Alexey Ponikarovsky: "The main thing is to crash the net"

- What impressions do you have from the game?

- They are good ones, and we need to keep on playing like in the first half of the match. In the last ten minutes we gave the initiative away a little bit, and ended up paying for it to an extent. You can't relax when playing against a team like Ak Bars.

- What did the coaching staff pay attention to before the match?

- We know that they have four good lines, and that they will put pressure on us. They have quality players, skate well, and we had to move with pace as well as hitting hard. The main thing is to crash the net.

- Having already claimed six shutouts, did you study Anders Nilsson's game well?

- All opponents have solid goaltenders, this is the Gagarin Cup final. We knew that we have to get in front of him on the crease, and get to the rebounds when shooting. He is a big figure, moves well, but today it worked out in our favour.

- After the bust up in the second period, it seemed as though Ak Bars put more pressure on.

- Fights are part of the game, it's emotions. We are all men after all.

- Do teams from the Eastern Conference have a different style of play than what you are used to?

- It's not important for us right now, the main thing is to win the Gagarin Cup. We have studied all of our opponents, know what to expect and how to make their lives hard.

- Can you say though that in the west it's tougher?

- No. It's always difficult to qualify for the final, no matter which conference you come from. I think that both teams are here deservedly.

- Do you think that Ak Bars play in a boring manner?

- I don't even know how to answer this question. Hockey can't be boring. There is always fights for the puck going on, and at the end of the day it's not important whether you win 1:0 or 6:0. Ak Bars are a serious opponent, we know who we are playing with.