SKA - Amur. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- It's wonderful to be playing in front of our passionate fans again! Our guys did a great job, they followed the game plan. However, there were mistakes which we will analyse. Amur played with a lot of motivation today, especially during the second period. As a consequence of Sibir Novosibirsk being stripped of four points, they have a big chance to qualify for the Gagarin Cup playoffs. Thankfully, despite Amur's pressure, we held on in the second stanza and kept them at bay. Our players played for the benefit of the team, blocked pucks and displayed commitment.

- We hadn't expected to see Pavel Dedunov in the first line.

- The best players are on the ice. Pavel always plays with plenty of commitment, he does everything possible in order to help the team. I like how he's playing with Sergei Tolchinsky and Mikhail Vorobyov in our top line. Nikolai Polyakov was previously doing well in that line, but unfortunately he subsequently fell ill.

- Khabarovsk scored their goals at the start of the second and third periods.

- We conceded those goals as a consequence of losing concentration.

All of our players must compete with maximum focus in every shift, it's vital to be fully prepared mentally. We'll work on our mistakes ahead of our next game on Friday.

- You used your coach's challenge for Amur's second marker. What can you say about that incident?

- I'm sure that our referees are striving to work with honesty. With regard to the goal, the decision was made by the officials working in the KHL's control room. I hope that the incident will be shown in the league's television programme dedicated to refereeing. Our video coaches noticed that goaltending interference had been featured during that particular play, the opposing forward entered the crease and prevented our goalkeeper from stopping the puck. The professionals will analyse what happened.

HC Amur Khabarovsk head coach Andrei Martemyanov:

- It's unacceptable to start a game against SKA 0:2 down. I have issues with how our players followed our scheme and their lack of discipline. This especially concerns our forwards, who weren't effective in the defensive or attacking zones. The score reflects the course of the match, SKA showed us how to prepare for matches and play in them.

- Why did you swap your goalkeeper after conceded twice?

- SKA scored from two shots, I had to do something to wake our team up. Igor Bobkov didn't start the game as he would have wanted, but our issues are with the skaters.

- Your defenseman Igor Mishchenko pulled off a fantastic goal-line save in the second stanza.

- This is how we always need to play. By the way, when SKA were leading 6:2, I noticed how one of their players jumped in front of the puck with his face. Sadly, we were lacking this kind of commitment today.

- Can you take any positives from this match?

- The game was even in the second period. I did like how our young players competed, they were careful in defence and tried their best to create chances in attack. I can't say anything about our other three lines. When you play badly, you must be critical and honest with each other. We must take responsibility for our actions on the ice.

HC SKA forward Marat Khairullin:

- We all enjoyed this game, it's a nice win for us. My goal? Vasily Glotov provided me with a fantastic pass, all I had to do was extend my stick to tip the puck in. Our next game against Kunlun Red Star? They possess a lot of Canadian guys who like to play physical ice hockey.

HC SKA forward Vasily Glotov:

- The goal which Amur scored at the start of the second period? They were hungry to get back in the game, but we should have competed with more focus. Kunlun are travelling to Saint Petersburg on Friday? Games against them are always exciting and full of physical plays, goals and shots. They like to play aggressive ice hockey, so it'll be an interesting match.