Roman Rotenberg speaks after playing Amur in Khabarovsk

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- I would like to congratulate Khabarovsk with their victory. It was a tough match against a strong opponent. We improved in the third period, but we have to take into account that we aren't feeling particularly fresh at the moment. A lot of our players are injured right now. Nevertheless, we aren't prepared to start searching for excuses, we always have to be the best regardless of the circumstances. Yes, we have already racked up 20 hours of flying time after playing Metallurg Magnitogorsk at home, but difficulties only make us stronger. We will now fly for a further five hours to Novosibirsk, where we will subsequently prepare for our next game on Saturday. We will give everything we have on the ice in order to not give the opponents a chance to win.

- What are the positives and negatives you can take away from this match?

- We showed character. It's a long season in which we have matches every two days, all clubs are in the same boat. We have to improve and not look for excuses. We are to blame for this result. When the playoffs begin, we will also play every two days. This run of games will make us stronger.

- Why have SKA now lost two in a row after such a long winning streak?

- Our legs are becoming numb when flying! Our main strength is our pace, we love to play energy-sapping ice hockey. We have fast players, but it becomes difficult when their legs are heavy. However, we should always be prepared to display our best ice hockey, even if we are woken in the middle of the night to play immediately. Nothing else matters, otherwise you can start searching for a million excuses. By the way, I would like to wish the referee health, the puck struck him in the head. They are also flying a lot too, so it's also tough for them.

- What can you say about Marat Khusnutdinov's penalty in the third period?

- In my opinion, he didn't commit a foul. I don't like to comment on the officiating. As a result of the injury, only one referee was left for the third period. Maybe the KHL needs to take three referees to every match just in case. When there is only one referee, the standard of the officiating drops.