Press conference after SKA hosted Traktor

HC SKA head coach Igor Larionov:

"First of all, I would like to congratulate our team win the victory, and the opponents with their good performance. We controlled the game overall, but there are things which require improvement. Nevertheless, at this moment in time, the main thing was to earn the two points rather than focus on the quality of our performance. We now have a couple of days to prepare for Tolyatti at home on Sunday.

"You always feel good after winning, your mood changes and your injuries heal easier. The opening games of any home series are always tough, so I'm happy with how we dealt with the match and tallied the two points. 

"Our attacks on the break-away were effective? Some games will fill us with satisfaction, whereas others won't. It's part of the process. I agree that we scored beautiful goals on the counter-attack today, all of our lines contributed. Of course, it's important to also perform well during positional attacking plays inside the opponents' zone, but you have to take into account who you're competing against. We want to play at a quick tempo, consequently providing the fans with entertainment. 

"The mix between youth and experience? We'll continue experimenting. Rocco Grimaldi was initially playing with Matvei Korotky and Matvei Polyakov, but I then replaced him in that line with Nikita Dishkovsky and we started scoring goals. Joseph Blandisi will play on Sunday, and he will add fire. He knows how to get under the opponents' skin.

"Artemiy Pleshkov? When the goalkeeper plays with consistency, the entire team does. We believe in all of our goaltenders. Moreover, we have to note that the skaters understand that the goalkeeper needs help and are trying their best to do just that."

HC Traktor Chelyabinsk head coach Benoit Groulx:

"We had chances of our own, but we committed too many mistakes. When you lose the puck so often against a team like SKA, you're going to get punished. This is why we lost this match.

"We shot ourselves in the foot with the errors which we made. There were moments when we created lots of opportunities, but their goalkeeper made the big saves for them. It's an issue with our discipline.

"Why didn't former SKA forward Mikhail Grigorenko play? He's injured, and he will probably miss the next game too. How much have we changed since last year's final? 50% of our team is new. 10 new players have arrived, and we need time to play well as a team. As soon as our leaders start losing pucks, the match is ruined for us."