KAZAN (Interstat) — Ak Bars beat Torpedo 5-2 on Monday in a Kontinental Hockey League game at TatNeft Arena. Ak Bars built its win with a three-goal first period and added goals in the second and third. Torpedo answered with one goal in the first and one in the third but could not close the gap. The announced attendance was 7,345. Ak Bars improved to 12-14, while Torpedo fell to 14-9.

Ak Bars defenseman Stepan Terekhov opened the scoring 6:26 into the first period, with Yegor Sokolov assisting. Albert Yarullin made it 2-0 at 9:10 off assists from Alexei Byvaltsev and Alexander Chmelevski. Torpedo forward Igor Geraskin got on the board at 11:50 when he scored from Pavel Kraskovsky. Ak Bars forward Semyon Terekhov restored a two-goal lead late in the period when he scored at 19:06, with Grigory Denisenko and Alexei Marchenko assisting. The first-period burst set the tone and forced Torpedo to chase the game. Torpedo’s Yegor Vinogradov was called for tripping at 8:25, and Ak Bars’ Andrei Dulnev was sent off for tripping at 13:05. The period produced four goals and two minor penalties. Ak Bars led 3-1 after the first period.

Byvaltsev extended the lead at 32:29 of the second period, with Chmelevski picking up another assist. Ak Bars protected the advantage from there and received steady goaltending from Timur Bilyalov, who stopped 25 of 27 shots for the win. Bilyalov, the top star for Ak Bars, had recently lost starts at Sibir Novosibirsk and against Avangard Omsk before turning in this 25-save effort. His previous starts were a 3-1 loss at Sibir Novosibirsk and a 4-0 loss against Avangard Omsk. In those previous two starts, Bilyalov made 22 saves on 25 shots and 25 saves on 28 shots. Ak Bars’ Nikita S. Yevseyev received a tripping penalty at 38:06. Byvaltsev’s goal gave Ak Bars a 4-1 lead after two periods.

Ak Bars forward Andrei Stas scored at 51:26 of the third period for Ak Bars, with Nikita Lyamkin and Denisenko assisting. Torpedo forward Pavel Kraskovsky answered at 57:51, with Daniil Seroukh and Geraskin assisting. Kraskovsky finished with a goal and an assist, two shots, two penalty minutes and five hits. Geraskin had a goal and an assist, one shot and one hit. Stas added a goal, one shot and one hit. Denisenko had two assists, four shots and two hits. Byvaltsev had a goal and an assist with three shots. Stepan Terekhov scored once, while Marchenko had an assist and three shots. Chmelevski recorded two assists and three shots. Seroukh had one assist, three shots and one hit. Kraskovsky is listed at 6-foot-3 and 196 pounds. Geraskin is listed at 5-foot-4 and 152 pounds. Torpedo’s Kraskovsky was called for holding at 41:58, and Vinogradov received a slashing penalty at 51:06. The third period included two Torpedo penalties and two goals.

Torpedo had won two straight entering the game, including a 4-3 home win against Dynamo and a 3-1 home victory against Spartak. Before that, Torpedo lost at Avtomobilist in a shootout and won at SKA. Ak Bars had lost three of four, including a 5-3 road loss at Traktor and a 3-1 road loss at Sibir. Ak Bars had also lost at home to SKA and beaten Amur at home. Torpedo had won both earlier meetings this season by one goal, including a shootout victory at Ak Bars. Torpedo’s next game is at CSKA, and Ak Bars next plays at Salavat Yulaev.

Interstat’s game simulator projected Torpedo 3, Ak Bars 2. Interstat’s ELO system gave Ak Bars a 60.8 percent chance to win. The total score of 7 went under the over/under line of 4.5.