Press-conference of game four against Dynamo

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"First of all, I want to thank the fans inside the stadium for creating such a wonderful atmosphere! It was a game of the highest level between two strong teams. We forced overtime thanks to our character and commitment, with our players blocking pucks and heroically managing to equalise.

"I remember when in 2012 we also had an overtime goal against Dynamo disallowed. Instead of focusing on that, we are thinking about our own game. We have younger players than Dynamo, meaning they should be able to recover quickly in time for Friday. We will now calmly prepare for game five in Moscow."

Possible injury suffered by Evgeny Kuznetsov...

"I'm not going to comment on any injuries as I don't want to provide Dynamo with any additional information. Yes, we do have injuries, but I won't say exactly who has sustained them."

Why SKA couldn't finish Dynamo off in the third period...

"The pipe is serving as Dynamo's best friend at the moment, but that won't continue forever. We have to continue working hard and prepare for the next match. We have a really quick team, and remember that we have guys who can come in and freshen up the side. That's a big plus point for us."

Artemiy Pleshkov's brilliant performance in net...

"As I have already said, I don't want to speak about our players individually. We made the right decisions today in terms of our line-up and tactics. We know that Dynamo are good at defending, and they took advantage of our mistake to score in overtime. I have no issue at all with how our players competed, they did a great job."

How SKA can avoid taking penalties...

"At times, emotions are getting the better of the players. We need to compete with cool heads and use our legs to avoid taking penalties. If we look at the goals which we conceded today, then there are details which require improvement.

"It's always important to remember that it is possible to regroup during a playoff series. And, there are lots of examples of when teams have recovered from a 1-3 deficit to eventually emerge victorious. We will recover from this game and fly to Moscow for the fifth match."

On whether it was a mistake to pull the goalkeeper in the 53rd minute...

"We equalised. The only answer which I can give is that we managed to equalise. As a consequence, this means that the decision was the correct one."

Reasons behind the poor first period in which there were altercations...

"Our penalties resulted in us struggling during the opening stanza. For their part, Dynamo have guys such as Cedric Paquette and Maxime Comtois who used to play in the AHL, where it's the norm to try and get under the opponents' skin. Our players need to remain cool and ignore Dynamo's provocations."

The difficulty of recovering psychologically ahead of Friday...

"We're involved in a tough playoff series. Our focus is now fully on game five, and we will consider our options with regard to the line-up. We will prepare for the next match as normal.

"The high emotions involved in this game? My long-term experience in ice hockey means that I know what to do in this situation. Personally, it felt like a normal match."

HC Dynamo Moscow head coach Alexei Kudashov:

"Both teams could have won this game. We have to give credit to SKA in the third period, they competed hard, committed bodies to attack and applied huge pressure on us. Of course, it goes without saying that the five-minute penalty taken by Jordan Weal affected us."

Why Dynamo fell away in the third frame...

"SKA gained the advantage as a result of the foul committed by Weal. They didn't score during that particular powerplay, but they gained momentum and played with six skaters. We were happy that the third period ended when it did! The right conclusions were drawn in the break, and we did take into account that SKA had moved down to practically two lines."

Issue of recovery with game five in mind...

"Only Daniil Pylenkov played more than 30 minutes, so we don't have any problems. It's normal for players to spend 25 or 26 minutes on the ice."

Craziness of overtime...

"To be honest, it was a bit strange. Teams usually play in a more simple manner with an emphasis on caution in overtime, but today lots of opportunities were created. Normally, teams wait for a mistake to be committed rather than taking the initiative."