Salavat Yulaev Defeats Neftekhimik, Climbs to Fifth in Eastern Conference
Salavat Yulaev entered the February break on a high note: the team defeated Neftekhimik 2:1 and secured their fifth consecutive victory, moving up to fifth place in the conference.
The author from UFA1.RU discusses controversial refereeing decisions, analyzes the goals, and talks with team captain Grigory Panin.
Zorkin Nets February«s First Goal, Repeating His January Feat Against Neftekhimik
The match against Neftekhimik started with Sheldon Rempal being penalized for hooking. The penalty kill passed without major threats, although it began surprisingly statically — usually, Salavat is more active in clearing the puck from their zone.
Towards the end of the attempt, they managed it: Pyotr Khokhryakov intercepted a pass from the guests at the point, then Maxim Kuznetsov successfully battled for the puck in the offensive zone and passed to Danil Alalykin for a — subsequently blocked — shot.
The Nizhnekamsk club aimed to play actively before and after the attempt, but conceded on a counterattack.
The Ufa team dumped the puck into the zone. Fyodor Kroshchinsky was first to the rebound, but sent the puck around the boards incorrectly — essentially gifting it to Vladimir Butuzov and Yevgeny Kuznetsov, who together easily won the battle against a single opponent.
Kuznetsov found Nikita Zorkin with a pass into open space. Number 52 put everything into a wrist shot and hit under the crossbar. But goaltender Filipp Dolganov didn«t bail them out — he had plenty of time and no obstacles. The goalie was injured and played his first game since January 3.
Interestingly, in two consecutive matches in Bashkortostan, the visiting teams are fifth in their conferences. Neftekhimik was more impressive than Torpedo. Also a fast team, but more thoughtful in attack: more touch passes, passes to open players, initially more pressing and quality puck retrieval after battles. And greater (though due to the second period) pressure on the «slot».
But not more technique and execution quality. In 2026, it must be obvious that talk about «the youth blossoming in the absence of European legionnaires» is empty populism. These are not interrelated processes. In the modern league, there is much more sloppy play than four years ago.
Before the end of the period, Rempal was penalized again: after the whistle, he hit former teammate Dinar Khafizullin. He was wrong. But the referees were also wrong for missing a hooking penalty; Khafizullin literally grabbed Rempal«s stick and didn»t let go. Head referee Yuri Oskirko was on the line, saw everything, but only penalized the Canadian.
Neftekhimik Rewarded Itself for Activity Early in the Second Period: Ufa Allowed Nikita Khoruzhev into Their «Slot», and He Scored
Because during a change of positions, Dine Stuart and Danil Alalykin didn«t understand each other. As a result — no one covered the right post. This shouldn»t happen in the playoffs — everyone should hear each other«s thoughts, everything should be practiced.
Zharovsky and Suchkov Won a Battle in the Corner, Kulik Also Scored After a Cross. In the First January Match, the First Two Goals Were Also Scored by Defensemen
By the way, Yevgeny is a former teammate of match commentator Artyom Batrak.
According to the Referees, Yevgeny Kuznetsov Hooked an Opponent, Leaving the Team Shorthanded
An opponent in motion knocked the stick out of Yevgeny«s hands. The club should appeal to the league for clarification on the episode. If this is the correct decision, clubs will better learn what is and isn»t allowed — players only benefit from that. If it«s a mistake, then the referees will better understand the details of their work — and players benefit from that too.
If there is a right, it can and should be used; the show should be created by hockey players, not referees, and everyone should clearly understand what is by the rules and what isn«t. But at the press conference, Viktor Kozlov said that this was the refereeing line and there would be no appeal.
But there shouldn«t be any »refereeing line«. Of course, all referees are different people, and it»s impossible to assess everything absolutely identically. It«s not even possible to execute a face-off perfectly. However, it is possible to establish limits and boundaries. It»s incorrect when in one match they call it strictly by the book, and in another — more is allowed.
Dolganov Made a Spectacular Save Late in the Second Period: Already Lying on the Ice, He Raised His Glove and Paddle, Preventing Rempal from Scoring
Also in this shift, Damir Zhafyarov fouled Kuznetsov, and at the period break, Salavat earned a power play.
In the second and third periods, there were plenty of «swings» — the teams played openly, with no hint of density in the neutral zone. And emotions — it didn«t come to full fights (even a pity), but there were few minor skirmishes. But the main effect, of course, came from fairly frequent shots hitting the goal frame.
One as a result of a slick deke — soon after Rempal«s third penalty, about which he should have no questions. Sheldon is ultra-charged. If he learns to control his emotions better, he»ll become a truly cool player. One day, his penalties could play a cruel joke on the team.
Neftekhimik possessed the puck a lot. Salavat controlled more how they defended, and only shot on Dolganov«s net four times in the third period. This is the »norm variant« this season, although, of course, there»s no benefit in defending so much. In this case, however, it«s also a question of »physics«.
The Greens won their fifth consecutive match, and the «wolves» (suddenly this image might stick?) — their fourth consecutive home game. The Ufa club at least temporarily rose to fifth place in the conference. However, Igor Grishin«s team will play away against Sibir on February 4 and could push Salavat Yulaev back to sixth place.
