:2.

'No practice can replace a game'

Despite the final result, the victory was hard-earned for Ak Bars. Crucial for Kazan were the actions of the third forward line, as well as the confident play of goaltender Bilyalov. Yashkin was particularly active, scoring for the first time since December 10th. These two factors neutralized Avangard's noticeable advantage, especially in terms of speed — in movement and aggression, Omsk were much better than the 'Bars'.

Gatiyatulin spoke about this after the match. The coach said that even before the game they had kept in mind potential problems with game rhythm. The uneven schedule, where Ak Bars has huge gaps in their fixture list in February, prevents the team from maintaining the necessary pace throughout all three periods. This time, the 'Bars' managed and gritted their teeth to secure the vital victory.

— It was important to start with full concentration; we had only played one match in two weeks, today was the second. So there were concerns that we had fallen out of the game rhythm. But we structured the process to compensate for those pauses. The guys did well, they came out charged for the battle from the first shifts, understanding the opponent we were up against, that there would be a lot of fighting. Lately, we've had many pauses, and no practice can replace a game. It was important during these pauses to structure the process so that they wouldn't affect our hockey. Some things worked, some didn't, but we see that the guys are preparing correctly and reacting to the previous matches, — said Gatiyatulin.

Avangard — Ak Bars — 2:5 (0:1, 2:1, 0:3)
Goals:
0:1 — Yashkin (Semyonov, Pustozyorov, 09:42, PP);
1:1 — Kotlyarevsky (Martynov, Igumnov, 25:09);
2:1 — Poturalski (Lažja, Okulov, 29:26, 2x PP);
2:2 — Dynyak (Katelyovsky, 30:33, SH);
2:3 — Lyamkin (Khmelevsky, Todd, 50:42);
2:4 — Miller (Yashkin, Denisenko, 51:19);
2:5 — Denisenko (Yashkin, Fisenko, 59:53, EN).

Going forward, there are no major gaps scheduled in Kazan's calendar. Ak Bars will play their next match on February 19th in Tolyatti against Lada at 6:00 PM Moscow time. The day after, the team will play in Nizhny Novgorod against Torpedo, and then briefly return to Kazan. Before the end of the regular championship, the 'Bars' have only 12 games left.