Roman Rotenberg speaks after playing CSKA in Moscow

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- It was a tense game. We took a risk with our line-up, giving chances to our players who have just returned from injury and those from the VHL. We will draw conclusions on the basis of what we saw on the ice. We played in accordance with our system during the first period, but we conceded a goal as a result of our one mistake. The issue was with our psychology: the guys said themselves that they were too pumped up. Nevertheless, we improved in the third frame, scoring goals and playing our brand of ice hockey. This was a good lesson for us, we know what we have to do in order to beat systematic teams like CSKA. We must stop committing so many mistakes. With the playoffs in mind, we will make changes to our line-up. Our task is to be in peak form for the playoffs.

- Why are SKA struggling to score against CSKA?

- It's down to psychology. For the first time this season, our players told us that they were too pumped up. We must be able to show our best ice hockey in stressful situations. In games against teams like Dynamo Moscow, CSKA and Lokomotiv, the players are tested. The main problem today was the fact that we couldn't use our scoring chances. We had enough opportunities to score five goals today.

- How much motivation do you have to win the regular season. If CSKA win their two games in hand, they will only be seven points behind you.

- We aren't paying attention to the standings. Of course we want to be in first position, but we have to earn the points on offer. These games are giving us coaches the opportunity to see which players need to be included in the line-up for the playoffs. Today, we can see that some of our guys didn't prepare for the match in the correct manner. The positive we can take is that we were better than CSKA in the third stanza.

- Do CSKA have a great understanding of how to play against SKA?

- We often play against them. If you look at the goals which we're conceding against them, then they all occurred because of our own mistakes. We must stop conceding silly goals. Every mistake has a name behind it.

- Marat Khusnutdinov played even though he received an injury against Khabarovsk, but Mikhail Vorobyov was left on the sidelines.

- Each player has a specific personal preparation program ahead of the playoffs. We're happy that we have Mikhail in reserve, but we want more from him and the rest of our team. Mikhail is one of our leaders and can play better.

- Nikolai Prokhorkin won 12 out of his 16 faceoff draws. How would you summarise his recent performances after returning from injury.

- I can only speak about our overall team performances. We know Nikolai's qualities well, but it's clear that he is still far away from top form. The most important thing is that we can keep him healthy. The fact that we've won so many games from losing positions this season proves that we're in good shape physically.

- How does Damir Zhafyarov feel? His injury looked a nasty one against Dynamo.

- Everything is in his hands. The main thing is that he will be able to play again, because some of our other players are out for the season. If we look at today's match, then the third period showed that we can beat the KHL's most systematic team. We must compete in the same manner throughout the entire 60 minutes. When a team has four lines which can all score goals, you win games.