Game one. SKA - Dinamo Minsk. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- We had prepared seriously for this game, understanding the fact that Minsk had already competed in 10 vital matches in the lead-up to the playoffs. We suffered as a consequence of having not played for a week. Nevertheless, we will work hard in order to make our fans happy on Friday.

- What went wrong for SKA today?

- Perhaps it was one of our worst performances of the season so far. Maybe the pressure got to our players. We held a productive discussion inside our dressing room after the game, and we will now analyse what happened. There aren't any weak opponents in the playoffs, Dinamo have a strong team with plenty of North American players who compete with confidence and determination. This game will serve as a good lesson for us.

- Did Minsk surprise you?

- No. This is the third consecutive year in which we're playing against Minsk in the playoffs, and we often meet in the regular season. They often change their tactical approach, opting to either take the initiative or sit in defence. For our part, we must be confident in ourselves and continue working calmly.

- Does your future with SKA depend on your playoff result?

- It's too early to start talking about the future. Throughout my time with SKA, we have experienced different situations. In the past, we have won series after being down 0-2 and 0-3. Nothing has changed for us, we require 16 wins in order to lift the Gagarin Cup. The main thing right now is to win on Friday.

- What can you say to the fans? The Ice Palace was sold out today.

- We understand that we've made everyone disappointed, but let's not dramatise the situation; this was only one game. We must analyse the details and make the required improvements. It's the playoffs, the team which competes with the most amount of determination and togetherness will win. By the way, there were some controversial moments in this match, Nikita Gusev was elbowed in the head but no foul was given. We certainly can't rely on help.

- You got back to within 4:5 after trailing 2:5. What did you say to your players after scoring the fourth goal?

- We act in accordance with the situation on the ice. This is the beauty of sport, you never know what's going to happen. In ice hockey, you can score twice in just a matter of seconds! If we would have played like we did in the last 10 minutes during the entire game, the result would have been different. We also have to point out that Dinamo were fresher today.

HC Dinamo Minsk head coach Craig Woodcroft:

- It was a thrilling match. It was a difficult start for us, as we lost three key players due to injuries. Our guys displayed their character and coped with the situation successfully. SKA always like to apply a lot of pressure on their opponents, but we managed to create chances of our own and score goals. Our players competed in accordance with the game plan and found a way to win. Konstantin Shostak was superb in our net too. Yes, this is a good result for us, but you need four victories in order to progress to the next phase of the competition. We must be hungry in game two.

- How did you prevent your players from panicking when SKA made it 4:5 in the concluding minute?

- Before the playoffs, we had spoken about remaining calm in challenging situations. Maybe there was a little panic, but our guys managed to control the situation and emerge victorious.

- Joseph Duszak and Cedric Paquette returned to the game, but Shawn Lalonde didn't. How does he feel?

- He has received a lower-body injury. We'll see whether he can play on Friday after medical tests.

- This is the third year in a row in which you're playing SKA in the first round of the playoffs. What conclusions did you draw from the maiden two duels against Saint Petersburg?

- We've taken into account a lot of the details. If you play against someone for the third time, it's a sign that it is time to win.

HC SKA forward Alexander Volkov:

- Nothing serious has happened. We will be stronger for the next game. What was the key moment? We don't hold the right to concede goals, especially six. Any conceded goal occurred because of our mistake. Maybe we struggled because we hadn't played for a while, whereas Minsk have had plenty of games recently. We won't let our fans down on Friday!

HC SKA forward Dmitrij Jaskin:

- We played poorly throughout the entire game, not just the third period. We'll analyse all of Dinamo's goals in preparation for game two. When we were one goal down with 20 seconds remaining, we simply wanted to chuck the puck towards Minsk's net and try to create an opening. Thank you to the fans for their wonderful support, we want to achieve a different result for them in the second match.