Mikhail Kravets, head coach of Astana's Barys, commented on his team's lopsided victory over Lada of Tolyatti in the Kontinental Hockey League regular season. The Kazakh club won its first away game of the season 6-0, according to infohub.kz.
According to Kravets, before the game the coaching staff paid special attention to discipline, battles, and the opponent's power play.
"I want to congratulate the fans on the victory and the team. It was a tough game, a serious opponent. In the previous meeting, Lada won. We knew the opponent plays well on the power play. We needed speed, we needed to win battles, get to the net, and stay out of the penalty box. In principle, that's what we did," the coach was quoted as saying by Barys's press service.
The coach admitted that the start of the game was not the most confident for Barys, but the team managed to adjust.
"In the first period we were a bit lost, probably not awake, or on the contrary, overexcited. Then we pulled ourselves together, started playing more with the puck, attacked sharply, and defended well. We blocked many shots and allowed few shots on our goal," the specialist noted.
Kravets also spoke separately about Justin Bailey, who scored twice. According to the coach, the American forward was initially brought in for a leading role.
"When we selected him, we had a conversation with him. Of course, we took this player for a leadership position," Kravets said.
In the game against Lada, Bailey scored Barys's second and fifth goals. Jake Massie, Semyon Simonov, Ian McCoshen, and Tys Thompson also scored for the Astana team. The Kazakh club won 6-0 and secured its third victory in four games of the new KHL season.
Bailey has recorded points in all four of Barys's opening games. After his double in Tolyatti, the 31-year-old forward has nine points – five goals and four assists. He remains the top scorer for the Astana team.
Before facing Lada, Barys routed Sibir 7-1 at home, beat Salavat Yulaev 8-6, and lost to Amur 1-3. The team's first away tour will continue with games in Magnitogorsk, Yaroslavl, and Moscow.