Igor Larionov speaks after beating Shanghai at the SKA Arena

HC SKA head coach Igor Larionov:

"I would like to thank our players for displaying character and fighting until the end. And, I would like to thank our fans for the fantastic support inside arena! Yes, officially this was an away game, but it felt like a home match. 

"It's nice that we finished 2025 on a positive note. After the strange match against Sochi, we saw just how much we're growing. This is an important set of two points which we earned thanks to our approach and togetherness."

Emphasis on defence after conceding eight in Sochi...

"No, I don't think that it was an important factor. It would have been a mistake to think about what happened in Sochi. We could have scored a lot more than two goals in the first period, but we weren't ruthless with our opportunities. We knew that this was an important game in our conference, and we wanted to use the right approach."

Performance level of both teams...

"I don't want to use excuses, but we had to prepare for this game after two successive away matches and a long trip back from Sochi. We flew into Saint Petersburg at 5 am due to the weather conditions, and such issues do affect your preparation. We had to show our character, help our goalkeeper and play solidly in defence to emerge victorious today. It was an exciting match for the supporters during the maiden two periods, but today was about the result and not aesthetics."

Why Sergei Ivanov hasn't played since winning in Minsk...

"It was important to give Sergei a chance to gain confidence and a breath of fresh air. He was fantastic in that particular match! Today, however, Artemiy Pleshkov was also excellent. We will decide who are our first two goalkeepers over the next couple of weeks."