Traktor vs. Salavat Yulaev 3:1. Press-conference after the match

Vladimir Yurzinov, Salavat’s head coach:
First and foremost I would like to congratulate Traktor and Valery Konstantinovich on tonight’s victory. Even though we had been preparing thoroughly for this match, two early goals threw us off our stride. We tried to cut the goal margin and could very well tie the game, but the third goal denied all our plans. Traktor is a very well organized team with a lot of focus put on puck control. We had a fair share of mistakes that were reflected in the final score.

Valery Belousov, Traktor’s head coach:
We had a great start tonight with two early goals. Then we lost our focus for a bit, allowing visitors to even the game out. It was an evenly-matched contest; I think that had it not been for Traktor’s two early goals, the match could easily go into overtime or penalty shootouts.

Question to Yurzinov: Were you satisfied with Tarkki’s performance? Did you consider substituting him for Vasilevsky after the second goal?
Yurzinov: Usually coaches substitute goaltenders after a third goal, so no, I did not consider a substitution. We should have converted our own chances; you can’t miss the goal so often like we did tonight.

Question to Belousov: Was Karpov playing center an experiment or you had to do this due to Dugin’s absence?
Belousov: Of course it wasn’t an experiment; Dugin got injured, so I had to move Karpov to play the center. In fact, he already played as a center during pre-season, and I think he did fine today.