Press conference after SKA hosted Lokomotiv in Saint Petersburg

HC SKA head coach Igor Larionov:

“First of all, I want to note the importance of this day for Saint Petersburg. This game was dedicated to those who displayed remarkable bravery and determination during the darkest of days. Unfortunately, we couldn’t mark this day with a victory on the ice. Some aspects of our game worked, but not all of them. I don’t want to point fingers, but some of our players didn’t have enough application, desire and passion.

“You can draw the same conclusions as us. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we need to pick ourselves up psychologically and understand which players want to move and compete with desire, passion and fighting spirit. We want to invite a few young guys to our team who will prove that they have desire and want to help us. Congratulations to Lokomotiv with their win.”

Lack of goals…

“During the second break, I told the players that we hadn’t scored for 100 minutes. Yes, we know that Lokomotiv play compactly in defence, but we asked our players to shoot more in order to create ricochets and rebounds. Either our players can’t do this, or they aren’t listening and are feeling the pressure. I can’t understand this. Sadly, not all of our players are displaying the required speed and determination. This is disappointing to see.”

Boris Mironov joining the coaching staff…

“This decision was made by the management. Considering the current state of affairs and the fact that we’re going through a turbulent period, it’s a logical one. The management took this decision in order to shake the team up. I’ve known Boris for many years; we even played together at the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Scott Wilson’s arrival? He flew to Saint Petersburg yesterday having previously played for Novosibirsk in Nizhny Novgorod. I want to be an optimist and believe that we will turn this situation around.”

HC Lokomotiv Yaroslavl head coach Bob Hartley:

“This is a good away win. I’m proud of our team today, all four lines played well. When you play on the road, it’s doubly as important to score a quick goal. We played at the same level throughout all three periods, fought hard in the duels and showed our best qualities. The fact that we didn’t take a single penalty minutes proves that we competed with discipline. And, when called upon, Daniil Isayev made the big saves.”

Maxim Shalunov’s decisive role…

“He’s been a true professional throughout his entire career. I remember when we played against him in the final of the Gagarin Cup. As we can see, his line with Yegor Surin and Alexander Radulov is effective. We’re searching for our best line formations ahead of the playoffs.”

Alexander Radulov’s energy and passion…

“I don’t know where he gets his energy, but I can explain his passion. Alexander is a fantastic professional and loves ice hockey. He is the first to arrive at training and often the last to leave. The arena is his home, and he is a player who truly loves and appreciates ice hockey.”