Vanguard Head Coach Mikhail Kravets answered the question of what was the key moment in Game 1 of the KHL Eastern Conference Finals against Ak Bars.
Kazan “Ak Bars” beat Omsk “Avangard” in extra time with the score 3:2.
— Tense game throughout the three periods. At first there were unjustified deletions – one, the second. Of course, they shouldn’t be. We took over the game, bent our line, worked with a certain confidence in defense. Losing 0:2, we had a good third period and tied the score.
In overtime, Ak Bars has already settled the question. It was not a system error, a player showed skill and threw well. There is no lottery here, good luck. We had a great start to overtime, playing almost every shift in the offensive zone. The opponent threw the puck, picked it up, the player threw it well under the defender. This is where skill comes in.
I would not say that in the second and third period Ak Bars controlled the game. The first period was played a little timidly, we backed down, that’s what happened. But that was in the beginning and it happened because of two unfortunate deletions.
Psychology? We are not girls, we need to analyze and prepare, the series does not stop there. As for the loss of game tone, those who do not always understand the situation write about it. I think a good rest and the emotions gained during rest, training lifts the spirits, for guys it’s better.
Sharipzyanov, as usual, played very well, kept the team in his hands, led the process in the locker room. The fact that he entered the game is both the recovery and his character,” the KHL press service quoted the coach as saying.
The score of the series up to four wins became 1-0 in favor of Ak Bars. The next game will take place on April 3 in Kazan.
Watch live broadcasts of KHL playoff matches on the federal channel and thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV

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