Evgeni Malkin: It's for Crosby that we defeated the Capitals

Alexander Ovechkin tries to hit Evgeni Malkin
but misses and hits Nicklas Backstrom

Evgeni Malkin in an interview to a Russian newspaper says he isn't injured, states that he has no hatred against the Washington Capitals, reveals what Ovechkin told him after the series, and supposes that it's for Crosby that the Penguins defeated the Capitals.

- You spent a lot of time at the doctor's office. Any problems?
- Just a massage, nothing special.

- You've defeated a rival, so you may relax now?
- We will try to make it to the finals. There is Carolina waiting for us and I think that every round will be harder than the previous one. Count the accumulating tiredness in.

- Anyhow, this series was special, wasn't it?
- Of course. There were a lot of talks in the media. It was a beauty 7-game series. I believe the fans loved it. It's good that we were lucky. The opponent was very strong, stronger than Philadelphia. It's great that we defeated them.

- Doesn't the attention to Washington, who are referred to as a Russian team, offend you? Maybe now Russia will start following you and Sergei Gonchar more closely?
- Nope, it doesn't offend. If you play good, you get the attention. I was drafted by the Penguins in my time and I'm very happy. We reached the finals last year, and now we've passed the second round, so no complaints from my side.

- Don't you feel any spite playing against the Capitals?
- No, for me Washington is just a common team, though it's a very good one. There are our, Russian, guys playing there. How can I have spite or hatred? They are our friends. All we did was hitting the ice and trying to play good game.

- What did Gonchar contribute to the team in today's game?
- A lot. The very first goal was scored after his shot.

- Ovechkin apologized to Gonchar during the handshake ceremony. In your opinion, had he intended to injure Gonchar?
- Of course he hadn't. We are here to play hockey and no one is intending to injure the opponent. It happens accidentally, but I think that maybe you should be more careful in such situations. Probably slow down a bit, because people might get out up to one year because of such injuries.

- What did you tell Ovechkin when handshaking?
- Usual words: great job, good series. He wished me good luck and to win the Stanley Cup.

- Did it surprise you that this game wasn't as dense as the previous six?
- Yes, it was a bit surprising. Especially when we scored 2 goals one after another in the first period and later once again one after another in the second period. I think that Varlamov wasn't very good today.

- What can you say about your captain, Sidney Crosby's play?
- I believe everybody noticed that he played great. Probably even better than he was expected to play. He led the team, you could see him trying hard during the whole series. He scored very important goals. Maybe it's for Crosby that we won the game today and the series.

- Did you watch the World Championship?
- Of course I did! I tried to catch all the games of our team on the internet. I want to congratulate Russia. This is a great victory for the players and for the fans!

- Did this victory inspire you?
- I'm sure it enlivened all the Russian guys; Ovechkin and Semin are no exception. It's great when our guys win, I know all the guys on that team personally. To sum it up, this is just inexpressible!

Translated by Malkin-71.net