Press-conference of game six against Dynamo Moscow

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"First of all, I would like to thank our fans for their fantastic support! We really appreciate the fact that so many people come to our games and provide us with wonderful energy. 

"Furthermore, I would like to congratulate Alexander Ovechkin with becoming the all-time NHL leading goalscorer. This is an historic event for us, our country and the entire ice hockey community! We are following Ovechkin's example.

"In terms of the match itself, then we had complete control of it until one of our players took a penalty at the end of the second period. We dominated the maiden two stanzas, creating lots of clear opportunities and not allowing Dynamo to create. Our penalty late in the second frame decided the outcome of the game and the series overall. In ice hockey, the small details always make the difference. I must also note that we had to play with five defensemen after Danila Galenyuk received concussion. 

"Congratulations to Dynamo with their qualification, they're a really strong team with excellent players such as Maxime Comtois who previously caused us problems at the World Junior Championship! Both teams displayed ice hockey of the highest level. Unfortunately, unlike us, Dynamo took advantage of their chances."

Why Ivan Demidov didn't play a lot during games one and three...

"Ivan received a lot of ice time in all of our matches! We must remember that he's only 19. He took a leading role for our team, and as a result Dynamo constantly tried to provoke him. Even though he's still a teenager, Ivan is already a world-class player! He became our leading scorer in the playoffs and played a lot on the powerplay.

"At the same time, though, Ivan has to continue working really hard to reach the level of guys like Ovechkin. Ivan has a bright future ahead of him."

On whether Ivan will play in either the MHL or VHL for SKA...

"We haven't thought about that yet. The same answer concerns questions with regard to the Montreal Canadiens."

Issues concerning his own efforts during the playoffs...

"Ice hockey is a team sport. To our disappointment, we lost this series because of the small details. If we had won the other two games which went to overtime, the outcome would have been different. It was a tight series between two equal teams in which we failed to capitalise on the numerous opportunities which we created. As I said to the players in the dressing room, we needed to control our emotions and ignore the provocations from Dynamo. You always have to compete with cool heads and full focus in the playoffs."

Decisions to be made by the Board of Directors...

"We will speak about how we can strengthen our team. Yes, we've been knocked out in the first round, but you have to take into account that were playing against one of the league's strongest teams which boasts strong foreigners. We competed on an even footing with Dynamo, but two out of the three overtimes in the series went their way. I still don't know why they disallowed our OT goal in game three."

Possibility of players joining up with SKA-1946 in the Kharlamov Cup playoffs...

"We need time to think about this, our focus had fully been on the KHL playoffs until tonight. It goes without saying that we will strengthen our SKA system teams in the playoffs in order for us to achieve success as a club."

Rumours of Demidov and Alexander Nikishin moving to the NHL...

"In my opinion, it would be better for them to stay here in Russia. They're leading of our team, and we have full belief in them. We also have to bear in mind that NHL managers and agents are constantly phoning Demidov, Nikishin and Arseniy Gritsyuk! I remember when the Vancouver manager kept ringing Vasily Podkolzin, promising him that he would play in their first line. In the end, Vasily ended up being sent to the AHL before he subsequently transferred to a different team. As the head coach of the Russian national team, I want our guys to progress and to gain vital experience by participating in top-level games such as the playoffs."

HC Dynamo Moscow head coach Alexei Kudashov:

"I would like to thank our players for the commitment which they showed and their performances. And, I would also like to thank SKA for this series, because they played brilliantly and caused us lots of problems. Thank you to the fans for their wonderful support which they created, this was a series which everyone had long been waiting for."

Why Vladislav Podyapolsky and Brennan Menell were given game time...

"To be honest, we were taking into consideration that it was possible that this series was going to go to seven matches. We wanted all of our players to receive time on the ice. As a consequence of leading the series 3-2, we had the opportunity to rotate the squad a little bit and give other players a chance."