Roman Rotenberg speaks after playing Sibir in Novosibirsk

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- There was a fantastic atmosphere inside the sold-out arena. I would like to congratulate Sibir's fans with their victory. We had prepared well for this game, it was our best performance of this road trip. We showed character and commitment. Due to lacking freshness, we couldn't score our goals. Sibir played with a lot of commitment, they blocked a lot of our shots and played excellently in defence. Thankfully, some of our injured players will return for our match on Tuesday. This is the first season when we are having to play every two days, there isn't enough time to recover like we used to in the past. I would like to thank our supporters who were with us in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Novosibirsk, hopefully playing at home in Saint Petersburg again will help us get back on track. We will take the positives from this road trip and continue working hard.

- What has this away series shown you?

- We need to play effectively even when we are fatigued. When you are playing in the decisive games of playoff series, you have to strictly follow the game plan. We will get through this together. This road trip was similar to a training camp for us, we held theory and practical lessons. All coaches and players understand which direction we're moving in.

Even when you have to fly so much, you can still win games. You simply have to play in the correct manner. Nevertheless, I liked how we competed today, the guys followed our plan and showed plenty of character and commitment. We spent the entire third period in the attacking zone. Tactically, we know how we can move forward.

- Previously, this used to be the Euro Hockey Tour break. Is this why your form has dropped off?

- We can't return to last season. We have several matches in quick succession coming up, it's good for the fans and for the development of ice hockey. On the other hand, though, it means more injuries are suffered and that we have less time to recover between games. Our guys from SKA-Neva played really well today, they helped us in this match. We are missing our injured players. When we were playing 6-on-5 today, we had enough chances to equalise. Also, we need to skate quicker in order to draw fouls from the opponents. We only had one powerplay today. This series of games will help us win future matches.

- Why did you substitute Alexander Samonov for Sergei Ivanov ahead of the third period?

- We were searching for the key to victory. Sergei was confident on the ice, he was excellent. Kirill Kirsanov also played in this game alongside other players from SKA-Neva. It's great that we have players who can come in and earn spots in the line-up! I have no questions for our guys today, but we have to improve our ruthlessness in front of goal.

- How would you summarise this road trip for Matvei Michkov?

- He is receiving the opportunity to play for the senior team when we have the possibility to do so. We're concentrated on our performances. This concerns everyone, the rules are the same for every single player in our team. These games have shown us that we're working as a united group. We wanted to win all of the matches during this road trip, and we were close to victory in every game. Just like teams such as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, CSKA Moscow and Dynamo Moscow, Sibir are strong in defence. Our job is to break down tight defences.

- Michkov is often compared to Connor Bedard. Is this comparison helping him or not?

- You would be better off asking Matvei that question. It's tough to compare them, Bedard shoots with his right arm, whereas Matvei shoots with the left. Every player has his own journey to embark on. It's always difficult to move up from junior leagues to the KHL, you have to work hard. When he was Matvei's age, Kirill Kaprizov held training sessions during the summer instead of going on holiday. Guys like Artemiy Panarin also improved because of the fact that they worked really hard. If a player wins the battle against himself, he will improve. We want to improve the details.

- Which injured players will return on Tuesday?

- We don't want to reveal our secrets and help Dinamo Minsk! They have a strong Canadian head coach. I can say that there will be changes to the line-up, and I know that we will become stronger. Our players in Saint Petersburg have been preparing seriously for our upcoming games.

- Vasily Glotov played with Nikita Gusev and Dmitrij Jaskin today. How would you rate his performance? And why do you keep changing that line?

- All of our guys are of a high level. Those three already have some chemistry, they're quick players. Today, all of our lines displayed great ice hockey. We've received some injuries during this away series, but we are happy that no one broke any bones. The strongest players will be on the ice in our next match.

- Is Marat Khusnutdinov better at playing on the wing or down the middle?

- He is effective everywhere, Marat is often playing both on the powerplay and when we're shorthanded. Marat is continuing to develop.