SKA - Torpedo. Press-conference of game five

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- The concluding game of a series is always the toughest. Nizhny Novgorod like to play fast ice hockey, so we made sure that we were even quicker. Our guys did a great job, followed the plan, competed with commitment and showed character. We'll now prepare for our next series.

- However, Alexander Nikishin and Arseniy Gritsyuk both had to leave the match today as a consequence of injuries.

- This is the playoffs, it's a sporting war out there. It's a battle across every single millimetre of the ice. Thankfully, we do now have time to recover from our injuries before the next series begins.

- What can you say about the challenge which Torpedo provided SKA with?

- We had to compete at our maximum to achieve every single win. Torpedo are very strong opponents, they play at a high tempo and display speedy ice hockey. From my own experience, I can say that the first series is always the toughest in the playoffs, this is a completely different competition in comparison to the regular season.

- 20-year-old forward Grigory Kuzmin registered his maiden KHL goal. Are you pleased with his development?

- Yes, thanks to his hard work he deserved a place in our senior team. I would like to thank our coaches across the SKA system, all of our teams play in accordance with the same system. Grigory displayed his leadership qualities in this match, he scored a crucial goal to put us 2:0 up. In my opinion, his shot is just as good as Andrei Kuzmenko's! They are players of the same level.

- Your VHL team SKA-Neva will move to the Ice Palace. Is it realistic to attract a crowd of 12 thousand for their matches?

- I'm sure that all SKA employees will do their best to make this happen. We have one of the youngest VHL teams, but the guys played brilliantly to defeat Orsk across seven games in the first round of the Petrov Cup playoffs. They deserve to play in front of a sold-out Ice Palace!

- Elsewhere in the MHL, young forward Nikita Surayev tallied a hat-trick for SKA-1946 against Dynamo Saint Petersburg.

- Nikita initially spent the regular season with SKA Junior in Krasnogorsk, where he was a true leader. We can see that he is currently one of the best players in the MHL. We don't want to praise him too much, but he's a big talent. SKA-1946 have the task of winning the Kharlamov Cup, and there's every chance that this target will be achieved.

HC Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod head coach Igor Larionov:

- I would like to congratulate SKA with their series triumph. Our guys were lacking freshness, but I would still like to thank them for their commitment and desire which they showed on the ice. We're disappointed with our season, but this is sport. I wish SKA luck in their upcoming games.

- You were visibly angry when your goal was disallowed in the third period.

- You're always feeling stressed during such matches. We would have been right back in it at 2:1, but the referees made their decision and chalked the goal off. To be honest, we should have equalised at 2:2 when playing on a 6-on-3 powerplay, but their fatigue didn't allow the players to score. We conceded during that PP because we lost the battle for the neutral puck.

- Even though Torpedo moved well in the opening stanza, your players only tested Nikita Serebryakov on two occasions.

- We did have quite a few shots, but nearly all of them flew off target. One of them also struck the left post. Before this game, we had spoken to our players about the importance of getting the puck to the net through any means possible. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do this. Will we change our approach with regard to pre-season training? No, we won't. Our players have a lot of work to do during the upcoming summer.

- When SKA scored their opener, it did appear that Sergei Tolchinsky controlled the puck while one leg was still inside the penalty box.

- We tried to speak to the referees about this incident, but they didn't come over to our bench to talk to us. We noticed on video that one of Tolchinsky's legs was still in the box when he received the puck.

- How does Nikolai Kovalenko feel after the injury which he appeared to receive in the closing stages? And will he now move to the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL?

- It appears to be a minor injury, but that's a question for our medical team. Yes, Nikolai will now play for Colorado. I wish for him to represent Torpedo successfully in the NHL! He wants to play in the world's strongest league, and I'm confident that he will be successful.

HC SKA forward Alexander Kadeikin:

- It was a competitive series between two fast teams. Torpedo are always strong with the puck at their sticks, so it was important to not give them space and apply pressure on their players at neutral ice. If you take space away from Torpedo, it's easier to play against them. Kuzmin? He's a great player who likes to apply pressure on the opponents with his quick play. Throughout this series, we managed to score our goals at the right time and play in a simple manner.

HC SKA forward Pavel Dedunov:

- Yes, we won the series 4-1, but every game was a true battle. All of us wanted to get the series done today, we know just how difficult it is in Nizhny Novgorod. We wanted to progress to the quarter-finals in front of our own supporters. Kuzmin is playing in our line with Kadeikin? We want Grigory to play with freedom in the attacking zone, but with focus and professionalism in the defensive end. He scored a decisive goal today which took the pressure off of our shoulders. We've simplified our game? In the playoffs, you need to make simple decisions with the puck when you've got possession in your own zone. Either pass to an open teammate or clear the puck, never try and put together individual skill moves. One mistake can prove fatal.