The hero of the Metallurg vs. Traktor game was undoubtedly Sergei Mozyakin, not only due to his hat-trick for the hosts, but also for becoming the first player to score one hundred goals in the KHL.
“How close a watch had you been keeping on your statistics?”
“Of course I knew I only had to score one more goal to reach the hundred. But it’s more important that we won and we showed good hockey while doing it.”
“Which was the bigger factor in the goals – the smooth running of your line, which has played most of the preseason together, or mistakes by the opposition?”
“Goals often come from mistakes, but today they were from great service from my line mates. Twice they put me through one-on-one with the goalie, and I scored my third into what was in essence an empty net. My partners did practically everything for me, it’s thanks to them!”
“That moment, when you started on your second hundred – was that a special move which sent the goalie the wrong way or was it spontaneous?”
“I had a feeling I wouldn’t be fast enough – the defenseman was catching up. I simply got my body set and just had to shoot. Luck played a part, the goalie didn’t react the right way and practically scored it himself.”
“Were you not tempted to right at the end, when you passed to Glazachev, to have a shot yourself?”
“By then I’d already scored enough. I wanted to help a team-mate to score.”
“To what extent does playing with only five defensemen make life more difficult for the forwards?”
“Of course, you have to help your defense more, keep control of the puck in the opponent’s zone more so that you take the play away from your own goal. Judging by the score, we managed to help out our defensemen.”
“Which of your three goals do you think was the best, from a fan’s point of view?”
“Probably the first one.”
“How will you celebrate reaching your hundred goals?”
“I haven’t even thought about it. The day after tomorrow we have yet another game. Maybe after that I’ll sit down somewhere with the guys.”
Pavel Zaytsev, special to khl.ru
