Head coach of Nizhny Novgorod “Torpedo” Igor Larionov declared that the Kontinental Hockey League regular season away game against “Spartacus” was not easy, despite a big victory with a score of 6:0.
– What can I say… well, yes, it’s a difficult match. I’ll start with the fact that you have to say “thank you” to your opponent for the match, it’s difficult to lose at home with such a score. But to our team – with victory. However, the last two games were good for us.
— Once you said with particular confidence that you will beat Spartak. Did the players remember it?
– Every match that took place this season left its mark on my soul. You understand that with a good result, you don’t leave with empty pockets. It’s understandable that you remind the team of this. As the season progresses, the team grows and becomes more organized. Before today’s match we reminded that we must show what we show during the season. I didn’t want to be a team for an hour, for one or two games. Stability is important. The conference is very tight, but we don’t look at the table, we only look at our game and we build on our hockey.
— Firstov’s scoreless streak has been broken.
— It’s always nice to do that, it’s not easy for the players. It’s a playing career that, for many, seems only smooth, with no bumps or holes, they say everything will be fine. But when you lose confidence and don’t score, you always look for reasons within yourself. It is important to support the players, to help them find these words which will become turning points for them. But there are no secrets, what matters is their attitude. When they do the right things, goals and confidence come.
— How are you going to spend the break after such a successful series?
– We have a plan. On the one hand, it’s good that there is a break, but we lose the rhythm of the game. We have a large group of people working on the physical preparation of the players. There is a plan, but I won’t reveal it. We don’t want our windows to be too big. During the season you want to play constantly, but in such a way that there are no fluctuations. You must adapt, not make excuses, and do your job effectively.
— Have you been reminded that Spartak is an extremely troublesome team for you?
— Yes, you generally have to say this kind of thing because the team is changing. You are right, in many matches they were more or less tied, but they came away with defeats. This must be repeated, because such a team is our opponent before the playoffs. Today we need to make the players understand that a team in uniform with a deer must be aggressive and smart,” Larionov was quoted as saying by a correspondent.
Torpedo scored 35 points and ranked 6th in the KHL Western Conference.
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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.
