SKA - CSKA. Press-conference

HC CSKA Moscow head coach Igor Nikitin:

- I thanked the guys for showing character and being patient. Two referees were on the opponent's roster today, we hadn't expected that. Our players did a great job by playing until the end.

- Don't you think that CSKA didn't play a great attacking game today?

- Ice hockey isn't just about attacking, it's also about defending well, being solid on the penalty kill and scoring on the powerplay. There are reasons why that was the case today: some of the guys have only just returned from the national team, whereas others are still a bit tired. They tried hard and had plenty of desire.

- SKA should have won in regulation time. Are you satisfied with a point?

- It's not good to think like that. The main thing isn't that we took a point and could have won, it is that the guys kept going until the end.

- Will you make any trades before the deadline on December 27?

- We will answer that question on December 27, there is still time.

HC SKA head coach Valeri Bragin:

- I think that it was a very good performance by us. We were aggressive throughout the match. The opponents barely had any major opportunities to score, while we had lots of good chances. We conceded poor goals when leading 3:1. The main thing is that it didn't break us, we continued playing and won in the penalty shootout. We're really happy to win.

- Why didn't Evgeny Ketov play?

- He is ill.

- Why is Emil Galimov in a full mask? Was this down to an injury?

- Yes, it was.

- It's no secret that Magnus Hellberg feels uncomfortable when he doesn't face a lot of shots. Maybe it would have been worth allowing the opponents to shoot more?

- How do you imagine that happening? So we just let the opponents move into our zone and shoot? Your question isn't a serious one.

- Vladislav Kamenev was on the bench for the majority of the third period.

- No, he took it turns with Linden Vey.

- There is information that SKA are planning to make trades before the deadline.

- I think that information like that before such matches is just provocation. We're not planning any trades, we will move forward with this squad.

- Today is SKA's 74th anniversary. Did you think about playing without the initiative?

- We've been playing in an attacking manner since the start of the campaign. Yes, it doesn't always happen that way, but it depends on our physical condition. We had a rest, so physically we're now in great shape. We held an advantage in all three periods.

- You scored three out of four penalty shots. Had you been working over this component?

- 10 of our players were with the national team. However, we are always working at training before matches.