Playoffs around the corner

The only change taking place in Traktor’s lineup was Garnett replacing Demchenko in the net.

All three head-to-head games of this current regular season were won by Ak Bars, albeit two of them – just by a whisker (3:0, 3:2 SO, 2:1). However, Traktor is currently on a roll, having garnered twelve points in the last five games. Martin Ruzicka has been a beast lately, with the total of 8 points (4 G, 4 A) in the last few games. Team captain, Stanislav Chistov, scores in four consecutive games.

Ak Bars outmaneuvered Traktor in the early going as visitors controlled the puck in the attacking zone, at times picking up the pace and thus making Traktor defense sweat profusely in their attempts to avert the goal. Although Ak Bars had some chances, none of them were 100%, and Michael Garnett and company were able to put a stop to the attacking efforts of our visitors. Traktor chose to sting Ak Bars with counterattacks, in one of which Vyacheslav Osnovin got a power play chance for his team. The black-and-white could have scored twice during these two minutes, both times at the hands of Anton Glinkin, but Anders Nilsson was the better man on both exchanges.

As soon as teams hit the ice in the second period, Ak Bars start to exert some serious pressure on Traktor, applying heavy forechecking on every inch of the ice. However, the black-and-white still had some chances on counterattacks; in one of them, Danil Gubarev saw Semyon Kokuyov spurting away from an Ak Bars D-man and sent the puck to him, but Semyon was unable to take control of it as the rubber bounced away. Michael Garnett was the unsung hero of this period as he saved Traktor on several exchanges. The save that is probably going to make the highlight reel happened some five minutes before the break when Garnett, already falling down on the ice, managed to stop two rebound shots from Aleksandr Svitov.

The third twenty continued to keep the audience thrilled. A symbolic goal took place near the 50 minute mark; during a Traktor power play Francis Pare found Deron Quint with a saucer pass, and our resident American pulled Traktor ahead in his 250th game in a black-and-white jersey. Hosts could have increased the lead, had Popov and Ruzicka converted their great chances on goal. However, the goal came from the other end of the ice; Lukoyanov hit Pestunov, grabbing the puck away from him in the process, and sent it Svitov who beat Garnett from close range.

The OT went on without many scoring chances, leaving it for both teams to slug it out in the shootouts. When Traktor was on the verge of losing, Stanislav Chistov first tied the series, and then, when it counted the most, outplayed Anders Nilsson to give Traktor a huge victory that is more psychological than anything else. When Traktor is all for one, one for all, the black-and-white can beat anybody.

Game details

TRAKTOR vs. AK BARS – 2:1 SO (0:0, 0:0, 1:1, 0:0, 1:0)

Goals: Quint (Pare), 49 (1:0 – PP goal); Svitov (Lukoyanov), 53 (1:1); Chistov, 65 (2:1 – game-winning penalty shot).
Shootouts: Glinkin (0:0 – denied by goalie), Tkachyov (0:1), Pare (0:1 – denied by goaltender), Azevedo (0:1 – denied by goalie), Chistov (1:1), Vrana (1:1 – denied by goalie), Tkachyov (1:1 – denied by goalie), Chistov (2:1).

TRAKTOR
Garnett;
Quint – Petrov, Bulis – Pare – Chistov (C);
Kondratyev – Piganovich (A), Popov – Pestunov – Glinkin;
Martynov – Atyushov (A), Panov – Osnovin – Ruzicka;
Davydov – Borodkin, Kokuyov – Gubarev – Penkovsky.

AK BARS
Nilsson;
Zakharchuk – Brookbank, Obukhov – Tkachyov – Glukhov;
Korneyev – Nikulin (A), Burmistrov – Azevedo – Varnakov (A);
Denisov – Rylov, Lukoyanov – Svitov (C) – Koltsov;
Kostitsyn – Vrana – Mirnov.

PIM: 4 (2+0+0+2) – 6 (2+0+4+0).
Shots: 18 (7+3+7+1) – 26 (9+9+2+6).
Faceoffs won: 26 (6+7+10+3) – 20 (5+7+6+2).
Hits: 16 (6+3+7+0) – 34 (8+12+12+2).
Shots blocked: 14 (5+5+2+2) – 13 (3+5+5+0).
TOI: Chistov (21:04), Pare (21:04), Kondratyev (20:41) – Nikulin (23:13), Zakharchuk (22:06), Denisov (21:43).
PP goals: 1-0.

Referees: Mikhail Buturlin (Moscow), Roman Schenev (Togliatti).
Linesmen: Yevgeni Petrov (Omsk), Roman Shikhanov (Togliatti).

February 18, 2015. Traktor Arena, Chelyabinsk, Russia. Attendance – 7500.