After two fiascos at home, the Kazan team arrived in Yekaterinburg with practically no margin for error. The situation for Ak Bars was complicated by the fact that the team lost its leader. Alexander Radulov was disqualified for one match for hitting his opponent in the head in the second game of the series.
And without him, Kazan had no one to lead its partners. After the first two periods, the Yekaterinburg team outshot their opponents in shots on goal twice, 33-16. Only in the last 20 minutes did the Leopards come to their senses a little and even scored for the first time in five periods of the series: Ilya Safonov scored. But this was not enough for victory.
“Ak Bars” for the first time can be eliminated in the round of 16 of the KHL playoffs
“Unfortunately, we still have the problem that we don’t score,” the club’s official website quotes Ak Bars coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov as saying. – Although we create chances. I can’t say that we don’t believe. No matter who the opponent is, no matter how they defend, we must score. One goal in three games is a pittance. That’s why we will work, we will talk, we will try to do something.
But Yekaterinburg does not have that problem. On Monday, March 4, automobilist forward Anatoly Golyshev played alone on the ice. His hat trick was the team’s first during its participation in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) playoffs.
Avtomobilist is very close to reaching the quarterfinals and repeating its best result in the Gagarin Cup. The only time the Urals achieved this was in the 2018/19 season.
Well, Ak Bars risks being eliminated for the first time in its history in the round of 16 of the KHL playoffs.
In another pair of the Eastern Conference, Chelyabinsk’s “Traktor” beat Ufa’s “Salavat Yulaev” on its ice (3:2) and took the lead in the confrontation with a score of 2:1. Chelyabinsk’s Canadian goalkeeper Zach Fucale had an excellent game, stopping 34 own goals out of 36.
Monday also marked the third game of the two Western Conference series. Cherepovets “Severstal” hosted Moscow “Spartak”, and the current winner of the Gagarin Cup CSKA – Yaroslavl “Lokomotiv”. In both matches the result after the first two matches was a draw: 1-1.
But the series between Dinamo Moscow and Minsk started a little later: on March 4, the teams held only their second meeting. In the first, the Muscovites were stronger (4:1). All three matches ended after this issue of RG was signed for publication.
Today there will be third matches in three more couples of the round of 16. In the West, the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo will host the St. Petersburg SKA. In St. Petersburg, the rivals won one victory each.
In the East, Magnitogorsk Metallurg, after losing at home to Khabarovsk Amur, will try to regain the initiative in the series, which is currently tied 1-1. And Omsk Avangard, having won both home games against Togliatti Lada, will try to build on their success away from home.
nhl
Minnesota’s Russian forward Kirill Kaprizov scored his third hat-trick of the National Hockey League season. This time it was for San Jose, who lost to Minnesota 3-4.
It is interesting that Kaprizov achieved all three hat-tricks in a month and a half. “Carolina” (5:2) and “Vancouver” (10:7) suffered at the hands of the Russians. In general, 2024 is going well for Kirill: in this period he has already scored 16 goals. The same number has the best sniper in the league, the American forward “Toronto” Auston Matthews.
In total, Kaprizov has 66 points (29 goals + 37 assists) in 55 games. He is the fourth scorer of the season among the Russians. In his club, Kirill is by far first. The closest pursuer, the Swede Juel Eriksson Ek, has 55 points.
Let’s add that the Russian forward repeated the Minnesota record for the number of hat-tricks during the regular season. It was previously established by the Slovak Marian Gaborik (2002/03) and repeated by the American Zach Parise (2015/16).
But in terms of speed to reach 300 points (143+157), Kaprizov is the absolute best in Minnesota history. He reached this respectable milestone in 258 matches. In the entire league, only five active players have done it faster.
Where will we see?
Tuesday, March 5, “Match TV”
12.00. “Amur” – “Metallurgist”. Live broadcast.
7:30 p.m. “Torpedo” – SKA. Live broadcast
“KHL-TV”
18.00. “Lada” – “Avant-garde”. Live broadcast
