Nikitin: CSKA Must Stay Cool After 6:5 Win Over SKA

CSKA led 6:3 before SKA scored twice late to make it a one-goal game. Head coach Igor Nikitin said his side needs to tighten up in such moments.

"I think everyone enjoyed the game. Why did I enjoy the game? Six goals scored, a win secured," Nikitin said. "We will go over the mistakes. It's purely a human factor. In that situation we needed to keep our cool. We need to react correctly to momentum. We reacted incorrectly when we took the momentum, and we reacted correctly when SKA took it. We have things to work on. But we praised the lads today."

"I see that you enjoyed a hockey game with plenty of goals. Congratulations to our opponents on the win. I've already told our lads that I'm proud of their character. They didn't put their heads down and kept looking for a way back into the game. It's frustrating to lose, but there was more good than bad. I don't want to speculate on Bardakov's injury. These things become clearer by the morning. In short, it's a lower-body injury. Defensive mistakes? This is only our ninth game of the season. We have time to get across to the team what we want to see. Don't worry, this team has a backbone, and it will grow muscle and character. We're giving the opposition too much room to play. We want to keep the game open rather than shut it down, and show good hockey. But we mustn't help our opponents win. We have reserves that can make us even better. Right now we're playing with three defensive pairs, with Semin and Knyzhov alternating matches. Trevor Murphy should be back any time now," Larionov said.

Zakhar Bardakov left the match with a lower-body injury. Defenceman Trevor Murphy is nearing a return after missing recent games.

SKA have dropped to third place in the Western Conference on 14 points following the defeat.