Ilya Kovalchuk: "The main thing is that we're winning games"

- Did you hear SKA's fans inside the stadium?

- Of course we did. It's great that there was a nice atmosphere at the arena today, usually fans boo us against Spartak. Today, they supported us.

- Why have the Spartak fans changed?

- I don't know, you'll have to ask them yourselves. We always try to play for the fans, and I think they saw beautiful ice hockey today.

- You are scoring lots of goals this season. Why?

- The same thing happened in previous years, but everyone is making out that it's a big event. We're winning and that's what's important.

- While scoring goals, you haven't been gaining assists. Has the team's system changed?

- We've only played six games, the assists will come later.

- How was it playing with Alexander Barabanov in the first line?

- Both Alexander Barabanov and Sergei Plotnikov are good players which do a lot of the dirty work. It's nice to play with them.

- What can you say about Andrei Altybarmakyan?

- He's trying hard. Hopefully, he will soon score his first goal.

- Everyone will now say that Spartak don't have a great team. Do these matches create a good advertisement for the KHL?

- In the league, you have strong and weak teams. At the moment, Spartak are fourth in the Western Conference. They have only just returned from a road trip, and they've been playing seven consecutive games. Nevertheless, I think that they will qualify for the KHL playoffs.

- Former Zenit player Alexander Panov compared SKA to Real Madrid.

- I would compare SKA to SKA. A lot don't see this, but we actually train really hard and the coaches analyse each opponent in real detail. We watch a lot of preparation videos. Hard work means that we can win games.

- Who has a stronger shot? You or Patrik Hersley?

- Patrik! He breaks nets.