Sergey Fedorov, head coach of CSKA:
— A good fast game. We understood that the opponent had very fast attackers. We were preparing for it. I'm glad for the guys. We played reliably in key situations, quite calmly, not without mistakes, of course, but, nevertheless, the general background allowed us to score the goals we scored and bring the game to its logical conclusion, to victory. Therefore, the guys worked great, congratulations on a victory. I want to congratulate Konstantin Okulov on 300 points, Sergey Plotnikov on 450 points, and Nikita Nesterov, the best sniper defender in the history of CSKA, on 33 goals. The right numbers are superimposed on the right game. We are preparing further. We will analyze all the errors.
— Share your experience, how to beat SKA?
— If I tell you, it may help SKA beat us in the future. All in all, the skill level is sufficient at the level of both teams. There are skilled players both here and there. One thing can be said, using all the experience that we have gained during this season, that concentration, attention to detail, helped us to make a certain advantage and bring the game to victory.
— SKA has a gap of 7 points from CSKA in the regular season, theoretically it is possible to catch up with them. Is winning the Tikhonov Cup worthy motivation?
— It is worthy motivation and goal. Still, if you go back to the roots of our club, I always tell the guys: "Put on the uniform, play to win." There was no other motivation, there is not and will not be. So it was before us, with us and will be after us. You have to respect your work, respect your opponent, respect your victories and respect your defeats, you also need to review and analyze them. The guys understand everything perfectly.
— Why is there so much penalty time today?
— SKA have very fast forwards, it is very difficult for our defenders to play against them. Our guys are big, but their mobility is a big question. Therefore, in some moments we didn't play very well technically.
— During the season, at press conferences, you said that your players were looking for an extra pass. After the episode of Mamin, there were passages with 2 in 1, and 1 in 0, when your players made shots and eventually hit the goal. After the episode, did you focus on it in the locker room?
— Personally, there was no such conversation with Maksim. He is an experienced player, he understands perfectly that he could have played better, but this was his reaction to the moment. We make accents for the whole team, tell the guys the master plan, trends, how to play an episode. The players are also human, they have emotions. Maksim knows what he needs to do. I know he will work on this.
Roman Rotenberg, SKA Head Coach:
— Great live game, intense. That is what we need. Today we checked the players, many of them had recovered from injuries. We decided to take a risk on the roster, to give the opportunity to the guys who were playing in Supreme League now. We checked, looked, and drew conclusions. We didn't play for two periods, although we played the first period according to the system, one mistake worth a missed goal. In some cases, psychology had its effect. In the third period, we showed our system, scored good goals, could have scored more, the goalkeeper played great there. This is a good lesson for us, the next game is in store. We understand what to add, we understand what we need to do to beat such system teams as CSKA. First of all, to correct our own mistakes, we will do it, there will be conclusions on the roster, with an eye to the playoffs. Congratulations to the CSKA on the victory.
— What is the reason for the low percentage of using scoring chances?
— Psychology, attitude. As the guys said: "Burned out." You need to be able to show your hockey in stressful situations. In such matches, the players are challenged. We will work.
