Gatiyatulin: Ak Bars still taking shape after 2-1 loss to Metallurg

Ak Bars head coach Anvar Gatiyatulin said his side is still taking shape after a 2-1 defeat at Metallurg in the Fonbet KHL Championship. Many of his players, he said, have little KHL experience.

Ak Bars scored first, which Gatiyatulin said they had not done for some time. "We hadn't opened the scoring for a long while, and today we did," he said. "We controlled the game until they equalised."

Metallurg scored once, then converted a power play. Ak Bars spent almost all the remaining time in the attacking zone and did not level.

Asked whether it might be better not to score first, Gatiyatulin pointed to the start. "We began well: there was movement straight away, and we had control of the puck," he said. "The team is being put together, many of the lads don't have much KHL experience, and it matters to go through different games with different patterns."

Asked about Galimov and Katelevsky, who were both hurt in the game, he said: "Artem went to hospital for an X-ray. Dima and Nikita took knocks and are being stitched up. The doctors are working. I hope they will be available for the next game."

If all three miss the next fixture, Gatiyatulin will have to rebuild his line-up with a group he describes as short of experience.