"We need to be more responsible about the majority of the game"

The first round of the playoffs continues in the KHL. The second matches in all series have already been played. So Spartak Moscow won two home matches against Severstal Cherepovets — 5:4 in overtime and 4:2 in regular time. Now the confrontation is being transferred to the Vologda region, where the third and fourth matches will be held on March 30 and April 1. In an interview with Izvestia, Severstal captain Alexey Kruchinin commented on the reasons for the two defeats in the series, explained how to win back, how the atmosphere of the home arena would affect it, and expressed confidence that the team's leaders, forwards Danil Aimurzin and Kirill Pilipenko, would still have their say in the playoffs.

— What prevents Severstal from realizing the huge number of chances that the team created in the matches with Spartak?

— It's hard to say. Probably, if we knew what was in the way, we would have already corrected it by starting to score from these moments. Nerves, pressure... Somewhere individual skill affects, somewhere experience. There are many factors. It's hard to name one reason here.

I say it again: if we had the opportunity, we would have removed these shortcomings long ago and implemented our moments. Everything would have been easy and simple — they would have scored and not missed. But our game is fast. This is a game of mistakes, a game of initiatives. Everything is going back and forth, everything is very fast — there is no time to think about it. We need to react, just keep playing and try to fix some things. And in the attack, we implement what we create.

— At the end of the regular season, you showed character when you fought back from 1-2 and won against Torpedo (3:2), then won against Dynamo Moscow in the last minutes (3:2). Why is it still not possible to pull out games in the Spartak series?

"In the first match against Dynamo, there were not enough chances to realize"

SKA hockey player Andrey Pedan — about the start of the KHL playoffs, the defeat at the beginning of the first round series and the opponent's game

— We're playing with another team right now. In the first match against Spartak, we were constantly in the lead — there was no need to win back. And in the second game, we had a chance to do it when we scored the second goal, made the score 2:3 and immediately had a 5-on-3 majority. There were a couple of dangerous shots, but we couldn't score. And then we made a mistake, missed the fourth goal and, unfortunately, lost the second match. Let's draw conclusions and prepare for the home games.

— The mistake that resulted in Spartak scoring the fourth goal happened when Severstal was playing in the majority. And in the first match, the opponent turned the game around when, with the score 2:4, you conceded the majority. What should be done to eliminate such errors?

— We need to treat the majority more responsibly. When you see one person running to the puck, and the three or four of you surround him, thinking that he won't do anything... This is a loss of concentration caused by the fact that you take such moments lightly and approach them a little irresponsibly. All of this translates into such mistakes and such important goals against us.

— The leaders of Severstal, Danil Aimurzin and Kirill Pilipenko, failed in the first two matches.

— I think they will succeed. We believe in them, we support them. These are our leaders — they will have their say later.

"There are injuries this year, but, in principle, the squad is fighting"

Severstal hockey player Ruslan Abrosimov — about the chances of winning the playoff series against Spartak, the defeat in the first match and the fan factor in Cherepovets

— This is your first season playing for Severstal. Have you felt the atmosphere of the home matches in Cherepovets during this time? Should she help the team in the third and fourth matches of the series with Spartak?

— We almost always have full houses and good support at home. Houses and walls help, so we can't wait for home matches in the playoffs.

— Do you think Severstal will stick to its risky style of play in this series to the end, or are changes possible?

— I think the coaching staff will tell us what to fix. He will sort out the errors and tell you what to improve. But in general, the philosophy will remain the same.