"We thought 5-0 and that was it, the game was done"

One of the most colorful matches in the KHL took place at the end of the year. CSKA Moscow beat SKA St. Petersburg at home with a score of 6:5. The home team started scoring quickly. By the end of the first minute, they led 2-0, to which the visitors' head coach Roman Rotenberg responded by replacing goalie Egor Zavragin with Pavel Moisevich - it's hard to remember a goalie being changed so quickly. And when CSKA led 5-0 by the 15th minute of the first period, Moisevich was replaced by Zavragin.

With 12 minutes left in the game, Ilya Vorobyov's team led 6-2, but nearly missed the win, allowing SKA to cut the lead to a minimum. Nevertheless, CSKA won its ninth straight and shares second-third place in the Western Conference with Spartak.

In an interview with Izvestia, Red-Blue forward Maxim Sorkin commented on the bright Army derby, explained why the team managed to improve after a poor start to the season and October's home defeats to Metallurg Magnitogorsk (0:7) and Traktor Chelyabinsk (0. 4):4), spoke about the departure of star forward Konstantin Okulov from CSKA to Avangard and the rebuilding of the roster after the departure of most of the players who brought the club victories in the Gagarin Cup, and also shared his impressions of playing for the Russian national team at the First Channel Cup.

- What made the match between CSKA and SKA so bright?

- We had a good opponent, which is always a strong motivation. That's why we didn't need to do any extra tuning, either for us or for them. But we often have games against SKA with a lot of goals on both sides. I hope the audience likes it.

- Why, after leading 5:0 and 6:2, did you let the opponent cut the lead to a minimum in the third period?

- We stopped playing the right way. We rolled back, gave the initiative to the opponent. He basically had nothing to lose. SKA players went to score and realized their chances.

- Were you relaxed when they led by four or five pucks?

- Not that we were relaxed. Just a little off, I guess. We thought that 5:0 - and that's it, the game is done. And you need to play all 60 minutes of the game - not 20. So, of course, we got credit for the first period. But for the second and third - not.

- Why did you start the game so well?

- We had a good attitude, good motivation. We haven't beaten SKA in a long time (since the final conference playoff game in April 2023, after which SKA beat CSKA in all six regular season games in 2023/2024 and the first face-to-face game this season. - Ed.), so we came out as energized as possible. We were also lucky - we scored on almost half of the shots we took. But, again, you have to play all 60 minutes.

- Is this the first time you've seen a goalie changed in the first minute of a game, like SKA did?

- In my career, probably yes.

- What do you think of CSKA's results and play in the first four months of the season?

- I think we're making progress now. The main thing is to play the right way, for the team. We deserve the results we've had lately. We need to hang on to this game and not lose it.

- How did you manage to overcome a bad stretch of the first half of the fall?

- We still have a new team this season. It took some time to adapt the new guys, especially those who came from America. We are getting used to each other. Apparently, now it has come into its own, so the results are gradually improving.

- How did you react to Konstantin Okulov's departure? Did you manage to say goodbye?

- It happened unexpectedly, of course. We spent a lot of time with Kostya in one club. And his departure is an event both for him and for CSKA. In the morning on the day of the game against SKA he said goodbye to the team. We wished him good luck. We have always been and remain on good terms with him. Only positive from the period of our work together. So good luck to him in Avangard and less injuries.

- Okulov was one of the last players of the current CSKA to win all three Gagarin Cups with the club in the previous six seasons. Now that you have only Nikita Nesterov, Pavel Karnaukhov and Maxim Mamin left, aren't you sad that the era of a great team is gradually coming to an end?

- Well, that's hockey. Hockey life is such that someone is always moving somewhere. It happens all the time. It rarely happens that a person spends his whole career on one team. Our management took this step - it means we have to move on.

- Even though you're 24 years old, you don't feel like an authoritative veteran on the current roster like the man who made his CSKA debut under Igor Nikitin and won two Gagarin Cups under Sergei Fedorov?

- No, I don't feel like a veteran - I feel like part of the team. Like a clock mechanism, where everyone does his job. Work for the team.

- Why does your trio with Vitaly Abramov and Prokhor Poltapov show very high performance this season?

- We try to play correctly, to fulfill the coach's assignment. Play for the team.

- How do you like the performance at the recent First Channel Cup in St. Petersburg?

- The impression is excellent. I'm glad that we managed to win the trophy, to please a lot of fans. It was nice to play in the presence of more than 20 thousand spectators. Thank them for their support.

- With such a busy schedule, do you like to travel for the national team? Or do you want to rest?

- It gives the game tone. Those guys who stayed in clubs, only trained and lost it a little bit. So I was glad to play for the national team. And a little bit to switch emotionally, to be in another team is also useful. When you do something the same for a long time, it gets a little bit boring. Therefore, the emotions from the trip to St. Petersburg are only good. We had a good tournament, won it and returned to the clubs with a positive mood.

- How do hockey players celebrate the New Year, taking into account that the season is interrupted for a short time? CSKA, for example, will have a break only between December 29 and January 3.

- Everyone meets with their families and has a normal time. That's enough.

- Do you have to restrain yourself at the table in terms of eating and drinking alcohol?

- Well, except for a little champagne - there is nothing wrong with that. But otherwise, yes, you should not let yourself go, because very soon you return to training and should be as ready to play as possible. Moreover, we have another game against SKA on January 3, already on the road.