"No one goes out on the ice to lose"

Dynamo Moscow's hockey players had an unsuccessful start to the current KHL season and were outside the playoff zone for some time, but since the end of September they began to improve the situation. Having won the last four matches, Alexey Kudashov's team rose to fourth place in the Western Conference with a three-point gap from the leading Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. The blue and white team was especially successful in the last game — losing the derby with CSKA 0-3, they came away from defeat and won the shootout (4:3). The team's rise coincided with the return of the main goalkeeper Vladislav Podyapolsky, who missed the whole of September due to injury. It was after his appearance on the ice that the current winning streak began. In an interview with Izvestia, the Dynamo goalkeeper praised the team's performance and also explained the club's objectives for the current KHL regular season.

— How would you rate Dynamo's results in recent matches?

— It's great that we're winning and moving up in the standings. Everyone does their job well on the ice and plays with maximum efficiency. Therefore, such results.

— Have you already gotten in shape after your injury?

— I would not say that I am in optimal shape yet. But I'm gradually gaining it through games. And with every match I feel better and better.

"We need to put away our "I", work for the team"

Dynamo Moscow hockey player Anton Slepyshev talks about ways out of the crisis, the secrets of winning the Gagarin Cup with CSKA in 2021/22, his condition and the return of the coach for most

— How would you rate Maxim Motorygin's performance during your absence from the squad? Did he do his job?

— Yes, he's great. I think I played well in those matches in which I went on the ice.

— Is the fact that Dynamo started steadily gaining points after a bad start this season related to your return or is it a coincidence?

— This is not a question for me. It should be asked more by the team, those guys who played during my injury. But, for example, they played well during a trip to the Far East in September, where I did not play (Dynamo then won away from Vladivostok Admiral — 4:3B and Khabarovsk Amur - 3:1). Even then, they were getting in shape — it was clear that they were adding, that there were good team interactions.

— How would you rate the team's performance in recent matches?

— Despite the winning streak, we still have a lot to do, to improve our game in many ways. Fortunately, all the boys understand that we can play even better. Moreover, our guys are skilled. And now everyone in the team is improving and will continue to show even better hockey.

The main thing for us is to get to the playoffs at our best in the spring in order to perform as successfully as possible. We are still preparing for this. Moreover, the season is long, there are many games in the regular season, respectively, and opportunities to prepare yourself for spring.

— Is it necessary to fight hard for leadership in the regular season now, or is the most important thing the playoffs, and it doesn't matter from where to enter it?

— No one goes out on the ice to lose. So every match is important for us. We try to win every game. But how much it turns out is another question.