Gatiyatulin smarter than Koreshkov, stellar Galimov, and an ambivalent captain: how Ak Bars got past Traktor

Ak Bars won the series 4:1

Ak Bars got past Traktor in five games. The decisive match took place in Kazan on the last day of March. The “Bars” took an easy lead just seven seconds into the game thanks to Artyom Galimov, but the visitors then seized the initiative. The score was eventually tied, and everything was decided in overtime. Kazan started the extra period on a power play following a penalty to Andrei Svetlakov at the end of the third period. The man advantage was converted just before its expiration: Dmitry Yashkin's goal sent Ak Bars to the second round of the playoffs — 2:1 OT in the game and 4:1 in the series.

Despite the fact that Anvar Gatiyatulin's team was clearly stronger than its opponent, the final score does not reflect the full difficulty of the matchup. Traktor fought hard every time, even though they were playing without some of their leaders. Three of the four wins were secured by Ak Bars in overtime, with the second game in Chelyabinsk being particularly epic, where the teams played five periods and the referees disallowed three goals. Each time, the “Bars” proved to be a bit faster, better, and more effective than Chelyabinsk.

Therefore, when evaluating Ak Bars' advancement, two factors should be considered. First, why did last season's playoff finalist, Traktor, find itself in the role of an underdog in this series? And second, why did Gatiyatulin's charges encounter such significant difficulties, allowing a struggling opponent to push the game into overtime three times? The answers to these questions must be found by the Ak Bars coaching staff to have any chance in the subsequent rounds of the Gagarin Cup.

Traktor's leaders faltered

Traktor entered the current playoffs in very poor shape. Chelyabinsk had been struggling since the very start of the season. During the regular championship, the club even had to part ways with head coach Benoit Groulx, who was one of the main reasons for their successful performance last year. The Canadian essentially ran away from the problems, returning to his homeland, citing family circumstances. In the final games of the regular season, the Urals team managed to pull themselves together somewhat, putting together a four-game winning streak, including wins over Metallurg and SKA. The team finally started listening to their coach, Evgeny Koreshkov, who is young by KHL standards.

Koreshkov's lack of coaching experience also became a problem for Traktor in the playoffs. In every game, Gatiyatulin proved to be the smarter coach. For example, in the fifth game, the “Bars” could not break through the opponent's tight defense, but in overtime they changed their attacking approach, focusing on working directly with the goaltender, bypassing the defensemen. Koreshkov was not prepared for this and lost, as he did in three of the four other games in the series.

Moreover, Traktor was playing without two of its most important players. Chelyabinsk's starting goaltender, Sergei Mylnikov, was injured and sidelined for the rest of the season eight games before the end of the regular season. Also out due to injury was the Urals team's best defenseman, Grigory Dronov. He was expected to return “any day now," but it never happened. The importance of the latter is underscored by the fact that he was named an assistant coach for the fifth game of the series and was used on the coaching staff on the bench. Traktor's top scorer, Vitaly Kravtsov, also dealt with a minor injury after the second game in Kazan. The forward could not regain his form after missing one game.

Other leaders failed to do anything extraordinary. Only Joshua Livo stood out, scoring three goals with four points (3+1). More was expected from forwards Alexander Kadeikin (1+1), Vasily Glotov (0+1), and Andrei Svetlakov (0+2), who managed only one goal between them. And it's worth noting that almost all the league's favorites were eyeing each of them during the off-season. Defenseman Logan Day also failed to shine. One of the best defensive players in the KHL finished the series against Ak Bars with a minus-5 rating. Traktor's strengths were its power play (3 goals, 23.1% conversion rate) and its goaltender. The goaltending position was considered Chelyabinsk's main problem heading into the playoffs, but Dmitry Nikolaev performed admirably.

Excellent Galimov and an ambivalent captain

Regarding Ak Bars' performance, not everything is as rosy as it might seem. This is especially true of their power play. On one hand, the “Bars” posted the same numbers as Traktor — 3 goals on 13 attempts. But Chelyabinsk did not have any five-minute man-advantages without scoring, and their activity in the offensive zone on special teams always caused problems for the “Bars” defense. It is clear that Konstantin Shafranov and the entire coaching staff have a lot of work to do in this area. In the playoffs, you simply cannot succeed without a functional power play.

