Hartley's career ends beautifully: Gagarin Cup to Lokomotiv, applause for Ak Bars!

An outstanding season for Lokomotiv with the Gagarin Cup! The comeback in the sixth game against Avangard was not in vain

Lokomotiv are two-time Gagarin Cup champions! The great season of the Yaroslavl team under the guidance of Bob Hartley is over. And how symbolic it is that the last year of the Canadian specialist's coaching career was marked by him winning the main trophy in the KHL. Famous football coach Jose Mourinho is commonly called “The Special One.” Such is Hartley in hockey, the only one in the world to have won the Stanley Cup and twice the Gagarin Cup.

And Lokomotiv joins the ranks of the most decorated clubs in the league. Only Ak Bars, CSKA and Metallurg (three times each) have won the Gagarin Cup more times in the KHL than Yaroslavl.

Lokomotiv's playoff victory is fair and deserved. Although it might not have happened, had Avangard held on in the sixth game of the semifinals. But then, with 33 seconds left in regulation time, Alexander Radulov and Maxim Shalunov worked a miracle, sending the game into overtime. And then Rushan Rafikov had his say.

That game, perhaps, was the quintessence of Lokomotiv's championship DNA, the unshakable character of the Yaroslavl team, for whom nothing is impossible. Despite difficulties, the “railwaymen” paved their way to their second Gagarin Cup. And they won those games in which Lokomotiv was predicted to lose.

Ak Bars themselves gifted Lokomotiv two first goals in the decisive final match

Yaroslavl played the fifth game without their key center forward — Georgy Ivanov. For any other team, such a personnel loss would have been fatal. But not for Bob Hartley's team, which, to the surprise of many, confidently defeated Ak Bars 4:1 then.

In yesterday's game, Ak Bars, playing in front of their home crowd, were also considered favorites. However, Lokomotiv's players secured a big lead for themselves as early as the first period.

The evil genius for Yaroslavl was forward Yegor Surin. Yes, the very one who added spice to this series with his trash talk aimed at Ilya Safonov.

In a line with Nikita Kiryanov and Pavel Kraskovsky, Surin did not get lost at all. On the contrary, it seems he even finds it more comfortable playing with these players than with Georgy Ivanov and Alexander Radulov.

Surin's first goal came not without a gift from Ak Bars players. Ilya Karpukhin and Stepan Falkovsky could not clear the puck from the zone in a simple situation. A positional error by the Belarusian led to Nikita Kiryanov sending Surin in on a breakaway with Timur Bilyalov with a pass. The Lokomotiv forward confidently fired the puck into the Ak Bars goaltender's net.

Surin's second goal was no less bizarre. Another gross error by Ak Bars' defense, which lost track of the visitor's forward when Timur Bilyalov lost sight of the puck. No one was marking Surin, and he was first to the rebound.

Ak Bars almost saved what seemed like a hopeless game...

In fact, Kazan could not wake up until the 55th minute, when the score on the board was already a rout — 0:3 thanks to a goal by Maxim Shalunov. With 10 minutes left in the third period, many spectators at the Tatneft Arena got up from their seats and unhappily headed for the exit. Most were probably replaying the script of the sixth game of last year's quarterfinal against Moscow Dynamo, when Ak Bars listlessly lost to the “white-blues," but with a far more unpleasant score — 1:6.

Kazan risked ending the playoffs with a toothless and disastrous performance. But the last five minutes from Ak Bars were fantastic.

Goals by Nathan Todd and Nikita Lyamkin within two minutes of each other, scored into the hosts' empty net, instantly restored hope to Kazan fans. The entire Tatneft Arena watched the final moments of the game on their feet. The adrenaline in the blood of the Ak Bars players and the bewildered Lokomotiv players could have given us one of the great endings in playoff history.

Bob Hartley and Alexander Radulov were furious at the lost initiative and the Gagarin Cup slipping from their grasp. They conducted Lokomotiv's timeout after Lyamkin's goal together, bringing the other Lokomotiv players back to their senses. Artur Kayumov looked particularly distraught, having missed an empty net shortly before Ak Bars' goal spree.

Kazan delivered a crazy ending, storming Daniil Isaev's goal until the very end. But Lokomotiv held on — again on incredible patience and character. A true championship team that did not get lost at the most necessary and important moment, when the game's result risked turning 180 degrees.

“It was a difficult but worthy final”

When the siren signaled the end of the game, the joy and elation of the Lokomotiv players poured out. On the championship ice was Georgy Ivanov, who had arrived for the sixth game on crutches after leg surgery. His teammates helped him, by the way, to lift the Gagarin Cup above his head. And that is right, because Ivanov's contribution to Lokomotiv's gold was enormous.

Conversely, the Ak Bars players were filled with feelings of bitterness and emptiness. In a word, a great sports drama that makes people fall in love with sports.

Despite the lost gold, Ak Bars indeed had an outstanding season. In September 2025, there was no talk of any final regarding the Kazan club. Ak Bars was in a deep crisis, barely scraping into the playoff zone. But in six months, Anvar Gatiyatulin managed to mold Ak Bars into a strong team capable of competing for the trophy. Without particular problems, Ak Bars crushed Traktor, Minsk Dynamo, and Metallurg in the playoffs.

Beating Lokomotiv in the final would have been a feat for Ak Bars. But even without that, Anvar Gatiyatulin's team this season are great, as rightly noted in his address after the sixth game by the Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov.

— It was a difficult but worthy final! Whatever the result, Ak Bars is our team, and we will always support them, — said Minnikhanov.

After the game, Anvar Gatiyatulin stated that compared to last season, certain conclusions had been drawn and the work was built taking into account the experience of the previous season.

— I believe we have made a big step forward, both in terms of game organization and internal team interactions. We managed to create a team, and the guys were all burning with the goal. Perhaps September did not go as planned, but, nevertheless, the work continued, and the management showed trust. We were preparing. I'll probably repeat myself again, but somewhere by November, our potential became clear. Well, we have what we have, — said the head coach and expressed hope to continue working in Kazan.

Ak Bars — Lokomotiv — 2:3 (0:2, 0:0, 2:1), series score — 2:4
0:1 Surin (Kiryanov, Kraskovsky, 04:05)
0:2 Surin (Kraskovsky, Kiryanov, 13:55)
0:3 Shalunov (52:30)
1:3 Todd (Lyamkin, Barabanov, 54:27, 6x5)
2:3 Lyamkin (Barabanov, Miller, 57:08, 6x5)

Shots: 56-45; Shots on goal: 28-24; Goals: 2-3; Faceoffs: 31-22; Blocked shots: 12-16; Hits: 30-16; Takeaways: 4-1; Giveaways: 13-8; Interceptions: 4-3; Time on attack: 17:47-07:43; Penalties: 6-8.