Playoffs 1st Round, Game 4: Neftekhimik 4–2 Ak Bars 03/07/2023

Neftekhimik got a win over Ak Bars 4–2.

In the first period there were not any goals scored. At the start of the second period, Ak Bars took the lead with two goals scored in 38 seconds.

Neftekhimik did not give up and did its best to tie the game up. In the middle of the second, Sergei Kuptsov skated to an offensive zone and made a great no-look pass to Raul Yakupov to score a one-timer. That was a great moment for the 18-year-old forward who scored his first KHL goal.

Raul became the youngest goalscorer in the history of our team in the playoffs!

Six minutes later, Semyon Kizimov tied the game up. After that, Sergei Kuptsov got a major penalty. Neftekhimik PK units did a great job and did not concede any goals.

In the third period, our team got a power play. Vyacheslav Leshchenko skated behind the net and set up Evgeny Mityakin for his first ever KHL playoff goal.

Ak Bars tried to save the game, unfortunately for Kazan team, Neftekhimik applied huge pressure on Ak Bars’s net. One minute before the end of the third period, Leshchenko scored a fourth goal on a rebound.

Series tied at 2-2.

Upcoming games:

March 9, 2023 vs Ak Bars (Away game)

March 11, 2023 vs Ak Bars (Home game)

March 13*, 2023 vs Ak Bars (Away game) * if necessary