Press conference after SKA hosted Lokomotiv at the Ice Palace

HC SKA head coach Igor Larionov:

“Yes, this wasn’t the evening which we had wanted, but we played pretty well. We have food for thought. I liked how we competed in the third period, our tempo was good and we showed emotion. We now need to repay our fans for their fantastic support with successful results.”

Goalkeeping issue…

“Any mistake committed by a goalkeeper is punished by a goal. In order to avoid this happening, our skaters need to provide better assistance. We don’t want to put doubt into our goaltenders’ minds. After all, we have to remember that they’re young guys. They’re only just taking their maiden steps in senior ice hockey, so let’s give them the opportunity to move through this challenging period. Goalkeepers play a big role, but a team wins games.”

Five losses to Lokomotiv…

“Certain teams are in the leading positions of the standings and have long qualified for the playoffs. For us, the situation is more difficult taking into consideration how many injuries we’re dealing with. Some of our guys do need a rest. Even though we’ve had hard games against Lokomotiv, we’re not afraid of any opponent going into the playoffs. It will be a new tournament, a clean slate.”

HC Lokomotiv Yaroslavl head coach Bob Hartley:

“This is an important road trip for us. Six of our remaining eight games are on the road, and we want to already have a playoff-like atmosphere within our group. When SKA initially equalised, it was vital that we immediately responded with a goal of our own. I’m happy with how this game turned out.”