CSKA - SKA. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Vyacheslav Bykov:

- We began the game well, but that early goal as well as other chances put us in trouble - we relaxed too early, and as a result of our carelessness CSKA made our lives hard all the way from the end of the first to the beginning of the third period. It's good that we took advantage of our opportunities, and after the third goal we played in a style as to keep the winning scoreline. We are satisfied.

- Can you say that the team has recovered from December's crisis?

- There wasn't any crisis.

- But the team lost a few matches.

- If you didn't lose sometimes, it wouldn't be right.

- Were SKA stronger than CSKA today just like in Saint Petersburg?

- They have been two different matches, two different spectacles. I think that in Saint Petersburg our concentration was higher, as today we lost our focus. We could have dropped points.

- Have SKA now found the key to beat CSKA?

- I don't like to use such phrases. Every match is a separate battle, and both teams prepare to face one another. A lot of nuances lead up to the end result.

- Why couldn't the team score on the five on three?

- Everything depended on our concentration. We were lax during that time, and if you don't take advantage of such a chance, the opponents can gain confidence and create twice as many problems themselves. CSKA's players performed excellently during that time, and we were weak.

- Rate Ilya Kovalchuk's game.

- He's trying, but it isn't easy for him after a period on the sidelines. He needs to find his rhythm again, and the team are helping him to do this. He's our leader, and he wants to be a useful player for us.

- After the win against Severstal, you criticised the team for lacking confidence in the final third. Has anything changed since?

- It's difficult to reconstruct. Some players have inherited the ability to be brilliant, and to play in a beautiful manner. We should be pragmatic about this issue. It's not easy, but we're trying to move in the right direction.

- Does Andrey Kuteikin have a small injury? And what has happened to Anton Belov?

- Yes, Andrey is injured. Anton unfortunately will be operated on, and we hope that he will be ready for the play-offs.

- Do SKA need to be in first place of the regular season?

- We go out and try to win every match. I have already stated that there is no set goal to be in first. However it's always nice to be the leader, and all teams want to win.

- Is it very important to win the gold medals?

- The Gagarin Cup is the main prize, but to become Russian champions is something prestigious.

HC CSKA head coach Dmitry Kvartalnov:

- I congratulate Vyacheslav Bykov with the deserved victory. What can I say about the game...we began poorly and very tight. Afterwards however the opponents let us come back into the match, but we still didn't have enough penetrative power. Our young players couldn't save this game for us, and SKA's defencemen dealt with our forwards too easily.

- Why didn't Stephane Da Costa play? Is he also injured, or are you not happy with him?

- He has been unwell. Other players didn't take part because of a number of reasons.

- And what about Nikolay Prokhorkin?

- Nikolay became ill after returning from Saint Petersburg, but nevertheless the decision to send him to the VHL had already been made.

- Grigory Panin was to blame for the second goal.

- Yes, it was a real gift. But in that incident, both Andreas Engqvist and Alexey Bondarev should have made a better play. We are a united team - we can't blame only one person. I've already mentioned that we weren't tough or fast enough to compete against Saint Petersburg. They were much better than us in the first period, and they have enough quality to dominate you. Today we didn't have that.

- Was Ilya Kovalchuk's goal the game's key moment? And was this a terrible mistake, or simply bad luck?

- You can say that it was bad luck, although I don't like to say that those incidents are a coincidence.