Sergei Shirokov: "We picked up confidence during the series"

- It seemed as though SKA played their most confident game against Lokomotiv.

- We picked up confidence throughout the series. It was a bit difficult after the first game, but became easier after the second. We played a lot more confident after the two matches at home, and a lot worked out for us - the defencemen helped the forwards, and vice versa. The goaltender played excellently. I think that we deserved our win, and we will now move on.

- Your line scored again today. Have you found your game?

- We speak before every match, try to correct some moments. Any series can be long, as have to be ready to play if we win or not. We have to prove that the coaches aren't trusting us in vain.

- SKA were leading 1:0 for practically the entire match. Did you feel that you were going to win?

- We simply continued playing. We knew that Lokomotiv would attack, and that left space for our counterattacks. On one of them, we made it 2:0.

- Which match in the series was key?

- We were ready for a serious fight from the first match. Every game was hard. We knew that we were going to beat Lokomotiv only after the final buzzer today - you never know what can happen, and you have to keep on playing at your maximum.

- How did you manage to keep three shutouts in a row?

- Our main task was to play tight in defence and help our goaltender and defencemen. The guys brilliantly blocked pucks. Big thanks go to Mikko for this series.

- Did the coaches calmly speak with the players?

- They were joking around, and told us some anecdotes.

- Would you like to play against HC CSKA Moscow or Dynamo Moscow in the next round?

- If we want to become champions, we have to play against strong teams in every round. It's not a good idea to start picking opponents. We need to play and believe in our capabilities. When we know who we will play against, we will begin preparation.

- Is it a coincidence that you won four matches in a row without Ilya Kovalchuk?

- I understand that this is your job, but we are a team and we stick to the game plan. We don't need to judge whether this is a coincidence or not. We are a united group.

- Physically you were more fresh than Lokomotiv. Is this your peak?

- What peak? We need to improve. More tense series and matches are coming up, we need strength to win them. We will have a couple of days rest, and then will prepare for our next opponents.

- Is it a good thing that you will now have a rest, or would it be better to keep on playing?

- We didn't have a choice, and in any case we will continue training.