Magnetic train: Loko is not helped by the championship experience, but Metallurg is back in the game

Metallurg beat Ak Bars on its ice in the second match of the KHL semifinal playoff series - 4:2. Daniil Vovchenko, Nikita Mikhailis, Sergey Tolchinsky and Roman Kanzerov scored goals for the Magnitogorsk team, who also had two assists. Alexander Khmelevsky scored 2 (1+1) points for Kazan and Artyom Galimov scored another goal. Metallurg equalized the score in the series to four wins — 1-1. The first game of the teams, which took place on April 25 in Magnitogorsk, ended with a score of 5:2 in favor of Ak Bars. In the second semi-final, Avangard took both opening matches from Lokomotiv. The defending champions need to change a lot in their approach in order to return to the series.

Various matches in Magnitogorsk

Metallurg and Ak Bars played two completely different matches. In the first, Kazan crushed their opponent from the start: they quickly created an advantage and did not miss it until the end of the game. Magnitogorsk looked confused, as if they were not ready for the pace and power offered by Anvar Gatiyatulin's team. And the difference in size, which was emphasized before the series, did not play a key role. Kazan won in terms of speed and made better use of the created moments. Metallurg conceded very easily, but scored with great difficulty and only in the majority (5:2).

Everyone understood that Andrey Razin would rebuild the team for the second match. Of the important line-up changes, we note the appearance of Ilya Nabokov at the start. But the main thing is that Metallurg was not inferior to Ak Bars in the opening period, imposing its hockey. Magnitogorsk not only moved the puck faster, but also did not shy away from a power struggle. Two powerful hits from Vladimir Tkachev in one shift looked like an ordinary event. These actions of the Metallurg leader reflected the mood of the entire team, which today reached the limit of its capabilities. And she didn't lower the bar enough to prevent Kazan from catching on to the match.

In the third period, Metallurg's old problems returned — Razin's team is playing poorly in the current playoffs. However, several important saves by Nabokov kept the advantage and allowed them to even the score in the series. Before the second match, the coach guessed both with the replacement of the goalkeeper and with the exit of Mikhail Fedorov in the first flight, and most importantly, he was able to set up the team for an explosive start. Everything is just beginning in the Metallurg and Ak Bars series. Razin and Gatiyatulin's tactical chess will continue in Kazan.

Avangard's control

According to one story, the fireworks in honor of the French King Henry did not take place for a hundred reasons, but the main one was the lack of gunpowder. In the second match against Avangard, Daniil Isaev, one of the key players of Lokomotiv, objectively the best goalkeeper of the KHL in recent years, missed two difficult goals at the most crucial moment and nailed his team. There are plenty of questions about Yaroslavl's actions in the series, but if an elite-level goalkeeper does not help, then it is very difficult to count on a favorable result.

The old tale did not imply a list of all the points that prevented the festive cannonade from taking place for the pleasure of the monarch. Whereas according to the results of the initial games, there are a decent number of explanations for what happened in this pair.

Lokomotiv has little work in attack, most of them are limping on both legs, some of the usual leaders have disappeared on the ice, an unusually large number of martial arts are being played, and it is not possible to keep emotions under control. Bob Hartley, having inherited the control panel from Igor Nikitin, did not recognize the sequence of button presses that allowed him to activate the berserk mode, which was so necessary for the team at the moment.

The ability not to start, wasting nerves and strength, distinguished the "Locomotive" under Nikitin. Avangard is currently demonstrating the same thing. Losers can refer to the referees who made strange decisions in the second game. However, the words of Omsk head coach Guy Boucher, which have long been boring and regularly repeated, about the importance of psychological stability, are ideally suited to the current situation.

Yaroslavl residents swim under pressure. Their opponent holds the punch and does not break. Lokomotiv's championship experience has so far proved to be an extremely ephemeral substance. Almost alone, only Alexander Radulov is fighting for everyone. This is extremely small. It seems that the intrigue in the series will be revived only if Avangard believes in its exclusivity too early. The chance of this is minimal. Yaroslavl residents have not yet delivered any gunpowder, or even cannons. They have nothing to shoot with.