24 February 2024

Barys - Lada. Trainer's comments

After the match Barys – Lada (1:4) a press conference was held with the Head Trainers of both teams.

Oleg Bratash, Lada Head Trainer

- Today, of course, both teams should have found motivation. But, in principle, the game turned out to be pretty vibrant, sharp and tense. After we managed to lead 2-0, our players, it seems, considered that the deal is done, so they lost the thread of the game a little bit and opened up many chances for the opponents. Podyapolsky was great - only one puck missed. It certainly doesn't reflect the number of chances we let our opponent create. The third period was better. Good use of our chances.

- You missed the puck on the power play, and there were also chances for the opponent in the short-handed. Why did this happen?

- I think it's mostly a lack of concentration. Apparently, they thought early on that it was possible to play calmly to victory without concentration. Such things are punishable in sports, today we were saved by our puckstopper. Otherwise, all premises seemed to be that the opponent would punish us for it.

- Now Lada is in seventh place, although they started the season very well. Are there any aspects that you would like to improve upon?

- There's always something to improve upon, just as there's always something to improve upon if you're not champions. There's always a thing that can be improved though. So, if you ask the question like that, let's look at the budgets of the teams, at the formation and composition of the teams. And then we will discuss it from this perspective. Is seventh place good for Lada, or is it not good?

- After returning to the KHL, it's a good thing.

- Well, you've answered your own question.

Oleg Bolyakin, acting head trainer of Barys

- We had a pretty good game on our end. We had plenty of chances, but the laws of hockey came into play: "if you don't score, your rivals score". I've said before, some of our young players are sometimes a little bit confused about how to play in difficult moments. Silly mistakes lead to silly goals. Unfortunately, we missed our game that we should have won. We'll draw conclusions, teach our boys. That's what we do.

- The final game of the regular season is in a day. Why did Barys fail to enter the playoff zone?

- We will analyze it after the championship. Losing key players is one of the reasons. Positions have been stripped, and we've taken young guys in their place. They with their burden of responsibility and playing time they couldn't handle, couldn't digest. I think that's one of the reasons, although I've always said that Barys' system works properly. The vertical is built, and those guys who play in the MHL, Nomad and Barys, they get that rich experience that helps them on the international stage. The club's management has done everything for this. Our three national teams play in the top division, I think that's worth a lot. We'll analyze Barys, then bring it to the fans and the press. This is the situation right now on the hot seat.

- Pasquale wasn't in goal today, and Savitski wasn't on the ice, what's wrong with the guys?

- Pasquale has a back injury. Savitski has been moved to the injured list. We also have Shalapov and Cherveni injured. Players get injured when they do a lot of work. Overexertion takes a toll on health. The rotation is small, guys get a lot of playing time, injuries happen because of that.

- Boyarkin was the backup goalie, does that mean he could be in the starting lineup for the last game?

- No, he's flying with Nomad tomorrow, because Nomad has the same purpose. Everyone knows that purpose.

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