Spartak - SKA. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Oleg Znarok:

- It was a good match, we stuck to the game plan. We managed to keep a shutout.

- Why was Alexander Barabanov promoted to the first line?

- The first line scored two goals today. We simply wanted to see how he could play there.

- You have four forwards on the ice when on the powerplay. Will this transform to the Russian national team too?

- We've got that idea in mind, but so far we are keeping this tactic for SKA.

HC Spartak Moscow head coach Vadim Epanchintsev:

- I congratulate Oleg Znarok and SKA with their victory. At the start of the match, we allowed the opponents to run the game in the neutral and attacking zones. In defence, we failed to control the puck. Maybe some of our players were scared by the surnames on SKA's jerseys, but SKA's quality told. Their goal before the first break and our netminder's injury complicated matters. We need to win the next home match against Jokerit, and then we will have a short rest to recover. It's difficult playing seven consecutive games. SKA's movement was better than ours. We'll prepare for the next match and make some changes to the squad.

- What happened to Nikita Bespalov?

- He received an injury which meant that he had to be replaced. However, I don't know how serious his injury is.

- Matches between SKA and Spartak are like the Zenit-Spartak football rivalry. Do you feel bad after losing this game?

- It's always bad when you lose 0:5 or 1:3, especially when lots of fans came to the stadium. Some of our more experienced couldn't control the puck at all. The guys need to calm down and play their game.

- Is there any news surronding Lukas Radil?

- He has a concussion, but he's starting to recover.

- Why did you take Stanislav Chistov out of the squad? Will he be given a chance?

- It depends on how he performs for our farm club.