KHL
Avangard – Vityaz 4:2 (end) | Ak Bars – Khabarovsk 4:3 (end) | SKA St. Petersburg – Torpedo 1:0 (end)
CSKA – Dynamo 4:6 (end)
final
Ak Bars Kazan
4:3 (1:1, 1:1,2:1)
Amur Khabarovsk
Friday 07.12.2012, 15:00 • TatNeft Arena • KHL
     
    Amur put up a valiant fight throughout the seesaw game but the more talented Ak Bars prevailed. The team from Kazan made Khaborovsk pay dearly for a pair of third period penalties.

    Once Kazan grabbed the 4-3 lead, they put the clamps down defensively. Amur barely got a sniff at re-tying the game, even on a late power power play.

    Shots on goal in the third period were 11 for Amur (game total of 33) and 10 for Ak Bars (game total of 27). Attendance at the game was announced at 3,560 in the 10,000-plus seat venue.

    Thank you for joining us today.... see you next time! (18:22:51)
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    59:50
    Ak Bars defense breaks up rush near the blueline and sends puck back into the other zone. Won't be a chance for Amur to make a final push.
     
    59:31
    Amur can't get out of its own zone. They are pinned in deep as time ticks away to the final half minute.
     
    59:00
    Ak Bars at full strength.
     
    58:30
    Tremendous penalty killing work by Pesonen. Killed about 15 seconds off the clock.
     
    57:00
    Ak Bars penalty. Obukhov off for tripping behind the net. Now Amur goes on the power play with a chance to tie.
     
    53:55
    Barulin mishandled a puck in close but Petruzhalek was not able to tuck it into the net. Still a 4-3 game.
     
    51:01
    Outstanding power play puck movement and the right point shot was drilled through partial screen to give the AK Bars the lead.
     
    51:01
    Goal for AK Bars!
    Scorer is KULYASH. Assistant Darzins, Medvedev.
     
    50:04
    Amur penalty. Tulupov off for holding. Ak Bars right back to the power play with a chance to take the lead.
     
    45:01
    Amur penalty. Jaakola flipped the puck over the glass in the defensive zone and gets a delay of game penalty.
     
    46:42
    On the power play, the puck was held in the zone by the Ak Bars and a one-time by Tereshchenko tied up the match at 3-3.
     
    46:42
    Goal for AK Bars!
    Scorer is TERESHCHENKO. Assistants Darzins, Medvedev.
     
    43:17
    Nearly a similar play to the last Amur goal. Lindgren stopped on this one.
     
    41:43
    Quick shot release by Orlov surprised the defense and Barulin.
     
    41:43
    Goal for Amur!
    Scorer is ORLOV. Assistant Shishkanov.
     
    40:01
    Start of 3rd period.
     
    A better period for Kazan than the opening stanza, but Amur is giving the first-place team a tough battle. Ak Bars scored a picturesque goal off the rush to re-tie the game shortly after Amur forged ahead. Even so, the Ak Bars need to generate more shifts in which they generate sustained pressure.

    Shots on goal in the second period were 12 for Amur (22 overall) and 7 for the Ak Bars (16 overall).
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:55
    Galubev with a skittering shot near the buzzer. Kuznetsov fought it off.
     
    34:33
    A beautiful goal scored off the line rush. Emelin triggered the breakout with a stretch pass from behind the net to Tereshchenko. Petrov got a step on the defense and Tereschenko hit him in stride with a pass. With a clear path to the net from the blueline in, Petrov beat Kuznetsov high to the stick side.
     
    33:11
    The initial shot by Fisenko was harmless, but the rebound pinballed around and Gusev stepped out from behind the net to knock the puck in off the defenseman.
     
    33:11
    Goal for Amur!
    Scorer is GUSEV. Assistant Fisenko.
     
    34:33
    Goal for AK Bars!
    Scorer is PETROV. Assistant Tereshchenko, Emelin.
     
    31:27
    Kuznetsov wanted a goalie interference penalty as he got bumped into on edge of the crease. No call.
     
    30:00
    As the game hits the midway point of regulation, Ak Bars break in on a 3-on-2 rush that becomes a 2-on-1 down low. Immonen had an open net but shot wide.
     
    29:11
    Ak Bars defense did a good job making sure Barulin got a good look at a point shot by Jaakola. Covered with no rebound.
     
    27:41
    Ak Bars at full strength. Good puck movement and considerable offensive zone time by Amur but they couldn't break the box.
     
    25:41
    Ak Bars penalty. Obukhov off for high sticking. Could have actually been a double minor for holding and then an inadvertent high stick.
     
    24:57
    Immonen dumped from the faceoff circle again. The linesman has his number a little bit today.
     
    24:25
    Zaripov and Morozov create a pair of scoring chances for the Ak Bars. Kuznetsov hangs on for the stoppage of play.
     
    22:00
    Best shift of the game so far for Lindgren. Showed some jump on the rush.
     
    21:11
    Amur at full strength.
     
    20:01
    Start of 2nd period.
     
    18:49
    Amur penalty. Fisenko off for interference. Teams will skate 4-on-4 until Emelin leaves the box and then Ak Bars will go on a short power play.
     
    Strong first period for the underdog Amur, outworking the home side for much of the period. The Ak Bars did not show a lot of restraint in that period. Even so, they were in a much worse position after the first stanza of Wednesday's game, and still found a way to win.

    Shots in the first period were 10 for Amur and 9 for Ak Bars.
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    19:46
    AK Bars back at full strength, and going on a shortened power play.
     
    15:46
    No chance for Barulin. Rising point shot from Poleshchuk with a screen in front.

    Amur remains on a 5-on-3 power play.
     
