«Ak Bars» beat «Admiral» without Yashkin, and Gatiaytulin explained himself regarding the ex-captain

Yashkin is not in the lineup

The starting lineup of «Ak Bars» has once again undergone a number of changes. Defender Stepan Falkovsky and forward Dmitry Yashkin unexpectedly did not make it into the game roster. Artemy Knyazev and Aleksey Pustozerov were named in their place. However, in the first defensive pair, the injured Falkovsky was replaced by Stepan Terekhov.

As for Dmitry Yashkin, the last year's captain once again found himself on the bench this season by decision of the coaching staff. After a mini-suspension at the end of December, the forward played four games for «Ak Bars», scoring only 1 (0+1) point for productivity. Of course, there is no talk of Yashkin competing with Pustozerov for a place in the starting lineup. Most likely, both forwards will leave the team before the deadline. Rumours about this are already circulating.

Timur Bilyalov appeared in the «Ak Bars» goal again. Gatiaytulin is not a supporter of giving his main goalkeeper a lot of rest. Despite Maxim Arefyev's «shutout» in the last match against «Amur», Bilyalov's backup again gave up his place in goal.

Although it would have been possible to give the backup goalkeeper a chance to play. «Admiral» has fallen to the bottom of the Eastern conference standings after the resignation of Leonid Tambiev and the appointment of Oleg Bratas. The club no longer expects to make it to the playoffs, so they have started selling off their leaders.

The first period was decisive

The game for «Ak Bars» began with Pustozerov being sent off. The hosts dangerously shot at Bilyalov's goal twice, but the score remained at zero. And already in equal strength, Radel Zamaltdinov scored. The young forward of the Kazan team broke into open space and «pierced» the goalkeeper — 0:1. Then the game calmed down: some did not want to, others could not.

At the end of the period, the guests increased the score to an indecent one. In the moment with the second goal, Ilya Safonov took the puck in the middle zone, Artem Galimov shot, and Alexander Barabanov finished it off — 0:2. In Pustozerov's goal, the combination was drawn up by Kirill Semenov and Alexander Khmelevsky — 0:3.

It seemed that the game was over, but the Kazan team simply stopped playing in the second period. «Admiral» increased their advantage and achieved their goal, reducing the score difference to a minimum. First, Vladimir Bryukvin scored, then Dmitro Timashov's shot reached the target. For both forwards, these goals were their first of the season. The «Bars» came to their senses in the last five minutes of the period, but failed to restore the difference before the break.

The final 20 minutes of the match started with a penalty for the Kazan team. The hosts were unable to capitalise on the power play, and then a курьёзный moment occurred. Ilya Karpukhin unexpectedly became the author of a goal, although he was already sitting on the bench. The fact is that during the shift change, «Admiral» defender Libor Shulak, moving from behind the goal, unsuccessfully passed the puck backwards, and the puck treacherously crawled into the goal. An own goal — and the score turned into 2:4, crushing the «sailors'» attempts to come back.

At the end, «Admiral» pulled the goalie, and Artem Galimov set the final result on the scoreboard — 2:5. A confident victory for the Kazan team in terms of the score, but there are still questions about the team's performance.

Barabanov's trio — the leaders of «Ak Bars»

The away series in the Far East makes it clear that there is a change in the leading unit in the Kazan «Ak Bars». Taking into account today's two goals, the Barabanov — Safonov — Galimov trio has scored seven goals in three games. At the same time, the rest of the team managed to score 13 goals in three matches in Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.

There are also no questions, perhaps, about the fourth trio, where Dmitry Katelevsky and Nikita Dynyak are doing a great job with their tasks, even taking into account the constant rotation of the third partner. But the other two units are frankly limping. Semenov and Khmelevsky still cannot find a good «winger», and the third trio lacks a quality centre forward.

Probably, these are the two positions that the club will have to strengthen before the transfer deadline. But how to do it? The obvious solution is to trade Dmitry Yashkin and part ways with one of the pair Pustozerov — Brandon Biero. However, whether there are any takers for the latter two is unknown.

«The task of the coaches is to prepare the players for the matches so that the hockey player shows his potential. The question of trades is more for the management. We continue to prepare the guys, we monitor their condition. We had a conversation with Dima, I explained to him why he is not on the roster for this particular match, what we want to see from him in the future. The process is ongoing, the principles of determining the lineup remain the same,» said Gatiaytulin.

«Admiral» — «Ak Bars» — 2:5 (0:3, 2:0, 0:2)
Goals:
0:1 — Zamaltdinov (Dynyak, Miller, 03:58);
0:2 — Barabanov (Galimov, 18:04);
0:3 — Pustozerov (Semenov, Khmelevsky, 18:48);
1:3 — Bryukvin (Shen, Starkov, 21:07);
2:3 — Timashov (Solyanikov, Ruchkin, 31:47);
2:4 — Karpukhin (43:59);
2:5 — Galimov (into an empty net).

The next match against «Admiral» in Vladivostok will take place on Wednesday at 12:30 Moscow time. After this game, «Ak Bars» will return to Kazan, where they will start a new home series. For now, the «Bars» continue to sit in second place in the Eastern conference.