Defender “Barysse” Alexander Grant commented on the defeat of the team of “Ak Barsa” (1:2) in the Fonbet KHL Championship and assessed the Kazakhs’ chances of advancing to the playoffs.
Barys is 10th in the Eastern Conference table with 57 points in 60 games.
Was this game special?
– Every time you come here, you have the feeling that there will be a game of a slightly different level. You will face an extremely serious opponent, there will be a big game and you will have to play to the limit. I think we got through the first segment with confidence; in the second, I think, they weren’t like them, they were playing, let’s say, soft-bodied. Yes, they won the playoffs, they controlled the middle zone, they had the puck, they pushed, they pushed. We were stuck in our zone and couldn’t change. We had to win the fight, neutral pucks, play in their zone.
Well, their winning goal, when we were in the majority – it wasn’t easy. Difficult moment of the game, I think we reacted well to this conceded puck, but there was little good, since we did not know how to convert the goal opportunities. This puck made a difference in the game – they wanted to score on their own, but unfortunately they got into their own net.
– Disappointed?
– Yes, a little, but all is not lost, we are still in the hunt for the playoffs, so we have to recover that in the next game.
– Probably, look at the table, is there such a situation where competitors are higher than you?
Don’t worry, it won’t do you any good. It’s all in our hands and our heads, we know we can play better, we have to go out and do it. So don’t bother looking at what competitors have there, if we are in order then we will enter the playoffs.
– How do you play Barys after S.K.A. ?
– Everything is great, I like everything. Yes, there are a lot of foreigners, good local players, I think we have a great team and coaching staff. I am grateful to the leadership of both clubs, they did a lot for me, they gave me confidence that there would be no external difficulties and that my head would only be occupied by hockey.
– How did you perceive the exchange of SKA? It looked like you weren’t allowed to open.
– It was not easy. I understand that I did not show the best hockey. SKA is always big ambitions and tasks, turns out I just didn’t cope, so I dropped the roster and they traded me.
– You became the first defenseman to score four goals in a KHL game. How did you do in Vladivostok, where the most essential team in the championship plays?
— It was a big game and an important victory. I don’t even know how it happened, there are days when you, as they say, “fly”. Naturally, not without some luck and effort from the partners. It is extremely pleasant to experience such moments and go down in the history of the league, – Metaratings.ru quotes the grant.
Watch live broadcasts of KHL matches on the federal channel , thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Metaratings.ru
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
