The mentors of the teams summed up the Army derby.
— Happy win to our team, we went through a lot today, we found strength, opportunity, character in the third period. Not all of the quality chances from the first two periods were realized, nevertheless - we were in the game, played a little better in terms of disposing the puck from under pressure. But our opponent created difficulties for us today, of course. We gained good experience, watched new guys. We managed to pull ourselves together in the third period and break the game.
— To what extent was the defeat in St Petersburg the starting point for you to push back and go forward?
— I would not like to go back to those times. In that match, everything really fell out of our hands. We sorted out that match, explained that it was impossible to start like that, but we are still fighting with the first period. Today the start was a little better, the opponent is fresher, faster. Nevertheless, we were again the first to create quality moments. Today we missed first, our forwards didn't work on the line of the throw, but nevertheless — it's all an experience, whatever it may be. And we are obliged to go through it, analyze it, draw conclusions and send the guys to a certain job. Everything is decided a little later, in the second segment of the championship. We managed to show why we lost, what will work for us, we managed to show the strengths of our game. Every match changes the opponent, but we managed to create a segment that is necessary in every match: three zones with a puck, three zones without a puck. Guys understand what needs to be done, but it doesn't always work out, it's a fact. I am glad that today the first period was more successful over the last series of games.
— After the game before last you criticised Okulov's game, today he has a double. How do you perceive it in dynamics?
— The one who is on the stove is not mistaken — I always say that. There were certain moments. Hockey players are also people, they get tired too. I definitely think that in the middle of the season, the reason for an unsatisfactory game is fatigue. This season there is a certain psychological and physical load and it makes its own adjustments. I look at the energy of the guys during the first 10 minutes of each match and make certain decisions. There was no strong criticism and punishments in the direction of Kostya Okulov, we approached constructively: we gave the opportunity to play to other guys who looked much better in this segment.
— You said after the match against “Dynamo” that Aleksandr Sharychenkov would be in goal, however, today we saw Adam Reideborn in goal. Can you explain the choice of the cage cop?
— I always refer to Sergei Ivanovich Naumov - the cage copes' coach. I know for a fact that he has a certain schedule. Both the psychological and physiological approach is taken into account there. Sometimes, of course, there are certain talking points, but in this case I cannot say any more than I have already told you. Our plan is for a fresh cage cop to play, and that was Adam. We are in a working process where we want to figure out what to expect next in the second part of the championship.
— A very sharp game, excellent hockey, and a strong CSKA team. I congratulate them on their victory. The fans were very supportive and the atmosphere in the arena was great. I'm sure everyone enjoyed hockey. Now the score is 2-2 in the series. We failed in the third period, and some of our young guys made mistakes. We are waiting for the return of some of our players. The guys are sick, a lot of injuries. Everyone will be back soon. At the same time, you need to be able to win with any team, be able to play even when you are tired. In the playoffs, you need to pull out games. We have a lot to work on. We still have two matches against CSKA in January, so we need to prepare seriously. Today, the guys have no complaints about dedication. Everyone was plastering, fighting, catching the puck on themselves. Okulov's second goal-well done, threw. This skill should be adopted by us, thrown from everywhere. In such situations, we need to know what CSKA is throwing. In such moments, you need to play correctly both in the direction of the goal and away from the goal. We will work, we need to improve the majority, we understand how. Strong opponent, excellent players, strong team. Congratulations to CSKA on their victory.
— Wouldn't you think that the three-day break unsettled your team a bit?
— Two periods were played correctly, all according to the system. The guys are not so experienced in games with CSKA. We need to train, gain experience. Of course, the game tone is needed, we understood that the opponent lost two games in a row, everyone is very angry. We are waiting for the return of our many key players to the squad. We have serious reserves, we can improve many things. Of course, we need to score more, take more responsibility for scoring chances. CSKA do not allow you to pass, they are great defensively. Therefore, need to play for a goal, need to take responsibility. We have discussed this, we will continue to work, will strengthen our team mentally, we can still improve physically.
— Today SKA made a catastrophic number of mistakes that led to goals. What's causing this?
— This is the experience of playing with CSKA. The second goal is Okulov's skill, such things should be adopted. The third goal — we took a risk, there was a mistake on the blue line. A mutually sharp game, we created a lot of chances, if we don't score, our opponent will score. . Everything is in our hands. There are moments, we need to pocket a chance and prepare for further.
— Evaluate the episode with Podyapolsky, when he threw the puck out of rink. Would you say it dramatically affected the result?
— They didn't score for us on the powerplay, it was already after the powerplay, 5-10 seconds had passed. It is a game, he threw the puck, you can say it was a technical defect, but it is all being trained and our puckstopper coaches will work on it with Vlad, we have had such moments before. The puckstopper task is to play with the stick correctly, it is a technique, everything is being worked out, I think next time there will be no such mistake. At the same time, he played great, no complaints to the puckstopper.
— You praised Okulov for that unexpected shot, and Valentin Zykov shot even steeper from behind the goal a week ago and in a situation where emotions started to run out. Do you agree that your players can also shot masterfully?
— Of course, we can do everything, we score a lot of goals. Unexpected shots are also needed. Today it just played a key role and we will work on that too. Any goal is a goal and unnecessary passes are not always needed, the result is important. As I said about the 2-in-1 outputs, we are looking for extra passes. We need to take on more possession and shoot more often. Maybe it was caused by fatigue. We were going to win this game for two periods. We are in first place in the league in the third period, but today it didn't work out. Many of the guys will be back from injury, we don't have almost 50 percent of the starting lineup.
— Danila Moiseev was not included in the list of injured people who are already on the way to recovery. Is he serious?
— I don't want to announce the names of those who have be ruled out for the rest of the season, so when people write about exchanges, believe me, it's not from the good life. It's our job, it's hockey, we play to the limit. It happens to everybody, a lot of teams have injuries for the rest of the season. Our job is to prepare the guys, we are not forcing events. For example, Emil Galimov is 100% ready now and will play in the next game. There are other guys who played a key role at the beginning of the season when we had a long winning streak. We are waiting for all of them, they are our key players. At the same time, we have to win with any line-up. There are no excuses here.
— The score in your's showdown with CSKA is 2-2. Would you say that every game against the army team in the regular season models a possible playoff series?
— We treat every game as a separate scrum, improving the details. We work a lot on minority and majority, we have added in many components. There are situations when you play well and lose, or play poorly and win, that's hockey. The score in the series 2-2 is fair and honest, both teams are strong, the more interesting the next game will be. We can say that we have a Super Series, just like with Yaroslavl or "Dynamo“ moscow. And it is right, the more games from the knife, the more games of this level, it develops us. We will be stronger - and every regular season game is preparation for the playoffs.
— We remember how the match between CSKA and SKA collected 60-70 thousand at Gazprom Arena. Is it realistic that this showdown will return to such a big stadium?
— Such games must be deserved by victories. Of course, we want to come back and play with such a large number of people. For any person who works in hockey, this is the best day. At the same time, the task in such games is to win.
— How far satisfied are you with the deadline results?
— We worked to the maximum, extracted everything from what we could do in order to create reserves and strengthen the team's line-up. First of all, this is due to injuries, these are forced exchanges. We are satisfied, we have done a lot of work, we have a lot of players with whom we will work. They need to train, it is better to blend into the team, the work continues. So far, we are preparing for the next game, we want to finish this year in first place.
