SKA - Lokomotiv. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Valeri Bragin:

- It was a good, hard-fought match against a strong opponent. We tried to compete in a systematic, aggressive manner. It was an excellent first period from us, it's a shame that we didn't score. Nevertheless, we continued to play our brand of ice hockey, we wanted to be compact against their technical forwards. I would like to thank the fans for their brilliant support! We're really satisfied with this victory.

- Had it not been for his injury, would Ivan Morozov have returned to your main team earlier?

- Maybe.

- When will Mat Robinson be in optimal shape?

- After a maximum of five games.

- Do you agree that Lokomotiv opted for a defensive approach?

- No. They were careful in the first period, but then both teams had opportunities in the second and third frames.

HC Lokomotiv Yaroslavl head coach Igor Nikitin:

- We lost because we committed a mistake at the end of the second period. We had good chances, especially in the third period, but we couldn't take advantage of them. This match served as a good lesson for us. We will move on.

- Lokomotiv seemed to be far too cautious today. Why did you choose this approach, taking into account that SKA don't have the most powerful of attacks?

- To be honest, I don't know how to answer your question. In order to constantly attack, you have to always be beating your opponents. SKA are a strong team, they defended solidly and were organised. It was tough for us in the attacking zone, we only had three good opportunities in the third period.

- You only recently joined Lokomotiv. Are the players close to displaying the type of ice hockey which you want to see?

- We are working all of the time, it was the same when I coached CSKA Moscow. The result is on the scoreboard, we need to learn how to win big games.

- Your second line is playing better than the first. Is this a problem for you?

- The players in the first line are older. A team which wants to win trophies has to have four strong lines, all of them have different tasks. Your question is correct, though, our first line needs to improve.