Viktor Tikhonov: "I couldn't stop smiling, the atmosphere was fantastic"

- How did you find the atmosphere in Helsinki?

- I have never experienced something like this before. It was great, I couldn't stop smiling after the warm-ups. It's so loud here, it was fantastic!

- Why did you get into a fight with a Jokerit player?

- Did I fight? I can't remember what happened. The main thing is that we won.

- During the match, did you feel cold?

- No, I was feeling warm with emotions and the victory.

- Was it hard to remember that this wasn't an exhibition game?

- No. We always have tough games against Jokerit, so we had our usual mindset. Today wasn't an exception. It was an unusual and interesting match.

- You have paint under your eyes. Does this help in any way?

- I don't know, we simply decided to put it on. We wanted to scare the opponents.

- SKA haven't lost on the road in this season. What's the reason behind this?

- The seaosn is long, we have a lot of away games coming up. The main thing is to keep our focus, our mindset and play to win in every match. If we play at only 90%, teams will be better than us. The main thing is our mindset and movement on the ice.

- After such an emotional game, will you have enough energy to play Neftekhimik in Nizhnekamsk?

- We had great training camps during the summer. Everyone is in good physical shape, some of our players were rested for this match. All of us are ready.

- How does it feel to be a part of history?

- It was really great. My sister lives here, so she finally got to watch here first KHL match in person. I think that she enjoyed both the ice hockey and the atmosphere.

- Do you want such matches to be held on a more regular basis?

- It's a great idea. I hope that all teams are capable of creating such a brilliant atmosphere, it's hard to describe just how amazing it is.

- Would you like Saint Petersburg to host an outdoor match?

- If it's possible, it would be great.

- Alexander Medvedev wanted to play at the new stadium so that 60 thousand fans could watch.

- I would certainly be in favour of that.

- Can we compare this to the NHL Winter Classic?

- I didn't play in the NHL Winter Classic, I only watched it. However, I think that this game was similar. We played outdoors, we had the paint on our faces and there were a lot of fans.