Goalkeeper of Moscow “Spartak” Dmitry Nikolaev told that at the beginning of his career he never reflected almost 60 shots in a game, as in the KHL match against Capital Dynamo.
On Saturday, Spartak won at home in a penalty shootout against Dynamo – 4:3, Nikolaev saved 59 shots.
– You will probably say that you like it when people throw away a lot?
– I won’t say that. No one really likes to throw too much. Because at the end of the match, I made almost 60 saves. It’s not simple. This happens very rarely. This is the first time in my KHL career that I have given up so much. But I succeeded.
— What moment was the most psychologically difficult?
— Psychologically, there was definitely nothing. They scored and equalized. But there was still plenty of time to play, besides overtime and shootouts. You can’t get angry. I just played until the end.
— Tell us about your “save of the year.”
– My legs were a bit blocked – either by their player or ours. I just see how the Dynamo player walks through the door. All that remained was to jump. I would have had time to develop in the position normally and play correctly. But it turned out so. Thank God I hit the puck.
— For the first time this season, Spartak won on penalties.
“I knew this would happen.” I saw the boys during the breaks how excited they were and how much they wanted to win. I believed in them and in myself that we would win this series.
— Patrick Rybar has been absent for four weeks, so the burden on you is now heavier. How would you assess the situation?
“It’s thanks to matches like this that we get in shape.” This match was similar to the playoffs – very cool in terms of intensity, fight, goals and atmosphere. The fans were very supportive. It is through matches like this that we approach the Gagarin Cup,” Nikolaev told .
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Source : MatchTV
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