Head coach of Yekaterinburg “Motorist” Nikolai Zavarukhin the distinguished goalkeeper Magnitogorsk “Metallurgy” Ilya Nabokov after the Gagarin Cup match.
On Wednesday, Avtomobilist lost to Metallurg with a score of 1:2 in the first match of the KHL playoff semi-final series.
— In the first half, we lost the rhythm of the game, the opponent was faster, created chances more quickly. In the second half, the game was more equal, there were chances. To score, somewhere, there was not enough aggression under the opposing goal, first of all. In the third period we added more chances, but there was not enough traffic in front of the goalie, who saw direct shots, plays the puck very well, the opposing goalie played very well. Even if there was a good moment in the first half. Let’s move on, just the first match, you have to look at the statistics, we seem to have equalized in the third period, 25 shots blocked. Maybe it’s because of blocked shots in winning games, but there haven’t been enough goals, there hasn’t been enough of the most important thing: goals.
— Alikin keeps you very serious in the game, to what extent is this an opportunity to free you up for the field?
— When the goalkeeper plays with confidence, then the team plays with confidence, somewhere there are passes that are not entirely correct. It’s good that the goalkeepers are playing well.
— You said there wasn’t enough traffic and aggression in front of Nabokov’s goal to score against him. I remember Alexei Zhamnov saying similar words when explaining why he couldn’t score. Is it because Magnitogorsk’s defensive game is so structured and tight that it minimizes opposing traffic?
“They probably rush quickly, don’t give defenders or attackers time to think, and don’t have time to do it when they need to.” Also they don’t let you play on the spot, they cover the goalie, he’s a good goalie – Nabokov, he catches clean and direct shots, he has few rebounds, mostly traffic in front is needed him,” the Metallurg website quoted Zavarukhin as saying.
The second match of the series up to four victories will take place on April 5 in Magnitogorsk.
Watch live broadcasts of Gagarin Cup matches on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.
Official website of HC “Metallurg” (Magnitogorsk)
Source : MatchTV
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