Press conference after SKA hosted Dynamo Moscow

HC SKA head coach Igor Larionov:

"This defeat is twice as disappointing, because we have lost two players to long-term injuries. According to the initial information which we have, Vladislav Romanov will miss at least two months. Unfortunately, there is a possibility that he won't return for the remainder of the campaign. We'll find out more with regard to Nikita Zaitsev's situation later on this evening. In terms of the game itself, we didn't deserve to lose."

Incident involving Romanov...

"The Dynamo player knew that he had committed a foul. However, the referees thought that he had landed a clean hit to the shoulder. I suggested that they should review the play on video, but they stuck to their original decision. Sergei Plotnikov was unfairly given a 5+20 penalty and a two-match suspension for a hit which he landed in Yaroslavl. Everyone saw what happened for themselves."

Zaitsev's injury...

"He sustained that injury in one of the corners. After he had returned to the bench, the doctor informed me that Nikita wouldn't be able to continue playing. It's an upper-body injury. Nikita will now undergo medical examinations, but I'm not expecting good news. The recovery period will probably be long."

When Brennan Menell can return...

"He's had one training session with us following his operation. It wouldn't be fair to throw Brennan into the action so quickly, so I don't think that he will play on Thursday. We will call up a defenseman and a forward from SKA-VMF in the VHL."

Plan for Yegor Zavragin...

"Yegor played for SKA-VMF yesterday and earned a victory. Jumping ahead, I can say that he will probably play for us on Thursday against Shanghai. He'll train with our team tomorrow ahead of our next game."

Matvei Korotky's recovery...

"He's walking without crutches again. I think that he'll be out of action for at least another week, but he should be back after our next two or three matches. Matvei feels a lot better today."

Third-period struggles...

"We spent too long competing shorthanded in this match. With the score level in the closing stages, we were thinking about overtime. It was important to avoid conceding. Overtime isn't a lottery, but you have more chance of winning when playing 3-on-3. Fatigue took its toll. We had lost two players during the game, and we were playing with only three lines in the third frame. Sadly, we committed a mistake for their second goal, but we had previously had the chances to decide the outcome in our favour. We must become ruthless in front of goal."

Pressure of being outside the playoff qualification spots...

"Yes, this is putting pressure on our shoulders. We have to haul ourselves out of this situation. If we look at the standings, then we can see that three or four wins will bring us up into mid-table. We have to start doing the small details right. Of course, we want to make the fans happy with entertaining ice hockey, but we need results. We must be tight in defence and productive in attack. We're not happy with being ninth in the Western Conference, but there is light at the end of the tunnel."

Situation concerning Nikolai Goldobin...

"He landed hits and blocked shots today. Given his talent, Nikolai is a player who can decide the outcome. We want to see more from him, but it's pleasing that he is beginning to understand some elements."

HC Dynamo Moscow head coach Alexei Kudashov:

"It was a difficult match for us. The first two periods were even, but we improved in the third and took the initiative. We began to move better, avoided taking penalties and played in accordance with our normal tempo."

Preparations for SKA...

"SKA changed coaches and styles following our playoff series with them last season. As a consequence of this, we didn't look back at that particular series when preparing for today. We can see that SKA have become a very organised team, and they're improving with every passing game. It's tough to play against SKA from a tactical point of view."