The Espoo Blues and HC Litvinov engaged in a strong defensive battle on Sunday afternoon, with Litvinov prevailing 1–0. After the game, Blues defenceman Mikko Kukkonen shared his thoughts on his team's play and that of today's opponents. 

by Eero Hurmerinta

ESPOO – The Blues were knocked out in last year's Liiga quarter-finals by another CHL-bound team, JYP Jyvaskyla. One of the big problems in the playoffs was penalty-killing. Mikko Kukkonen, who joined the team in the summer, is expected to help with that part of the game. The 27-year-old defensive defenceman has international experience from the IIHF World U18 Championship in 2006 as well as European Trophy games in 2011 and 2012.

The game between the Blues and HC Litvinov was dominated by good defence by both teams. This was seen especially in rebound control. Although both goalies, Christian Engstrand and Jaroslav Janus allowed them, the defence on both teams worked well to not allow the opponent to get to loose pucks around the net. The major exception was when Litvinov forward Peter Jansky managed to beat Blues defenceman Jere Seppala for the only goal of the game in the second period.

The Blues start the CHL with a 1–0 loss. What are your feelings about the game, Mikko?

“Basically, we played a good game, but not enough. We had chances to score a goal, but didn't manage to do it. The opponent scored one and it was enough for them.”

What do you think about Litvinov's defensive game?

“They have a lot of big defencemen and they made our forwards' lives hard. It was difficult to get to the front of their net during the game.”

What you think, looking ahead to next week's game against Grenoble? 

“It's important to get some points against them. But as we saw today, the differences between teams are small and even Litvinov can't be sure of advancing.”

How did HC Litvinov compare to other Czech teams you have played against (in the 2011 and 2012 European Trophies)?

“From what I can recall, Litvinov were pretty similar to other Czech teams. It's a different style compared to Finland. The wingers will wait a lot. Especially as a defenceman you have to watch carefully when the opponent goes to attack. I had to turn my head around a lot.”

How was the defensive game overall by the team? 

“We succeeded well in the defensive game. Litvinov had a few strong phases, but those happen in every game. All in all, it was a good performance by our defence.”