Brylin after Dinamo Minsk's 1-2 loss at Shanghai: we lacked speed

Dinamo Minsk lost 1-2 away to Shanghai.

"It seems we started not very quickly. We lacked a bit of speed and were losing the battles, but in the middle of the first period we began to play better and created a lot of chances in the second and third," Brylin said. "Unfortunately, we could not score. In the second period there were two 2-on-1 breaks, we did not convert them, and then we conceded. That made things harder for us. In the third period two penalties broke our pressure. The initiative was in our hands, but it was not enough."

Asked about the players' physical condition, Brylin pointed to the schedule. Dinamo played in Moscow two days earlier and flew in the day before the game.

"A fresh opponent was waiting for us," he said. "We lacked movement at the start. We gave up the first 10 minutes, but then we got going, and there were no problems with speed."

On how much he has to rebuild the team, Brylin said he had not wanted to change a great deal.

"I did not want to destroy what we have. Now, probably, we need to look for other combinations and bring in fresh young players. We lack movement and speed, and those questions have to be solved. Today we lacked composure in finishing attacks."

He was also asked about the SKA Arena and which NHL rink it resembles.

"It is impressive. A big, beautiful new arena, and everything is done well and to a good standard. There is a lot of space for the players to prepare for the game. It is comparable to the newer buildings in the NHL. Off the top of my head, Detroit comes to mind. If I think about it, I can recall another," Brylin said.

His talk of new combinations and young players may mean changes to the line-up in Dinamo's next fixtures. That would follow a game in which, by his own account, the team had the initiative for long spells and still lost.