Press Conference «Neftekhimik – Lokomotiv» 11/8/2026
08.11.2026
Neftekhimik Head Coach Igor Grishin speaks with the media after a following 1–5 loss against Lokomotiv.
–In the last two games against Sochi and Magnitogorsk, the team has struggled, and we still have not managed to reach the level of physical conditioning we need. That shows in the results.– Damir Zhafyarov returned to the lineup after a short absence caused by a minor injury. How would you rate his condition?
– We had hoped he would be in better shape.
– Late in the third period, with the score at 4–1, you pulled the goaltender for an extra skater. Were you still hoping to rescue the game, or were you trying to build some momentum for the next game?
– Hope dies last. Just recently in the NHL, a team wiped out a four-goal trailling in two minutes,anything can happen. We were also looking to set a foundation for the next game. We came close to making it 4–2.
– The team has struggled to score lately and at the same time has conceded a lot. What do you see as the reason?
– As I said, the team is not in top form; the players lack freshness. I have said this before: our team plays well when our physical conditioning is where it needs to be. We simply do not have enough highly skilled players. We rely on our physical preparation and strong movement, when those elements are missing, things get hard for us. When scoring chances come, and they did, we lack the individual skill to convert them, the kind of skill that players like Shalunov or Kayumov have. We do not have enough of that, so we have to rely on good movement and other similar parts of our game.
– Would it be fair to say the team lacked emotion today?
– Yes, that is right, we were definitely short on emotion. We tried to fire the guys up before the game and get them going. Words alone are not enough; you need emotion. We need to take stock and try to get the players back into proper physical condition. We will reflect on this and analyze what happened.
Lokomotiv Head Coach Dmitri Kvartalnov:
– We had a good game today. Our power play worked well. In the second period we found ourselves in a “three-on-five” situation and still held our ground. We closed it out with a win. The players did a great job!
– In your last four home games, you had a 1–0 loss to Lada, a 4–1 win over Spartak, another 1–0 loss to Lada, and today a 5–1 win. Why there is such inconsistency?
– That is just how it has gone so far. We faced Neftekhimik not long ago; the game in Yaroslavl looked a little different. Today we may have been a little fresher. Nizhnekamsk played well that time, and we could not win at home – there are no excuses for that. I agree that we need more consistency and fewer ups and downs. We have conceded very few goals, but we also went through a scoring drought. We knew the situation well. Today we scored plenty of goals. We need to keep that going.
