Yegor Yakovlev: "It was tough after the Olympic Games"

- Is it difficult to focus on the KHL after the Olympic Games?

- Yes, we hadn't trained for a few days. Nevertheless, I thought it would be more difficult. Overall, we played with a good mood. It's a shame that we only won on penalty shots, we had chances to score and performed well. We have to give credit to Severstal, their goalkeeper was excellent.

- Why did you step up in the penalty shootout?

- I had to do something different. The goalkeeper doesn't play like other goaltenders, but if I'm honest, Igor Shestyorkin showed me what to do.

- Are Severstal the best opponents for SKA?

- You have seen for yourselves how the game went. There are no weak opponents, all teams fight hard. I can't remember when we have easily won a playoff round, everyone wants to keep on playing.

- Will the extra day's rest help you?

- Yes, I think so. We need to get back in shape.