Roman Rotenberg speaks after playing Dinamo Minsk away

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

“We knew that at this moment in time, Minsk are the best team in the league in terms of their results and movement. As a consequence of having two weeks off, they had the opportunity to rest and prepare accordingly. This has given them a big advantage.

“Unfortunately, the two early penalties taken in the first period affected the result. We have to improve our game shorthanded. This was certainly a playoff-level match, both teams competed hard and at a high tempo. We have to note that Dinamo were solid in defence during the third stanza when we were forcing the issue.

“Yes, Minsk have lots of talented players who represent a strong Belarusian national team, but I’m sure that our guys will be highly motivated to avenge this loss when we host this side soon in Saint Petersburg. We must be level-headed when presented with scoring opportunities.

“We’re ensuring that all of our players are ready for the playoffs. A positive aspect for us is that we won the game 1:0 when playing 5-on-5, the problem was the fact that we conceded while playing on the PK. Everyone saw how our players tracked back effectively today. We find ourselves in seventh position of the Western Conference? Remember that there are 14 points available before the regular season ends, and we’re going to try and win all of our remaining games. Artemiy Pleshkov wasn’t in the line-up? He sat this game out with the injury which he received against Dynamo Moscow.”