    14:27
    Double minor on Ak Bars. Nikulin gets two minutes for tripping Tarasov and then pops him with the glove, trying to draw a retaliation penalty. The two exchange pleasantries -- and shoves -- after the stoppage in the Ak Bars zone. But only Nikulin is going off.

    Amur to a 5-on-3 power play.
     
    13:58
    Ak Bars penalty. Emelin off for inteference. Amur to the power play for the second time.
     
    15:46
    Goal for Amur!
    Scorer is POLESHCHUK.
     
    13:23
    Amur at full strength.
     
    11:23
    Amur penalty. Petruzalek off for tripping behind the defensive net. Ak Bars to their first power play.
     
    9:29
    AK Bars at full strength.
     
    7:29
    Ak Bars penalty. Medvedev goes off for slashing. Amur gets first power play of the match.
     
    7:10
    There it is.... the quick-strike ability that the Ak Bars top line is capable of. First shot of the game for Kazan and it produces a goal.
     
    7:10
    Goal for AK Bars!
    Scorer is MOROZOV. Assistant Nikulin.
     
    6:55
    Immonen gets tossed from face-off circle and has words for the linesman. Wonder if those words were in Finnish or English. Either way, the linesman emphatically waved him out.
     
    6:55
    Slow start for Ak Bars, similar to Wednesday's game. Amur has the first four shots of the period.
     
    4:40
    Barulin fought off some traffic in front to make a nice pad save.
     
    00:01
    Game started.
     
    Starting lineups:

    Ak Bars Kazan: Barulin (Garipov); Medvedev, Nikulin, Emelin, Korneyev, Kulyash, Khomitsky, Yarulin; Morozov, Zaripov, Obukhov, Pesonen, Immonen, N. Kapanen, Petrov, Tereshchenko, Darzins, Galubev, Lukoyanov, Skachkov, Sokolov.

    Amur Khabarovsk: Kuznetsov (Murygin); A. Loginov, V. Loginov, Osipov, Yaakola, Tulupov, Ozhiganov; Lindgren, Hytonen, Lahti, Petruzhalek, Gusev, Orlov, Karatkov, Tarasov, Fisenko, Shitikov, Shishkanov, Yunkov.
     
    Today's game is a mismatch on paper. As the saying goes, however, there is a reason why the game is played on ice and not on paper.

    The matchup pits the Eastern Division leading Ak Bars against 11th-place Amur. The two-time Gagarin Cup champion Ak Bars enter the game as one of the stingiest defensive team in the KHL, and one of the highest-scoring. Meanwhile, only three teams in the league have scored fewer goals than Amur.

    Kazan is coming off a 5-4 shootout win over Sibir Novosibirsk on Wednesday. The Ak Bars trailed 3-1 after the opening period before mounting a comeback.

    Goaltender Konstantin Barulin replaced Emil Garipov after the first period, stopping 16 of 17 shots. Goals by Dmitry Obukhov, Alexei Tereshchenko, Evgeni Medvedev, and Danis Zaripov (15th of the season) powered the Ak Bars before Jarkko Immonen scored the game-winner in the shootout

    Amur managed to score four goals against Salavat Yulaev Ufa on Wednesday but could not keep the puck out of their own net, and went down 6-4. Yakub Petruzhalek, Dmitry Tarasov, Mikhail Fisenko and Alexander Yunkov scored in a losing cause. Alexei Murygin stopped 25 of 31 shots.

    The Ak Bars have two potent scoring lines. Zaripov and Alexei Morozov have been a deadly combination for years, and Dmitri Obukhov has also been effectively. The club also boasts the veteran Finnish trio of Immonen, Niko Kapanen and Janne Pesonen. Meanwhile, defenseman Evgeny Medvedev is one of the best two-way blueliners in the league.

    Amur does not have nearly as much depth as the Ak Bars. However, the team from Khabarovsk does have its own trio of skilled Finnish players, two of whom are recent additions to the lineup.

    A few weeks ago, the team added former SM-liiga scoring champion and ex-NHLer Perttu Lindgren to the roster. Amur also has center Juha-Pekka Hytonen and Janne Lahti (who started the season with the Ak Bars).

    Czech forward Jakub Petruzalek has been Amur's top scorer on the season overall. In 33 games, the former Carolina Hurricanes right winger has 15 goals and 32 points.

    Unfortunately for the team, the offensive talent on the club drops steeply after Petruzalek, Lindgren and Hytonen. Moreover, while the club isn't horrendous defensively, it has not been strong enough at preventing goals to regularly overcome the lack of scoring.
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 15:00.
    Commentary by

    Bill Meltzer

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 8. Morozov (Nikulin), 35. Petrov (Tereshchenko, Emelin), 47. Tereshchenko (Darzins, Medvedev), 52. Kulyash (Darzins, Medvedev) - 16. Poleshchuk (Loginov), 34. Gusev (Fisenko), 42. Orlov (Shishkanov)

    Ak Bars Kazan: Barulin (Garipov); Medvedev, Nikulin, Emelin, Korneyev, Kulyash, Khomitsky, Yarulin; Morozov, Zaripov, Obukhov, Pesonen, Immonen, N. Kapanen, Petrov, Tereshchenko, Darzins, Galubev, Lukoyanov, Skachkov, Sokolov.
    Amur Khabarovsk: Kuznetsov (Murygin); A. Loginov, V. Loginov, Osipov, Yaakola, Tulupov, Ozhiganov; Lindgren, Hytonen, Lahti, Petruzhalek, Gusev, Orlov, Karatkov, Tarasov, Fisenko, Shitikov, Shishkanov, Yunkov.
    Referees: Gashilov, Ravodin
    Attendance: 3560