Larionov Rues SKA Chances Conceded in 5:3 Win Over Barys

Igor Larionov saw his SKA side score five against Barys in Astana on Sunday and still walked away unhappy with parts of the performance.

SKA won 5:3, a fourth straight victory that lifts the St Petersburg club to 14 points from eight matches and second place in the Western Conference. The scoreline flattered a game Larionov felt his side should have controlled more comfortably after going 3:0 up.

"We lost this match on scoring chances. That worries me and puts me on my guard. I want to pay a compliment to our goalkeeper, Pleshkov — he had a brilliant match. But on the other hand, I want to level some criticism at the whole team. We must not allow our opponents to create so many chances," Larionov said.

Vasily Glotov scored twice, his first goals of the season, and Sergei Plotnikov also struck twice. SKA scored on the power play, shorthanded and at even strength, with Alexander Romanov setting up Glotov's shorthanded goal and a two-on-none for Danil Bardakov and Plotnikov producing the fourth.

"We stopped playing smart hockey," Larionov said of the spell after the 3:0 lead, adding that Barys were playing a second match in as many days and that his side had wrongly assumed that would work in their favour.

Barys continued to push and pulled the score back to 3:3 before SKA restored their two-goal cushion. Larionov did not dismiss the contest as loose entertainment, but he made clear it was not the version of the game he wants from his own side.

"Eight goals, some intrigue, plenty of moments that make a game look good. That's what pleases KHL supporters, when a match is as uncompromising as this one was, with the kind of drama we saw today. But we coaches, of course, would like things calmer, for games to be settled earlier in terms of the score — 5:1, 6:1, 7:1. Though then the crowd's interest would fall away. So 5:3 is a good score," he said.

He also spoke of the atmosphere at the arena, linking it to recent events in Kazakhstan. "It's pleasing that people came out to watch hockey. The atmosphere was lively, the support strong. I think the emotions people needed at this difficult time, in connection with the tragedy in Kazakhstan, is what they got," Larionov said.

"I want to see the complete picture — stability, game intelligence. We want the side to build confidence and solidity as the season goes on, and to know how to play properly in any situation, whatever the score," he added.

SKA travel to face CSKA on 29 September. By all accounts, Larionov wants fewer nights like this one before then.