The head coaches summed up the results of the match.
— Congrats to our team on their victory. We have been going to it for a long time, it was necessary to level the situation in terms of our line changes. Not everything was implemented successfully, line changes were remade. This imposed a certain burden, which did not allow us to move forward. It worked out with Amur, but not with Severstal, today the game discipline was again at the level of such a fast team as Kunlun. I'm happy for the guys, we're working, moving on with an eye to the playoffs.
— Usually the warm-up coaches understand how the team will enter the game. Did you have any fears that CSKA might not get a successful start?
— There were no such concerns about Severstal today. Everything was buzzing. Everyone can have their own opinion, but I always watch the rollout of my team. And today everything was on point, the guys gave themselves to the process, warmed up, as usual, when the team is ready to win.
— Did you enjoy today's game with such an opponent as Kunlun?
— Of course, there are guys who have been playing in the NHL and AHL for many years. It's a great experience for us. During the game, they make a many things professionally, play smoothly, quickly. We warned the guys about this. They play simply but reliably, forcing the opponent to twist his head and move his legs.
— Almost all the links were remade, and they remained in such combinations until the end of the game. Will they remain the same in the future?
— Remake is a strong word. We switched some guys to watch them. Preparations for the playoffs have already begun. We are playing with an eye to what we will do in the playoffs. Reliable, simple, effective.
— Why were Svetlakov and Sorkin separated?
— We'll see what happens next. But in the short-handed play, they played together all the time. We left them there, we will continue the same way.
— In the third period, Guskov was replaced in the link by Poltapov. Why did you decide to take this step?
— Matvey enters the game after his absence. The same with Abramov. If we feel that the player is tired, we make sure to give him a break.
— Another heavy defeat for us. We scored four goals in the away match, but we need to minimize the number of mistakes in defense, play more disciplined in terms of structure, changes in the links. We missed seven goals, that's too many in this league. We played with a strong team, if you give them space, they will use it. But we did a lot of good things today. We scored a quick goal in the power play, fought until the end of the third period. We need to find a way to win equal matches.
— Kunlun's three matches with CSKA turned out to be very competitive. How do you explain this?
— I think even the match that we lost here with a big score was quite close in terms of the game. Our team has made some big steps compared to the beginning of the season. We started preparing for the season in the third week of August, much later than the rest, which is not an attempt to justify losing. The team has grown, we have played with very good teams. But we need to grow even stronger to fight for the playoffs. I watched CSKA. In the second period, when they came into our zone, they changed four players. It's a discipline. They do this while attacking, rather than returning to the defense or in the neutral zone. These are habits that need to be developed if you want to win. The creation of a winning culture is not achieved by chance. You can't bet $1,000 on black in a casino and hope you're lucky. It's a matter of discipline. This is a step we need to take as a team. It is good that we have improved our level and become competitive. But not even in 10-12, but in more than 15 matches, we gave the victory in the third period because of mistakes, deletions, fatigue. We would not only be able to get into the playoff zone, but also climb a couple of lines higher if we dealt with this problem. I'm not trying to point the finger at the players and blame them, I'm a coach and I have to be a leader. Maybe I should do something or explain better in order to develop a behavior that will allow us to win. I don't deny that the problems start with me as a coach, I've been working long enough to understand this. We have nine matches left. Regardless of the tournament position, we have to show during this time that we have made a step forward. It's hard to win. It's like running an extra mile, continuing to work when others are taking a break, putting in extra effort. If it was that easy, everyone would win. Both the athlete and the coach must decide whether they are ready to pay this price.
— Today and in the match with Spartak, the team led 2-0, but then missed the advantage. Is there a pattern in this?
— We have seen this throughout the season. But I wouldn't want to belittle our team. During the season we grow, and the organization cannot grow quickly and easily. It is necessary to fight to develop step by step. You mentioned the match with Spartak, but we found the strength to bring the game to victory. We also had good matches. It's not that bad, otherwise we wouldn't have 20 wins. I still think we could have been much higher in the case of better discipline. That's what makes the difference over a long distance.
— Von and Yurcho were changed in the links. What is the reason?
— We lost a couple of matches. And if you keep doing the same thing, you will get the same result. We tried to change something, to find "chemistry" in the links.
— Lisin recently scored his first goal in the KHL, but he wasn't there today. Is this a rotation too?
— He played well, but we have a task to develop young players, plus some players need to be prepared for the World Cup. This happens when there are a lot of hockey players, it's not a question of whether it's right or not, this is what is necessary for the development of the team.
