"An active attacking game should help us"

Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik has become one of the main discoveries of the current KHL season. In the spring, the club with one of the smallest budgets in the league appointed Igor Grishin as head coach, who three years ago worked at a similar level for only a few months at Spartak Moscow.

This specialist has given the team from Tatarstan a bright attacking hockey and has almost led it to the playoffs. Four games before the end of the regular season, his team is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, and to get there, you need to finish at least eighth. To finally solve the problem, Neftekhimik has to score three points.

In an interview with Izvestia, Nizhnekamsk defender Nikita Khlystov explained what Grishin had instilled in the team, complained about the poor implementation of moments in recent matches, expressed hope for a successful performance in the playoffs, and also shared his opinion about his teammate Matvey Nadvorny, whom rivals criticize for his harsh playing style.

— In the last month, even in most of the lost matches, you haven't played much worse than your rivals. Do you have a feeling that you deserved to score more points in the game?

— Of course there is. We had a lot of chances in most of these matches. Except maybe for the game against CSKA (0:2), in which nothing worked out at all. And there are so many moments, but there was no implementation as such. It's all about that. We don't score enough. If you look at our games after the break for the All-Star Game, we scored one, two, maximum three goals. And most of them didn't work very well in many matches. So all these components need to be tightened up before the playoffs in order to enter it fully armed.

— Is there any complacency from the fact that you are in the playoff zone with a good lead over your competitors and have almost secured your place there?

— There should never be any reassurance. Moreover, we understand that it was not so easy for us to score so many points. In previous seasons, we were literally one or two points short of reaching the playoffs. Many guys have stayed at Neftekhimik since those years and remember how it was a shame to miss the chance. Therefore, everyone understands perfectly well that you don't want to look at your opponents, but rather score points more confidently.

— Does it make a difference to you where to enter the playoffs and who to play against there? From the current seventh place, you go to Avangard, but there are still chances to rise to fifth or sixth and get the seemingly more passable Ak Bars or Avtomobilist in the first round.

— Of course, we have conversations on the sidelines about who will be easier or harder to deal with. But everyone understands that the main thing is to get there. This is the main goal. And then we have to fight for victory — it doesn't matter with whom, the system team gets on us or the playing team. So we're not targeting anyone and we're not making a choice about who to play with. Only in a jokingly positive way do we discuss within the team who is better to play in the first round. But no more than that.

Everyone understands that they just won't be with anyone. Especially now, when we recently had a series of defeats. In such situations, you get down to earth and realize that you need to get into the playoffs and build on that.

— What did Igor Grishin bring to Neftekhimik, which made you so confident through almost the entire regular season?

— First of all, there was self-confidence, self-reliance. This is especially true for attacks. I look at the guys, even the young ones — they can afford to take the risk and beat on the blue line. Sometimes, even if something doesn't work out, the coach doesn't set strict limits. At least now, in the regular season — of course, the closer we get to the playoffs, the more frameworks appear, we are already discussing these things. But initially there is no special framework, and this gives the boys confidence.

Everything is based on this: a person goes out, it didn't work out once, twice, but it works on the third, and hence the scoring moment. Everyone gets confidence from this, hence there is more variability. Our coach initially came with this and said that we need to score at least three goals and then victory will be much easier.

— Do you need to get involved as a defender too?

— Of course, we have a mandatory connection to the attack. A lot depends on the specific game situation, but in general, we should always have four players attacking and the defender should connect with the fourth to help the three attackers.

— Before Grishin, did any of the coaches demand something similar from you?

— Well, yes, Andrei Razin had something like that at Severstal. He also required defenders to move into someone else's zone and become an additional striker. They are similar to Grishin in this regard.

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— Do you feel that you are ready to go to the second round of the playoffs, where Neftekhimik has not been for 16 years?

— In my experience, this is hockey — there are such cases here... I think anything is possible, especially with the kind of hockey that Neftekhimik plays. Risky hockey. And those who take risks drink champagne. Sometimes this can play a cruel joke for the opponent and help us move on, take our place with confidence. At the same time, no one says that we will not adjust to the opponent — we will do so if the situation requires it. We can do this and have shown it more than once — we have experience playing defense.

But the main thing is to base the attack. I think that an active attacking game should help us. The main thing is not to miss it, to draw the right conclusions from the moments when it doesn't work out. And in the end, find your attacking game, turn scoring chances into goals. Then every player will have more confidence from match to match.

— Matvey Nadvorny became one of the main discoveries of this KHL season, especially remembered for his tough style of play, which caused some hockey players from other teams to speak unfavorably about him. How do you like his style?

— He calmed down a little bit. And at the beginning of the season, yes, by such behavior he was able to win back a place in the squad at the KHL level. His arrogance and tenacity are very useful qualities. Matvey came in without looking back at the authorities, and immediately showed who he was and what he wanted. Now he's starting to behave more decently, because they talked to him because of the large number of deletions. But still, Nadvorny is the engine of our team. I am very glad that we have him.