Bryzgalov on Slovaks and the Czechs

Ilya, can you comment the game vs Slovakia? They didn't look in any way inferior.
I have more to say, Slovaks were better than us. They played better and deserved a victory. We made too many mistakes. Too many times we lost the puck in the neutral zone. Out PP was a puzzle to ourselfs. We had too many chances we didn't use. We have to figure out what went wrong. In this sense it is good that we have lost. Everyone should think about why we come here. And how to change our game for the better. Everyone around us is saying that we have already won the gold medals. But the Slovaks showed us our place. Showed us where we are and how we should work to win the gold medals. We have to work hard, not to make to many mistakes and everything will be fine.

Do you have any issues with the team defense?
No. We played well. Our defense was good. We just lost the puck at their blue line too many times.

What was said before the game?
Play active, keep a high tempo to wear them down because they had a tough game vs the Czechs a night before. But it didn't work out for us. Again because of a lot of turnovers.

Why the dream five of Ovechkin, Malkin, Kovalchuk, Semin and Gonchar couldn't find their play?
We were standing too far apart in their zone. The goalkeeper could see everything. It's very hard to score that way. It is necessary to obscure goalie's view, to interfere. And all we did was just standing on the perimeter and shoot from there.

Why the team did not play as well in the third period as it did in the second?
I have no idea... again, the ice was bad. The guys were trying to create something, but they were losing the puck.

Are you surprised that in the shootouts the team used Kovalchuk and Ovechkin who are not the best shootout players in the NHL?
This question is not for me.

How do you assess your play?
I can add it to my asset. On the other hand, how can you separate yourself from the team? We have lost, it means we all must work harder.

What's next?
We must defeat the Czechs to take the first place in the group and secure a place in the quarterfinals. In fact, the situation has not changed at all. Even if we could've beat the Slovaks we still should've been obliged to beat the Czech Republic.

Source: www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/371770

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