Gatiyatulin retreats from the brink. Will Ak Bars' comeback in Magnitogorsk be a turning point?

      Is Ak Bars’ victory in Magnitogorsk beneficial for the team’s prospects?

      Will Khmelevsky save Gatiyatulin — and Ak Bars’ season?

      The biggest question before today’s game was not whether Alexander Khmelevsky would play immediately after his transfer to Ak Bars from Salavat Yulaev. The situation for the coaching staff is such that they will look for any new methods to solve their problems. Did putting Khmelevsky into the lineup in Magnitogorsk the day after signing look like an impulsive decision? More no than yes. In Zinétula Bilyaletdinov’s time they also practiced “emergency” player deployments. For example, in 2017 Yaroslav Kosov played on the third day after his move to the Kazan team and ended up winning the Gagarin Cup with them. Here the addition is a much more serious one in terms of skill level and game IQ. Still, there were doubts that bringing in a new forward would solve all Ak Bars’ problems and those of the coaching staff. After all, the rot has penetrated much deeper into the team’s foundation, and just covering it up won’t fix the problem.

      In the end we may not have seen a fireworks display from Sasha on the ice, and he didn’t settle into the game immediately, but his inclusion in the lineup clearly helped a lot. From the small things he did on the ice a favorable environment was created for turning the game around. He worked great in the faceoff circle, winning 9 of 11 draws, took two shots on goal, and in the third period participated in the winning goal by making the assist to Grigory Denisenko.

      The American immediately got a spot on the top power-play unit with Barabanov, Yashkin, Denisenko and Miller, but they have not yet flourished in that component. There are grounds to believe the American will improve there as well. His debut was at least a good one.

      “There’s not much to say here, Sasha is a good player, he consistently scores points, probably every coach would want a player like that on his team. But again, this is a good team victory,” Anvar Gatiyatulin said in a flash interview after the match.

      The teams repeated the script of the first game, but with a happy ending for Gatiyatulin

      As in the first match of the season on September 6, the teams played tug-of-war. At first the Magnitogorsk side completely dominated — so much so that it seemed as if teams from different leagues were playing. Timur Bilyalov had to save his team twice already in the first two minutes. Magnitka’s players were getting free to shoot and the forwards were firing almost at point-blank range.

      “Metallurg were superior in everything: the hosts acted and moved significantly faster, attacked more often, created more interesting chances. They outshot the Kazan side three to one in the first period (12–4 in shots on goal). So 3–0 on the scoreboard by the midpoint looked like a natural result.”

      Towards the end of the first twenty minutes Denisenko and Yashkin did everything possible to get Ak Bars scored on. The first tried to throw the puck to a teammate from behind the end boards. That teammate received the puck with his back and didn’t see Siryatsky come out from behind and steal it. The young forward decided not to share the puck and shot himself, hitting the top corner of Bilyalov’s net.

      The next two goals against Ak Bars came in the middle of the game. Vladimir Tkachev received a puck on the rush from a teammate in the Kazan zone and, even under the cover of three defenders, made a brilliant pass to the unmarked Silantyev, who sent the puck into the net — 2–0.

      And a minute later the Magnitogorsk side made the score humiliating. They won a faceoff in the visitors’ zone, followed by a pass to the crease, and Roman Kantserov, in a struggle, flicked the puck into the net. After video review the goal was eventually allowed.

      But in the second half something changed dramatically. All of Magnitka’s sharpness and speed disappeared, and the goal entirely created by Barabanov began the comeback. Alexander accelerated superbly from his zone, slipped down the left boards, skilfully beat two defenders and produced a flawless pass for Alistrov’s shot.

      In the 48th minute Ak Bars brought intrigue back into the game. In a positional attack Ilya Karpukhin received a puck from a teammate at the blue line, drove to the net and unleashed a powerful shot into the right top corner — Nabokov couldn’t save it.

      Then came a brace from Grigory Denisenko. In the 53rd minute the Kazan side ran a quick combination. In a battle in Magnitka’s zone Galimov passed the puck back to Grigory, who from close range fired at Nabokov. And two minutes later the newcomer also played his part. Khmelevsky made a pass to Denisenko, who held the pause and sent the puck into the net past the goalie, catching him on a feint — 3–4.

      In the end, as at the start of the season, the Kazan side overturned a game ruined at the start, equalized, but this time finished the match with a victory. How much of the issue is Metallurg relaxing after 3–0, and how much is the credit of Ak Bars, who managed to pull themselves together, is debatable. In any case, Anvar Gatiyatulin has so far stepped back a couple of paces from the edge of the abyss he was standing at before the road trip. The Ak Bars coach again reduces the problems to a psychological barrier that his players need to overcome.

      “As I said, first of all we need to beat ourselves in our heads. A good team victory,” the Kazan head coach noted after the game.

      What now? Ak Bars will have a chance to climb the table

      Next in Ak Bars’ calendar the level of tension somewhat decreases. First, Gatiyatulin’s team will go for revenge to Yekaterinburg against the slackened Avtomobilist. Today Nikolai Zavarukhin’s charges are going through a rough stretch — the Urals side have lost three games in a row, two of which were to Neftekhimik.

      After that — two home games against Khabarovsk’s Amur, followed by a visit to Kazan from the downtrodden Barys. A great opportunity for Gatiyatulin to strengthen his position in the eyes of the club management, which is balancing on the verge of radical decisions.

      The other question is that a presumably successful stretch may slightly improve Ak Bars’ position in the standings, but how useful will that be for the team in the long term? And does that long-term prospect exist under the current course? Big question.

      Photos from Ak Bars HC website