Gordon compares Tractor's power play to a cat after 2:1 win over Avangard

Tractor beat Avangard 2:1 at home in the KHL, and head coach Scott Gordon spent much of his post-match briefing on the power play, which he likened to a cat.

Asked why Tractor create more in 5-on-5 than with the man advantage, Gordon said the unit is still being built. "Sometimes the players try passes and combinations that don't have to be made, and they force things," he said. "I explain to the team how we want to play in our own zone and in attack at 5-on-5. The power play is still a work in progress."

He pointed to the numbers as a reason not to complain: Tractor scored twice with the extra man in their last two games.

Then came the comparison. "Penalty killing demands strict discipline. Everyone follows the set structure, or nothing works. Does anyone have a dog? You can train a dog. It is loyal and does what you taught it. That is how the penalty kill works," Gordon said. "And does anyone have a cat? A cat will do what it wants anyway. The power play sometimes looks like exactly that. You think you have taught it everything, and then suddenly it starts doing its own thing."

Stepan Gorbunov did not play. Gordon said he was not certain what happened, but believed the forward was hurt in a one-on-one. "I haven't discussed the details of the injury with him," the coach said. "As I understand it, he couldn't skate yesterday and tried to get on the ice today. I hope he can train on Tuesday."

The power play, by the coach's own account, will take longer to settle.