Roman Rotenberg speaks after game one against Dynamo

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"The atmosphere inside the sold-out arena was fantastic. Overall, the game went in accordance with our plan. We fought hard, displayed character and played for one another. Our guys did what we had instructed them to do.

"However, as you yourselves understand very well, you cannot take nine penalties against a team like Dynamo which has strong players and foreigners of elite level. This is why we lost. Looking forward to the upcoming games, we must get rid of our penalties and take steps in the right direction."

On avoiding strange penalties such as the one taken by Evgeny Kuznetsov...

"All of the penalties which we took today were poor. We need to control our emotions and play with cool heads. If we play with our emotions under control and cool heads, we'll be fine."

Alexander Nikishin's absence being felt...

"The playoffs are a sporting war. Of course, we're looking forward to when Nikishin and Sergei Plotnikov can return. Nevertheless, at this moment in time, we simply have to prepare for Saturday. Just look at how we played 6-on-4: we controlled the puck, created enough scoring chances, but couldn't take advantage of the openings which we created. We will find the key to scoring against these opponents. We're almost there, today we created lots of chances on the crease. 

"By the way, I would like to point out an incident when a Dynamo player hit our guy in the head. It was a difficult game for the officials, but I would like to thank them for their efforts. Our focus is winning game two on Saturday."

Swapping the goalkeeper for the extra skater when 10 minutes left...

"I have 100% trust in my team. We created plenty of opportunities while playing 6-on-4 during our powerplay, but we have to make more use of the chances which are appearing."

Powerplay struggles...

"We have to give credit to Dynamo, they defended excellently and didn't allow our players to complete their plays. We have to calmly analyse what happened, forget this match and prepare for the next. The most important game is on Saturday."

Amount of analysis undertaken with regard to the opponents...

"We undertook an awful amount of analysis. The score was 1:1 if we only take play at equal strength into account. But, however much analysis we put in, the players carry responsibility when they take to the ice. Despite today's result, they competed with character and fight. We now need to play with our emotions under control and cool heads."

Ivan Demidov's performance after being introduced...

"Ivan was great for us, he quickly settled into the game and created opportunities. Nonetheless, I don't think that this is the time for analysing individual players. We're focusing on the overall team performance."