Press conference after Metallurg – Jokerit game

Ilya Vorobyov, Metallurg head coach:

– The start was not impressive. The pause before the game was long enough. Then the guys played pretty well. I think we were good at everything except ending. Sometimes you lost, but it happens.

– Can you say that this game is completely opposite to the game in Helsinki? I mean in terms of the goals scored by the winner and the PP capitalization percent.

– It was another game. If I look at the goals, the percentage of capitalization, I can say that we acted differently in the second or third period. It is their goalkeeper who did a great job today. He had not played much before and was fresh.

– Why Mozyakin didn't play?

– He is preparing for the playoffs according to his program.

– How much the long pause affected the game? As we all know, Jokerit was catching up the games meanwhile.

– In the first period, 10-12 minutes were affected. A little bit. But only the quality of passes and in the end. The final pass was inaccurate in the end.

– Metallurg lost to a team from West in November. Is it a shame to interrupt the series?

– It's always a shame when the series is interrupted. Do we beat Western teams more often? Why talk about what happened: we were sick, we were getting in shape. Why is this necessary? We had a good series, ten wins in regular time.

– When will Zemchenok return to the team?

– He works according to his program, and we hope that he will play in the next games after the trip.

Lauri Marjamaki, Jokerit head coach:

– Today before the game we were in such a situation: the opponent won ten matches in a row. It was clear that the guys were ready for the game. We played well. In the third period, when the opponent scored twice quickly, it was not easy. But we lost the previous three games. It is good that in the fourth we were able to turn the tide and win. Today, our third link played very well: both defensively and offensively. We looked great. I must say that it was great that the Lindback returned to the gate.

– What do you think about Lindback game?

– It was very nice to see him today. The opponent could have turned the situation during the power play but Lindback didn't let it. It was obvious that he had missed six weeks. But he played well after this pause, well done.

–Today, Jokerit had one of the highest percentages of capitalization on the power play. How do you plan to keep it at the same level?

– Indeed, we played very well today in unequal strength. How to keep it? When you play poorly defensive, it also affects the realization of your chances in attack. Today we played well defensive, and realized our chances in attack. We must keep going!

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Dennis Rasmussen, Metallurg forward:

– We had an unimpressive start and missed three goals. Then we had a chance to make a comeback, but we didn't get it. It is a shame that we interrupted our series, although we were close to a comeback. But in general, the opponent was slightly better than us today.

– Why did you lose in the second period, although Metallurg was stronger in this period?

– The opponent was better. They scored their goals, but we didn't. That is the difference. Ahead is the game against Traktor. It is really important for us to stay in third place, we will make every effort to beat Chelyabinsk.

– What should be done to win?

–Traktor is a good team, but we need to concentrate on our game. Keep the puck, show good speed. And then everything will be fine.

– You should play simpler to even the score today, shouldn't you? It seemed that sometimes there were extra passes.

– I don't know, to be honest, I didn't think about it at the time. We scored twice and tried to equalize. And they made every effort to do so. But in the end, we didn't score the third, but the opponent organized the fourth. Now, after the game, it's probably easy to talk about it. In the game the emotions are different.

Anders Lindback, Jokerit goalkeeper:

– We came out in a good mood, the first period was one hundred percent ours. The second period remained for us, we managed to get a strategic advantage. In the third, Metallurg caught up, managed to close the gap, but we kept the lead. And thanks to our two goals at the end of the third period, we won a very big victory. A serious opponent is beaten.

– How are you feeling after the injury?

–Exactly today is the sixth week since I missed the game. Glad to be back! I did a lot of work while I was in the infirmary. A couple of weeks ago, I already felt that I was ready. But the doctors insisted that we need to finish the recovery. It's good that I returned to the ice so successfully.

– You got lucky a couple of times today, don't you think?

– I wouldn't call it luck! Although, someone will say so. The first goal is a pure hindrance to the goalkeeper, it was correctly cancelled. And in general, you need to earn your luck. Lucky for those who are lucky! Today, as a team, we did a lot of work, and this led to a great final result for all of us.