Barys - Salavat Yulaev. Trainer's comments

After the match Barys - Salavat Yulaev (3:2 S) a press conference was held with the head trainers of both teams.

Viktor Kozlov, Salavat Yulaev Head Trainer

- As they say, it's like looking at the glass half empty or half full. In our situation, based on the content of the game, how many chances we created and how we performed, I think we have the glass half full. On dedication and everything. Semyon Vyazovoi played his second game in the KHL, made good progress, played well. So there were a lot of positives.

- Does Samonov's absence affect the game?

- Samonov is our first puckstopper, it's not a secret. It's just that Alexander has been sick. That's why he can't help us now.

- Considering that the opponent has two games in a row, why didn't you decide to experiment with combinations?

- On the contrary, I wanted the guys to play more together, improve chemistry and communication. I wouldn't say it made a difference for Barys the second day of play at homestand. They played well today.

- How well did Salavat cope with Barys' pressing, especially in the first two periods?

- I didn't see a problem. Barys pressed well, but I didn't see that we had any difficulties.

Oleg Bolyakin, acting head trainer of Barys

- First of all, I want to congratulate the fans on the victory and apologize for yesterday's unconvincing game of our team. We've talked with the guys today, drawn conclusions. Explained that we play for the fans who come and support the team. Was told to play mobile against a good, upbeat and fast team. So basically they did the job, well done, selfless. There were a lot of blocked throws. They played well on offense. We needed this win.

- Throughout the match you played three links, why?

- We played for results, with this team we didn't take any risks. In Ufa, we graduated our young guys. They missed an unnecessary goal. They couldn't get out of the zone for forty minutes and got the second goal. Today, the game plan worked. A win is a win, so I think we drew the right lessons and did the right thing.

- Games two days in a row. Was it fatigue?

- There was no fatigue. Defeats don't give you confidence, and when there are defeats, it's harder to recover. And when a team wins, players recover much faster because they get positive emotions from the game. But unfortunately, there aren't always good games. The boys did a good job today. The fans are good, they supported well. Especially at the end, we played not three on four, but four on four with that kind of support. Thank them very much!

- Yesterday you talked about Shestakov's injury, today he came out in additional protection. What kind of injury does he have?

- He and Kirill (Savitsky) met each other at the blue line. He's handsome now, though. He's become such a good-looking guy. Great job today. We've got Alex Grant injured right now, going for x-rays. Victories don't come easy.

- Ansar Shaikhmeddenov is back after a rather long layoff in the KHL. How would you rate his two games?

- Yesterday was a little hard on him. I believe he was already feeling confident in the third period. He looked great today, added his energy and dynamics. I think he's going to get better every game. We need him and he's been very good for the team.

General Partner of Barys HC – Samruk Kazyna SWF JSC

Partner of HC Barys - Fund for the Support of the Tourism and Sports Industry CF

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