"Many things performed by Ovechkin simply cannot be taught"

One of the most striking episodes of the first round of the Gagarin Cup was the confrontation between Dynamo Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg. Dynamo won the first two matches at home — 3:1 in regular time and 2:1 in overtime. Then, in St. Petersburg, the third match turned out to be for SKA — 5.:3. And the fourth game was one of the best in the history of the KHL. The St. Petersburg club won back from 2:4 at the end of regular time, did not realize a shootout in overtime, and then his goal was not counted by the referees after a long video replay due to interference with the goalkeeper. And in the second overtime, Dynamo scored the winning goal and led the series 3:1. He had to win one match to go further.

But SKA won the fifth meeting in Moscow in overtime (4:3). Now the teams will have to play their sixth match in St. Petersburg on Sunday. If the Army team wins there, then everything will be decided on Tuesday in Moscow following the results of the seventh game. In an interview with Izvestia, SKA forward Mikhail Grigorenko told how the team survived the defeat in the second overtime of the fourth match, how it reacts to the provocations of North American Dynamo players, and also shared his impressions of defenseman Nikita Zaitsev on the coaching bridge and spoke about Alexander Ovechkin's upcoming record for goals in the NHL.

"We need to increase hockey anger, aggression and the fight for neutral pucks"

CSKA forward Prokhor Poltapov talks about the upcoming KHL playoff series against Dinamo Minsk and the last regular season

— How did you recover emotionally and physically after a long and difficult fourth match with two overtimes?

— There was enough time to recover. It is clear that we suffered an unfortunate defeat in overtime, our puck was uncounted. But we overcame it and won the fifth match in overtime against Dynamo — the psychological advantage is now on our side. So we are going back to St. Petersburg for the sixth match in a good mood.

— Do you feel like you're turning the series in your favor?

— No, initially we have two equal teams playing here. Four overtimes in three out of five matches — no one wants to concede. We are fighting for every meter of the site.

— SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg has repeatedly criticized the behavior of North American Dynamo players at a press conference, in his opinion, provoking the opponent. How are you trying to deal with this?

— I think we took a step forward in this direction in the fifth match. They were less susceptible to provocations. Dynamo players play as they see fit. And we play our own hockey. And the main thing is not to succumb to provocations and not to leave.

— How do you like Nikita Zaitsev as a coach, which he became after injury in the fifth match?

— I worked mostly with defenders. That's why he crossed paths with us less. Perhaps he gave sound advice to the defenders. This is not the first time in the KHL when an active player stands on the bench at the moment of injury and assists the head coach. Nikita is a very experienced player, and it was nice to have him with us. But, of course, we need him more on the ice.

— After losing in the second overtime of the fourth match, Roman Rotenberg said that SKA should recover faster after this, since his squad is younger than Dynamo. Did it really help in the fifth game?

— It's hard to say. Dynamo plays in a very patient manner, they have a lot lined up in the middle zone. Of course, we have more traffic. I don't know what this is about, but we generally feel very confident before the next match.

— You won three Gagarin Cups with CSKA, when the team had a lot of seven-match series, and in the 2022 finals it won back with 1:3 against Metallurg. What should I do to repeat this again in SKA?

— Continue to work, play patiently, do not delete, install the game. The main thing now is to recover and prepare well for the next match.

Alexander Velik: how Ovechkin caught up with Gretzky

There is only one puck left before the sole achievement.

— Are you following the movement of Ovechkin, who is about to break Wayne Gretzky's record?

— Yes, of course, everyone is watching, everyone is worried.

— Why did he have such a crazy career?

— The number one reason is heroic health. It's from nature. Plus the genes from the parents. The second is crazy work, dedication. And, of course, the scoring sense is just crazy. The greatest sniper of all time. Many things in his performance simply cannot be taught.

— You played together with Ovechkin for the Russian national team at the 2019 World Cup. What was his personal impression then?

— A great leader, he leads the team. Very friendly, friendly to everyone. He communicates with everyone on equal terms. All in all, he's a great guy. I can only speak positively about him.