CSKA and SKA head coaches Ilya Vorobyov and Roman Rotenberg summarized the results of the match.
Ilya Vorobyov, CSKA head coach:
- It was an even game again. The difference is that we conceded two goals in the penalty kill and scored none on the power play. And in overtime. Two times we went down. Once we were penalized in the minority, here a defenseman fell down - and in reverse. That's how the game turned out.
- I would like to ask about the club's newcomers - Galiev and Chartier. Do you still believe in them? And does the team have any additional reserves?
- Yes, the guys will play. Especially since Drozdov is out now. Now we'll think about who to put instead of Drozdov.
- Maybe you will invite someone from Zvezda?
- Dolzhenkov is playing now. We'll think, we'll watch. Our guys watch Zvezda games, I watch them. They are also solving their own problems now.
- Are you waiting for Ivan Prosvetov to return?
- First of all, we are waiting for Samorukov. Ivan started skating, started to get into his hockey butterfly a little bit. But it will still last, it's not such a close call.
- Despite the defeat, can you say you're happy with the series with SKA in the regular season?
- A coach can't be happy after a loss. We earned a point, but I can't be happy with a defeat. That's why we keep working.
Roman Rotenberg, SKA head coach:
- I want to thank all the fans. It's always a pleasure to play here, great hockey atmosphere. There are two historically strong teams in the league here today. Here tonight are two historically strong teams in the league. By all accounts, the two strongest teams. Before the game, I said that CSKA had six Continental Cups and SKA had three. As of today, CSKA has three Gagarin Cups, SKA has two. CSKA's leaders are the leaders of the Russian national team, who helped us win the First Channel Cup. So it was a high-level game, both teams battled, both goalies played great, caught a lot of shots. We played a lot in the minority. What we need, again, is to see how we did that, playing so much with the puck and creating chances, constantly playing in the minority. The playoffs are coming up, and there should never be a double standard. There should be a single standard for all teams. Then everything will be fair, according to the sports principle. Spectators will go to the stands, because our country needs honest hockey. Our spectators don't need any other hockey. So I want to congratulate our guys on the victory, they fulfilled the task 100%, played very selflessly, caught the puck a lot, sacrificed themselves. The puck hit us in the face, and we fought with one fist, but of course there is room for improvement. We'll improve for the playoffs, we'll improve for the next game. We have injured guys coming back. We hope that Gritsyuk will definitely play in the next game, we are waiting for him. I want to note all the lines: offense, defenders and goalkeeper, they played great today. We can do even better, take away some losses in the middle zone and on the opponent's blue line. We'll improve that as well. In general, I can say that we made a big step forward in the content of the game.
