Victory over Traktor is not an indicator; it's Kvartalnov's Dinamo that will test Ak Bars' strength

THE FIRST GAME OF THE SERIES WILL TAKE PLACE ON APRIL 9 IN MINSK

The series between Dinamo and Ak Bars begins on April 9 in Minsk. Minsk finished second in the regular season in the Western Conference and will thus have home-ice advantage. Kazan's “Bars," recall, finished third in the East during the regular season.

Dmitry Kvartalnov's charges defeated Dynamo Moscow in four games in the first round of the playoffs. While Dynamo Moscow reached the Gagarin Cup semifinals last season, they were easily beaten already in the opening series this time. Dinamo Minsk decided the outcome of the matchup by winning four consecutive games, conceding no more than one goal in each match.

Ak Bars dispatched Traktor in the first round. Anvar Gatiyatulin's team needed one more game than Minsk to get past Chelyabinsk. In the five-game series, Kazan won all three home games and exchanged victories in Chelyabinsk.

The series against Dinamo will begin with two games in Minsk — on April 9 and 11. Then the teams will head to Kazan for two more games. The series will last until one side wins four games.

THE SERIES AGAINST TRAKTOR IS NOT AN INDICATOR

Many agree that Ak Bars dispatched Traktor relatively easily in the first round. Although three of the five games in the series went to overtime, the Chelyabinsk team was unable to put up serious resistance. Last season's Gagarin Cup finalists were clearly not in the form needed to advance further in this tournament.

Traktor had plenty of problems. First, the lack of experience of the head coach was a factor. For Evgeny Koreshkov, who took over Chelyabinsk during the regular season, this was his first playoff as a coach. Gatiyatulin out-coached his colleague time and again in the small details. In the first game, the Kazan coach put Radel Zamaltdinov on the ice; in the fourth, he started Maxim Arefyev in goal and benched captain Alexey Marchenko. And in the fifth game, he unexpectedly used two defensemen on the power play in overtime. These small details ultimately affected the outcome of each game.

Second, their starting goaltender was absent: Sergey Mylnikov was injured at the end of the regular season. Dmitry Nikolaev ably replaced his colleague but still made a couple of mistakes. Moreover, the top-scoring defenseman, Grigory Dronov, did not have time to recover. Third, the other attacking players failed to support the efforts of leader Joshua Livo. Alexander Kadeikin, Vasily Glotov, and Andrei Svetlakov scored only one goal between them.

One could list Traktor's problems at length. It is no wonder that after the elimination, the Chelyabinsk club announced an upcoming radical restructuring. There is already talk of a possible change of head coach, signing a foreign goaltender, and terminating contracts with all legionnaires and some Russian leaders. The only thing to take away from all this is that the series against Traktor is absolutely not an indicator of Ak Bars' strength. Kazan did the bare minimum required to advance to the next round.

DINAMO MINSK IS A DIFFERENT LEVEL

The series against Dinamo Minsk will be completely different. Belarus has for the first time assembled such a competitive roster under such a confident coach. Minsk performed excellently in the regular season and entered the playoffs among the top four favorites. In the Western Conference, the team finished behind only the reigning champion, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

Dinamo has a fairly stable roster with several leaders in each of the three lines. In goal is Zach Fucale. The Canadian carried Traktor to the finals in last year's playoffs. Now he is playing superbly and has already knocked out Dynamo Moscow, conceding only four goals in the four-game series. On defense — Canadian defensemen. The regulations allow Minsk to have up to ten legionnaires, six of whom are on defense. Among them, Ty Smith stands out, finishing fifth among defensemen in regular season scoring.

The main driving force of Dinamo Minsk is the top forward line. Sam Anas won the regular season scoring race with 89 points (32+57). Alex Limoges finished in the top three with 73 points (24+49), and Vitaly Pinchuk had a career-best season with 31 goals and 35 assists.

It would seem simple enough — shut down the top line and win. But Dinamo Minsk has all four lines equally strong. For example, they have Vadim Shipachyov, the KHL's all-time leading scorer, and former “Bars” sniper Stanislav Galiev. Minsk will be a true test of Ak Bars' ambitions. If Kazan manages to reach the semifinals, the perception of Gatiyatulin's team will certainly change. For now, the “Bars” are solid middle-of-the-pack, from whom a good season is sometimes expected.

THE COACHING DUEL

The intensity of this matchup is heightened by the personal rivalry between the coaches. Kvartalnov's Dinamo has won all four head-to-head games against Gatiyatulin's Ak Bars. The Kazan coach has been unable to beat Minsk for two consecutive seasons. Particularly painful was the loss in the last regular season game, when Ak Bars lost 7:3 at home in Kazan.

At an open practice, Gatiyatulin was asked about the upcoming duel. But perhaps the question should be directed to Kvartalnov. The Chelyabinsk-born coach of the “Bars” already won a personal rivalry in the first round, defeating his native Traktor in five games.

— A game consists of different components. What matters is who is ready and how. As for the duels — the main thing is to find a way to get through this series. Everything else is secondary, — Gatiyatulin said on the eve of the series.

Kvartalnov also said that it is not personal for him whom they beat on the way to the final. But you must admit, there is a special intrigue to the career twists and turns of the parties. Once upon a time, Marat Valiullin decided to fire Kvartalnov as head coach of Ak Bars. And now the head coach of Dinamo Minsk has the opportunity to get him back. It is unlikely anyone will forgive the general manager for a third consecutive early playoff exit. In Kazan, they are accustomed to winning the Gagarin Cup, not being a foil for others.