SKA - CSKA. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"In my opinion, this was the best atmosphere which the SKA Arena has witnessed in its history! The fans supported us in unison and provided us with fantastic energy! I've been at many NHL matches and the 2010 Olympic Games in Canada, but this atmosphere which we experienced today was the best of the lot.

"We understood the importance of today's match. It was a hard-fought game against a strong opponent, but I'm grateful to our guys for showing their discipline. Despite the festive period, they prepared for this match in the right way.

"Furthermore, this was a special game for me, because it became my 150th win as the head coach of SKA! We're continuing to move in the right direction, and today's result proves that our decisions concerning the recent trades were correct. We're finding the right balance between defence and attack. However, we want to concede less goals and defeat our opponents even more confidently.

"Also, I would like to wish my father Boris Rotenberg a big happy birthday! He has always driven me forward and assisted me, while being strict but fair at the same time.

"We will now prepare for our next game on Sunday. December's match with CSKA? Our philosophy is simple: we forget defeats and remember wins. Tony DeAngelo is always speaking to the referees? I asked the officials to remember that because Tony is Italian, he's more expressive when it comes to how he displays his emotions. He doesn't abuse the officials.

"How good does it feel to snap CSKA's 11-game winning streak? We're just focused on our own game. If you lose concentration for even a second, then you can end up on the losing side. You have to respect your opponents and give your all, regardless of who you're facing. We work in order to achieve victories.

"Ilya Karpukhin and Dmitry Yudin made their debuts following our trades? Having played with us in the national team set-up, Ilya has a better understanding of our system. I'm also really happy that Dmitry has returned to SKA, he won the Gagarin Cup with us in the past and always plays with great commitment. I also want to point out Matvei Korotky, who is progressing excellently and will continue to play with us in the KHL.

"Why did I signal for a time-out after CSKA's third goal? We needed to calm down and begin playing our brand of ice hockey again."

HC SKA defenseman Alexander Nikishin:

"How did I spend the New Year celebration? I travelled home to Oryol in order to be with my family. The factor of having not played for a week? Of course, when you don't play for a few days, you want to return to the ice. We're used to playing every two days. I like it when we have lots of games in a row."

HC SKA defenseman Nikita Zaitsev: 

"Given that I spent plenty of years playing for CSKA, games against these opponents are special for me."

HC SKA forward Sergei Plotnikov:

"Our time-out was a cold shower for us? It wasn't the first in my career! The main thing is that we regained our composure, scored two more goals and successfully saw the game out. 

"The fifth goal which I scored? When you score and understand that you're going to emerge victorious, you always feel a sense of relief. When you're only up by one, it's tense and the closing stages are really nervy. It's much better when you possess a comfortable lead, but today our mistakes resulted in CSKA making it close.

"My New Year celebrations? I trained in the gym on 31 December and spent the day with my family."

HC CSKA Moscow head coach Ilya Vorobyov:

"We had forgotten what it feels like to lose. We started poorly today, and the young lad scored two great goals for SKA. In the second stanza we were punished on the counter. We tried to come back in the third, the guys gave their best, but I don't think that we deserved a positive result today. 

"We took untimely penalties when we were right there and close to equalising. Ice hockey is a game of initiative, and unfortunately we gifted SKA the initiative again when we were really close. SKA brought us back down to earth today."