SKA - Neftekhimik. Press-conference

HC SKA head coach Roman Rotenberg:

"We knew that this would be a difficult game, Nizhnekamsk are a very organised side. They had tons of motivation, so it was a real challenge for us. We won today because we competed with discipline. Furthermore, our fans helped us with the fantastic energy which they provided us with.

"Nikita Serebryakov isn't being included in our line-up? As I have already said countless times, Nikita is working and training with our team. No one needs to worry about Serebryakov, he's feeling good.

"Thanks to their head coach and their team ethic, Neftekhimik compete with serious commitment and play to their maximum in every shift. It's really tough to play against them. Tony DeAngelo has already registered 13 points? Trust me, he hasn't shown his best ice hockey at all yet. By the way, he's the first player in the last few years who came and apologised to me for playing badly in a recent game. He's never happy with his performance level."

HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk head coach Oleg Leontyev:

"Even though we didn't earn the two points, I congratulated my players with their excellent performance. This was a really good match from our point of view, if I'm not mistaken we even had more scoring opportunities than SKA. We were solid shorthanded, played with courage and competed in an aggressive manner. Our display today provides me with happiness and inspiration.

"Alexander Dergachyov's injury? We don't have any diagnosis yet, but it looks as though he will be out for around a month. We conceded the second goal while attacking? For some reason, people seem to think that we're a defensive team, but actually we always try to attack and keep the opponents away from our zone. We only focus on defence when we need to.

"Did SKA surprise us? No, not at all. We had analysed SKA beforehand, so all of us knew what to expect. It has to be said that SKA don't have any weaknesses."