The best players in the matchup against Traktor were Artyom Galimov and Mitchell Miller. No one expected such a burst of energy from the former. Last season's record-breaking regular season (in terms of points) gave way this year to the below-average level typical of this forward. But in the playoffs, Galimov was indeed a revelation. He became the team's top sniper with four goals and also shared the status of the “Bars” top scorer in the current Gagarin Cup with Miller. This transformation was possible, in part, because Gatiyatulin rolled back the requirements for the forward to those he had in the 2024/25 season. And Galimov immediately started playing dynamic hockey. As for Miller, it was as clear as could be. In Ak Bars' current roster, the American defenseman is the star. Mitchell is living up to his status 100%.

Before the playoffs began, it seemed that the series against Traktor would be decided by goaltending. But in reality, the netminders performed admirably. So much so that it's impossible to declare a winner in that matchup. Timur Bilyalov and Dmitry Nikolaev kept their teams in the games, and largely because of them, the margin of victory in each game was minimal. Ak Bars won only one game by a two-goal margin. Maxim Arefyev played in one game of the series. The “Bars” backup ably substituted for Bilyalov and earned his first career playoff win.

On the negative side, Alexey Marchenko's stats stand out. The Kazan captain is having an overall ambiguous season, and this ambiguity has only intensified in the Gagarin Cup. On one hand, the defenseman plays decent defense, leads the team well on the ice, and helps the coaches communicate with the players. His authority is unquestionable. But Marchenko's statistics are alarming. Traktor scored ten goals in the entire series, and Marchenko was on the ice for eight of them. Moreover, in the fourth game in Chelyabinsk, the captain did not come out for the third period and missed both overtimes by the coaching staff's decision. Journalists tried to attribute this to an injury, but Gatiyatulin did not confirm this version. No one would be surprised if Marchenko starts the first game of the second round as the seventh defenseman or as a healthy scratch.

Waiting for dinamo Minsk

Ak Bars still does not officially know its second-round opponent. But with about 90% certainty, Kazan will face Dinamo Minsk. To confirm this, we simply need to wait for the results of the series between Avangard and Neftekhimik (3:1 in favor of Omsk) and between Lokomotiv and Spartak (3:1 in favor of Yaroslavl). If the favorites secure their fourth wins, Ak Bars will meet Minsk. If Neftekhimik or Spartak advance, the “Bars” would face a different opponent. But that seems unlikely.

Dinamo Minsk experienced no problems with Dynamo Moscow in the first round. The Belarusians won the series 4:0, outscoring the Muscovites 11:4. Goaltender Zach Fucale and the Minsk defensemen played exceptionally well. The Moscow team never managed to score twice in a single game. Zach Fucale is having a phenomenal playoff performance for the second consecutive season. If last Gagarin Cup the goaltender was an X-factor for Traktor (taking them to the finals), now he is carrying the Minsk team. The regular season's top scorer, Sam Anas, continues to be a hero; Stanislav Galiev is breaking sniper records; and 20-year-old talent Yegor Borikov looks good alongside them.

The series against Ak Bars will be a grudge match for Minsk's head coach, Dmitry Kvartalnov. The highly experienced specialist was fired from Kazan under questionable circumstances, and now he is surely kicking himself. The coach has a chance to “get back” at them. It is also possible that those who fired him could themselves be dismissed if Ak Bars fails to get past the second round of the playoffs again. It has been too long since the “Bars” last won the Gagarin Cup (way back in 2018). That might not be forgiven.

In their head-to-head meetings over the last two regular seasons, Minsk has not lost to Ak Bars once. Kvartalnov's Dinamo has won all four games, with the last match in Kazan in November 2025 ending in a 7:3 rout. In the upcoming potential series, the Belarusians will have home-ice advantage due to their higher finish in the league standings. Dinamo finished second in the West, trailing only the reigning Gagarin Cup champion, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. So Ak Bars will not be considered the favorite in this matchup.