Salavat Yulaev beat Avangard for third time this season and secured ninth consecutive victory

The two principal rivals of Chernyshev's division met at the Balashikha Ice Arena on February 25. Both Avangard and Salavat Yulaev showed progress by the end of the KHL regular season, so the experts were expecting a "fiery" confrontation.

Tomi Lamsa and Bob Hartley's teams demonstrated high-speed but not very effective hockey during the first 40 minutes of the match. The goal by Temu Hartikainen took the guests from Bashkortostan forward five seconds before the break. The Omsk players retained the "goal to gloom over in the locker room" tendency and leveled the score 37 seconds before the end of the second period - 1: 1 on the power play. Before this goal, Salavat Yulaev's goalkeeper Daniil Tarasov made an incredible save, having managed to cover the puck with his back, already on the ice.

In the 47th minute, Hartikainen brought his team closer to the ninth victory in a row by scoring a double.

Bob Hartley tried to capitalize on the power play in the middle of the third period, but the plan did not work out. The Hawks used six outfield players in the last minute of the match but failed to bring the game into overtime - 2: 1. It is the ninth victory in a row for Salavat Yulaev and the third over Avangard in the current KHL regular season.

The Bashkir team will play the final game of the regular season against the local Lokomotiv in Yaroslavl on February 27.