Jokerit - SKA. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Vyacheslav Bykov:

- I followed the Spengler Cup, and Jokerit are improving well. They also beat HC Dinamo Minsk a few days ago. It was important for us to start well, as to not let the opponents settle. We tried to play in a disciplined manner, especially in defence, as Jokerit have quality players going forward.

- There are rumours, that Ilya Kovalchuk, Viktor Tikhonov and Roman Cervenka will play in the next game. When will they actually come back into the team?

- They all travelled with us, and are training. Unfortunately however, they probably won't take part in the next few matches. We need to make sure that they have recovered fully from their injuries.

- Even without your key players your team is still winning.

- We're always trying to make our team play in a solid system, and play with good methods. Any loss of a player takes its toll, but it shouldn't make us lose.

- Comment on Mikko Koskinen's performance.

- I am satisfied, he was the best goalkeeper today in his own country.

HC Jokerit head coach Erkka Westerlund:

- I congratulate SKA with the win, they played very quality hockey and played well in defence while scoring the needed goals. It was SKA's day, they played better as to win such even games. However I am still satisfied with how we acted in the third stanza. Playing in a league like the KHL, you need to go from game to game - we have no other goals yet.