With 15 games until the playoffs, hockey Ufa is in an optimistic mood: Semyon Vyazovoi has stopped letting in «his» goals and keeps the team in games, not only Rempal scores, the penalty kill is reliable, often threats are well diverted to the perimeter. The power play still creaks, sometimes there are monstrous defensive errors, the team at times possesses the puck much less than the opponent.
Can such a Salavat be believed in the playoffs? It depends on what the question is about. The Gagarin Cup? Medals? It«s not impossible, but extremely difficult; for that, an incredible amount must align.
Getting past the first round? Now that seems more believable, but it also depends on the opponent. It«s very realistic to get past Neftekhimik (they don»t have comparable playoff experience). Avtomobilist, Ak Bars — much tougher, but there will be a battle. Metallurg, Avangard — read the previous paragraph.
Grigory Panin: «The Guys Are Building Momentum»
The team captain — on the meeting with Neftekhimik, the guests« pressure on the »slot«, and continuing his career.
— Actually, it was a tough game today. And, probably, somewhere at the beginning of the first period, we were losing battles and losing the puck on zone entry. But overall, the guys still, despite something not working out, tried, played to win. And that«s where the result comes from. When you go out, you try, in any case, you process it.
— It turned out to be a rather emotional game. How do you like such matches? Do they become more interesting? Do you get additionally fired up?
— I, on the contrary, am calmer about it. Not to not stick my nose somewhere unnecessarily, but to not ignite some new wave, so the game doesn«t turn into some kind of brawl. On the contrary, you need to calm it down. And say something to the guys from Neftekhimik, and to your own guys. So here, on the contrary, you need to maintain the game rhythm so nothing gets disrupted.
— This was already the fifth game against Neftekhimik. How would you describe this opponent in general? This is one of the best seasons in the club«s history.
— I know that the guys have a good atmosphere in the team. This allows young players to open up and «old» players to show their skill and experience. So it«s good when a team manages to play like that. It»s not easy to play against Neftekhimik either. It«s not easy to play against any team.
— It turned out somewhat contrastingly that in the first and third periods they allowed one shot from the «slot», but loaded up more in the second.
— Always, when the opponent is down by one goal, our responsibility increases. Accordingly, somewhere on some positions we linger a bit, and the opponent, on the contrary, starts taking more risks and coming into attacking positions. So this is a normal situation, the main thing is to have mutual cover and support.
— Effectively, this was a match for fifth place, albeit temporarily. How was that perceived, did you even look at it?
— Before the game, every one of the guys understood that it was a game for 4 points, so no matter what, we needed to take these points.
— Why is Salavat on a roll now?
— Everything comes through work. Everyone tries, everyone participates in the game, off the ice, here, in the locker room.
— Overall, in what state is Salavat«s game with 15 games until the playoffs?
— There«s no specific assessment, but if you look specifically at the facts, at the numbers, the guys are gaining confidence, building this momentum, gaining experience. If before, two years ago, there were »advances«, now they are starting to move into leading positions. This can»t but please. And overall, every player also pushes the team. You see it perfectly yourself: Yegor Suchkov, Vlad Efremov, Gorshkov, Kuznetsov one, two, Zharovsky, Yaroslav [Tsulygin], take all the young guys — all are progressing.
— Planning your thousandth game?
— Planning to.
Three Stars of the Match According to UFA1.RU
Suchkov: battle and an assist on the game-winning goal.
Yevgeny Kuznetsov: drew a penalty (to balance with his own, allegedly, infraction), assist on Zorkin«s goal.
Vyazovoi: reliable performance.
Next Games — In 10 Days
On February 7 and 8 in Yekaterinburg, the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) All-Star Game will take place. Salavat Yulaev is represented by goaltender Semyon Vyazovoi, defenseman Alexei Vasilevsky, and forward Alexander Zharovsky.
All of them will play for the Ural Stars team, composed of players from Avtomobilist, Metallurg, Traktor, and Salavat. Other teams: U23 Stars (youth), World Stars (legionnaires), and RUS Stars (Russians; for some reason exactly RUS, not Russia).
Additionally, two best participants of the MHL Challenge Cup, which will also take place in Yekaterinburg on February 6, will play for the U23 team. Forwards from Ufa«s Tolpar, Bulat Akhsyanov and Arthur Faizov, made the Eastern Conference team. They have a chance to join the Bashkortostan delegation.
After the championship break, Salavat will have 15 games left in the regular season: 6 in February and 9 in March:
February 13, 19:00. Salavat Yulaev — Metallurg
February 16, 21:30. SKA — Salavat Yulaev
February 18, 19:00. Traktor — Salavat Yulaev
February 22, 16:30. Salavat Yulaev — Spartak
February 24, 19:00. Salavat Yulaev — Sibir
February 26, 19:00. Salavat Yulaev — Traktor
March 1, 12:00. Admiral — Salavat Yulaev
March 3, 14:30. Admiral — Salavat Yulaev
March 5, 14:15. Amur — Salavat Yulaev
March 7, 12:00. Amur — Salavat Yulaev
March 11, 19:00. Salavat Yulaev — Metallurg
March 13, 19:00. Salavat Yulaev — Dynamo
March 15, 16:30. Salavat Yulaev — Shanghai Dragons
March 18, 19:00. Salavat Yulaev — Neftekhimik
March 20, 19:00. Salavat Yulaev — Sochi
