Press conference after SKA hosted Severstal in Saint Petersburg

HC SKA head coach Igor Larionov:

"It's a game which we need to forget. This match serves as a good lesson for us, and we now need to prepare for Minsk on Thursday. As I had told the guys before the game, good teams compete with consistency. Yes, you can't win all of your matches, but it's unacceptable to give a half-hearted effort like we did in the first two periods. I hope that we'll respond in the right way."

16 goals conceded in last three matches...

"No one is panicking. You go through different spells in your career, some good and some bad. 

"I had spoken about this issue at our team meeting, asking the guys about the amount of conceded goals and where we are in the standings. Not everyone could answer my questions; some didn't know the statistics.

"We're in a complex situation which needs to be resolved. However, in order for this to happen, every player needs to be fully focused. On one hand we don't want to win 1:0 or 2:1, but on the other, we need to gain confidence in defence."

Artemiy Pleshkov playing in net again...

"Artemiy wants to improve. Maybe we should have replaced him after the second stanza today, but we decided to give him the rest of the match. We have to give him his due; he battled hard. Sergei Ivanov will play on Thursday."

Poor performance in maiden two periods...

"I always tell the players our game plan before the start of every match. We wanted an aggressive start today, compact play across all three zones, sharp passes, short shifts and plenty of desire, but for whatever reason that didn't happen. It's unfortunate that Scott Wilson received an injury, too."

Injury issues...

"Zakhar Bardakov will sadly be on the sidelines for six to eight months. His operation is scheduled for Friday. If I'm not mistaken, Linus Weissbach, who is taking to the ice again, will be examined on the same day. Trevor Murphy is beginning to feel better and should be back for November. As for Valentin Zykov, he should be in the line-up again on Thursday."

HC Severstal Cherepovets head coach Andrei Kozyrev:

"First of all, I would like to thank our fans for their fantastic support! It's a good team win. 

"Alexander Samoilov received a minor injury, so that's why we swapped him after the second period. Does SKA's style suit Severstal? We played to win, and you saw just how much commitment our players competed with. It was a really difficult game."