Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Eastern Conference Quarterfinal: Ak Bars Kazan VS. Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk

Welcome to the post for the quarterfinal series between Ak Bars Kazan and Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk in the KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs. This post will act as a reference for the entire series.

Game 1: TatNeft Arena, Kazan, Russia. In goal: Matt Dalton for Neftekhimik and Konstantin Barulin for Ak Bars. Kazan led off in the first period as Janne Pesonen scored, with the help of Dmitry Obukhov. Ak Bars added on with a Lauris Darzins goal, fueled by Evgeny Medvedev and Alexei Tereshchenko on the power play. Nizhnekamsk got on the board in the second period as Yegor Milovzorov scored an unassisted and shorthanded goal. Kazan shot back on another Darzins goal, coming off of Ilya Nikulin and the goalie Barulin. Ak Bars padded the lead in the third period with a power play goal by Alexei Morozov, powered by Niko Kapanen and Nikolai Zherdev. Kazan wrapped it up at 5-1 with a Denis Golubev goal, made possible by Evgeny Bodrov. The three stars were Darzins, Barulin (31 for 32 in saves and one assist), and Pesonen. Ak Bars holds a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2: TatNeft Arena, Kazan, Russia. In goal: Matt Dalton for Neftekhimik and Konstantin Barulin for Ak Bars. Kazan finally opened in the third period with a Niko Kapanen goal, set up by Nikolai Zherdev. Ak Bars added on with an unassisted power play goal by Zherdev. Kazan iced it at 3-0 as Ilya Nikulin scored a shorthanded goal with a lone helper from the goalie Barulin. The three stars went to Zherdev, Barulin (30 save shutout with one assist, his second in the series), and Kapanen. Ak Bars goes on the road with a 2-0 series lead.

Game 3: SCC Arena, Nizhnekamsk, Russia. In goal: Konstantin Barulin for Ak Bars and Matt Dalton for Neftekhimik. Kazan finally got going in the third period as Dmitry Obukhov scored, with the help of Nikolai Zherdev. Ak Bars added on with an Alexei Tereshchenko power play goal, powered by Denis Kulyash and Evgeny Medvedev. Nizhnekamsk got on the board with a Tomas Netik goal, made possible by Petr Koukal and Renat Mamashev. They failed to tie the game, falling 2-1, with the three stars being Barulin (33 for 34 in saves), Tereshchenko, and Obukhov. Ak Bars has pushed Neftekhimik to the edge, with a 3-0 series lead in hand. 

Game 4: SCC Arena, Nizhnekamsk, Russia. In goal: Konstantin Barulin for Ak Bars and Maxim Sokolov for Neftekhimik. Kazan started in the second period on a power play goal by Alexei Morozov, powered by Niko Kapanen and Nikolai Zherdev. Nizhnekamsk tied it as Vitaly Shulakov scored a power play goal, set up by Maxim Pestushko and Yegor Milovzorov. Ak Bars regained the lead on a Janne Pesonen goal, coming off of Vadim Khomitsky. Neftekhimik tied it in the third period again with a Petr Koukal goal, guided in by Eduard Lewandowski and Oskar Osala on the power play. The game went into a second overtime, where Kazan finished the job with a Lauris Darzins goal, with a lone assist provided by Kirill Petrov. The final was 3-2, with the three stars being Darzins, Pesonen, and Morozov. Ak Bars advances to the second round with a 4-0 series sweep. 

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