SKA - Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

- Just like on Friday, we dominated the match. As a result of losing a lot of strength against Yaroslavl, we were lacking the required freshness to capitalise on our scoring opportunities. For Magnitogorsk's goal in the third period, we blocked the view of our own goalkeeper. I don't have any issues with our players, they followed the game plan and dominated. Everyone saw what happened. We now have the opportunity to recover and prepare ahead of our upcoming road trip.

- When will Nikita Serebryakov return?

- We decided not to take any risks with Nikita with the playoffs in mind. We need every player, so this is why we took the decision to give Pavel Moisevich these matches. Pavel was excellent in our net, we have no issues with his performance level at all. Hopefully, Nikita will play in our next match on Wednesday.

- How satisfied are you with the changes which you made to your line-up?

- The only problem which I have is the fact that we blocked Moisevich's view for the equaliser. Overall, we're satisfied with the changes which we made to the squad, some of

the guys gave a good account of themselves. There will be further changes to our line-up on Wednesday. Competition drives progression, and it's vital for us to see everyone in action ahead of the playoffs which will soon begin. More good news is that soon Andrei Pedan will return, he's missed the vast majority of the campaign so far as a consequence of his injury.

- What happened for Metallurg's goal in overtime? Was there a foul committed against Artyom Sergeev?

- Watch the replay and share your opinion. We're in favour of honest ice hockey. To be honest, the opinion of society in general is more interesting than mine! There are also rules when playing outdoors on local rinks, if you commit fouls you're always punished accordingly. Our discipline was better today, but we are focused on improving it further. We will work hard in order to become better.

- Taking into account that this year teams from different conferences will face each other from the second round of the playoffs, are games against clubs from the Eastern Conference more important than usual?

- Every game is important. We're pleased with the quality of our performance against both Lokomotiv and Metallurg, but we must begin taking advantage of the chances which we create. In order to beat the goalkeeper, you have to stand in the correct position on the crease and block his view. Yes, the opponents will hit you, but you must be on the slot and prevent the goaltender from getting a clear view of the puck. There aren't any secrets, it's all down to hard work and discipline.

HC Metallurg Magnitogorsk head coach Andrei Razin:

- I think that the supporters enjoyed this game. I didn't like how we played in the second period, we sat back too much in defence and couldn't capitalise on the chances which we created on the counter. Nevertheless, we competed in the correct manner in the third.

- Young forward Mikhail Grass didn't appear again after taking a penalty in his only shift of the match in the first period. Was this a punishment for the foul?

- He's been our 13th forward for our past three matches now. It wasn't because of the penalty, we supported him in that incident. Mikhail didn't play again in this match because we saw that he wasn't in the right frame of mind.

HC SKA forward Ivan Zinchenko:

- It was a good match contested by two strong sides. For the goal scored by Metallurg in the third period, I should have blocked their shot. Overtime proved that we should have taken our chances during regulation.

HC SKA forward Pavel Dedunov:

- We started excellently and took the lead. We controlled most of the game, competed with the initiative, but we conceded a cheap goal in the third stanza. After that, the match depended on the next goal. Never mind, we'll continue working hard. Did I expect Magnitogorsk to compete in a more attacking manner? We're already in January, everyone is beginning to prepare for the playoffs. The two teams waited for mistakes from one another.